De Stijl: (Dutch: "The Style"), group of Dutch artists in Amsterdam in 1917, including the painters Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg and the architect Jacobus Johannes, Pieter Oud among others. Its members, worked in an abstract style, seeking laws of equilibrium and harmony applicable both to art and to life. As a movement, De Stijl influenced painting, decorative arts (including furniture design), typography, and architecture, but it was principally architecture that realized both. Graphic artists: Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian and Gerrit Rietveld.
Swiss School of Graphic Design: developed in Switzerland in the 1950s. It emphasizes cleanliness, readability and objectivity. Hallmarks of the style are asymmetric layouts, use of a grid, sans-serif typefaces.The style used photography instead of illustration. The idea was to improve communication, learning the principles of space and proportions. Graphic artists: Jan Tschichold, formulator of The New Typography and Josef Müller-Brockman, Anton Stankowski, Armin Hoffman.
The Polish School of Design: After years of Social Realism being all-pervasive in art, Polish artistic life suddenly exploded in the 1960s with a new syle based on avantgarde contributions such as Surrealism, dada, collage etc. The Polish Poster style swept through Europe in the 1960s and the 1970s. Graphic artists: Roman Cieslewicz, Wiesław Wałkuski, Waldemar Swierzy, Jan Lenica and Franciszek Starowieyski.
"The New York School": The first wave of modern design in America, imported by talented immigrants from Europe. It introduces Americans to European avant-garde. While borrowing freely from the work of European designers, Americans added new forms and concepts to the tradition of graphic design. Graphic artists: Paul Rand, Alvin Lustig, Saul Bass, Cipe Pineles, Alexey Brodovich, George Lois, Ivan Chermayeff, Alexander Liberman, Herb Lubalin.
Grunge typography (1990s): David Carson, the acclaimed graphic designer who created Ray Gun magazine, is the so-called Godfather of Grunge. His method was simple: you don’t have to know the rules before breaking them, and never mistake legibility for communication. Carson’s technique of ripping, shredding, and remaking letters touched a nerve (THE AWL)
Maximalism: (1990-today) as a genre in the arts said to emphasize work-intensive practices and concentrates on the process of creation itself. Works from this genre are generally bright, sensual, and visually rich. Maximalism is generally figurative, politically aware, socially inclined, usually erotic, ironic and humorous, both in concept and form.