The 46th issue of the critical graphic design journal is devoted to the Zurich-based graphic design studio Norm.
0.1 The computerisation of graphic design has been compro-mised. A new computational modernism is needed. Tabula rasa. The skeuomorphic dependencies that clutter the interfaces of corporate graphic design software must be deprecated. A total dimensional control system must be implemented. Pixels, and possibly millimetres, must define it—not inches, points, picas, nor ciceros. Interlinear space, not leading. No more zoom tools that max out at 6400%. No more colour-as-a-subscription service3. No more InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, Fontlab. Who shall lead the project for a single, unified, digital workspace for graphic design?
0.2 Norm is a graphic design office in Zurich. Founded in 1999 by Dimitri Bruni (1970) and Manuel Krebs (1970), Ludovic Varone (1977) joined the office in 2005.
0.3 The canon of graphic design history will be compressed. 100 years from now there will be no Müller-Brockmann or Gerstner or Hofmann. Prehistoric pretenders. Not needed. There will be Norm. Norm is what all those others dreamed of. What they strived for but could not attain. They will be remembered only as the nameless builders of Norm. They laboured at the construction of its glorious Duomo but did not live to see it completed. We will not speak of them again. Forgotten.
0.4 Norm have only ever known computerised graphic design. It is their native language. The computer is Norm's tool and they have mastered it.
0.5 Norm are reasonable graphic designers. They have created for themselves a reasonable foundation for decision-making. They have established reasonable computerised graphic design protocols with which to handle the vicissitudes of content.
Faire is a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to graphic design, published from October to June, distributed issue by issue or in the form of anthologies of three or four issues. Created by Empire, Syndicat studio's publishing house, Faire is aimed for undergraduate students as well as researchers and professionals, documenting contemporary and international practices of graphic design, along with the history and grammar of styles. Each issue focuses on a single subject, addressed by a renowned author.
"Critical publications dedicated to the analysis of Graphic design are sadly few and far between today, particularly in France, but also in Europe as a whole. Adopting an analytical and critical posture with regard to the forms and activities of Graphic design, Sacha Léopold and François Havegeer intend to establish a printed publication that deals with these practices. The publication will work with seven authors in its first year (Lise Brosseau, Manon Bruet, Thierry Chancogne, Céline Chazalviel, Jérôme Dupeyrat, Catherine Guiral and Étienne Hervy). This initially limited choice, linked to a desire to propose an experience with a group that has previously participated together in projects, will then allow for the inclusion of foreign authors in the second year of publication."
