<p>It is very likely made using <strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_printing" rel="noreferrer">silkscreen</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithography" rel="noreferrer">lithography</a></strong>.<br />
Since these designs seem to have been made using stencils cut out of paper, I think silk screen printing would have been the more practical approach. The grid-like outlines of the shapes also corroborate this type of printing. (Of course, consequential prints were probably made using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_printing" rel="noreferrer">offset printing</a>.)</p>
<p>I believe this is a photograph of a prototype for this box of the ant-killer Neocid, since even the folding lines seem to have been printed.</p>
<p>The source of your image can be seen <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eyemagazine/48863859458/" rel="noreferrer">here</a>: '<em>Graphic Design Manual, Principles and Practice</em>', by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armin_Hofmann" rel="noreferrer">Armin Hofmann</a>.<br />
He was part of a team of designers who were employed by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Geigy in the 1960s to advertise their products to doctors and in medical journals (as direct advertising to the public was prohibited).<br />
Hence the artist of this particular packaging is an unknown student (see image below).</p>
<div class="s-table-container">
<table class="s-table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/99dZR.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/99dZR.png" alt="" /></a></th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Detail of page 20 of <em>Corporate Diversity: Swiss Graphic Design and Advertising by Geigy, 1940-1970</em>, Lars Muller Verlag, 2009</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p>The style is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Typographic_Style" rel="noreferrer">International Typographic Style</a>, which is also known as Swiss Style.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-27T15:30:43.687Z
Great! I know very little about "analogue" drawing techniques. Could the ant have been drawn with ink, a thick brush, cut from a black piece of paper or something similar?
Tony Bolero
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-28T18:16:17.493Z
@TonyBolero Yeah, I think it was cut from paper, and then printed using silkscreen, but it's hard to figure out the exact process based on this image alone. I also wasn't able to find anything on the processes used during the creative stage of this campaign, and some of the artists might have had different techniques to begin with.
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-27T11:33:46.420Z
2022-04-27T11:33:46.420Z
Joachim
<p>This is a package from a swiss brand called Geigy. It’s made in the 60s. What technique has been used to create the ant would you say?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Ymg1f.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Ymg1f.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

<technique-identification><printing>
What technique has been used for this illustration?
Tony Bolero
# What technique has been used for this illustration?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-04-26)

This is a package from a swiss brand called Geigy. It’s made in the 60s. What technique has been used to create the ant would you say?

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Ymg1f.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/Ymg1f.jpg)

**Tags:** technique-identification, printing


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-04-27. Score: 5

It is very likely made using **[silkscreen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_printing) or [lithography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithography)**.  
Since these designs seem to have been made using stencils cut out of paper, I think silk screen printing would have been the more practical approach. The grid-like outlines of the shapes also corroborate this type of printing. (Of course, consequential prints were probably made using [offset printing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offset_printing).)

I believe this is a photograph of a prototype for this box of the ant-killer Neocid, since even the folding lines seem to have been printed.

The source of your image can be seen [here](https://www.flickr.com/photos/eyemagazine/48863859458/): '*Graphic Design Manual, Principles and Practice*', by [Armin Hofmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armin_Hofmann).  
He was part of a team of designers who were employed by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Geigy in the 1960s to advertise their products to doctors and in medical journals (as direct advertising to the public was prohibited).  
Hence the artist of this particular packaging is an unknown student (see image below).

|  |
| --- |
| Detail of page 20 of *Corporate Diversity: Swiss Graphic Design and Advertising by Geigy, 1940-1970*, Lars Muller Verlag, 2009 |

The style is called [International Typographic Style](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Typographic_Style), which is also known as Swiss Style.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Great! I know very little about "analogue" drawing techniques. Could the ant have been drawn with ink, a thick brush, cut from a black piece of paper or something similar?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Yeah, I think it was cut from paper, and then printed using silkscreen, but it's hard to figure out the exact process based on this image alone. I also wasn't able to find anything on the processes used during the creative stage of this campaign, and some of the artists might have had different techniques to begin with.  

---

