New Wave typography.

How to recognize it.

1. Expanded letterspacing
2. Overlapping planes
3. Disrupted baselines

Context & origins.

New Wave typography experimented with the conventions of modernist typesetting through altered spacing, layering and unexpected relationships between text and image. April Greiman carried a Swiss training into a practice that embraced digital tools. Her 1986 Design Quarterly issue is a useful primary collection reference for this transition.

Approximate active period

c. 1968–1989

Geographic context

Basel and the United States

People to explore

Wolfgang Weingart · April Greiman · Dan Friedman

Historical context draws on the supplied research. Approximate periods are reference ranges, not fixed boundaries. See the source notes below.

In practice.

Establish a readable base, then choose exactly where to interrupt it.

What to watch for

If everything is disrupted, the intended contrast disappears.

These are editorial design observations, not rules for classifying every work.

Visual characteristics.

grid discipline

broken

palette logic

restricted

contrast

high

texture

subtle

hierarchy

chaotic

ornament level

minimal

Works to study.

• Nouvelle Vague: A Typographic Translation ↗Isabella Freeland, 2025. Fractured grids, analogue texture, and type as narrative.
• New-Wave Typography | Tribute to Wolfgang Weingart ↗Irfan Ghani, 2012. Clearly attributed formal baseline for the style.

Sources & further reading.

1. Supplied research: Graphic Design Movements 1850–2000 ↗Adapted from user-supplied Graphic Design Movements 1850-2000. Period bounds are approximate contextual ranges; not independently verified in every case.Consulted 2026-09-09
2. moma ↗Greiman’s Swiss training, digital practice, and 1986 work.Consulted 2026-09-09