Odermatt+Tissi (also written Odermatt & Tissi, or O&T) was a Swiss graphic design studio founded in Zurich in 1968 by Siegfried Odermatt (1926–2017) and Rosmarie Tissi (born 1937).[1] The pair had worked together for a decade before formally establishing the studio as an equal partnership.[2] Both are regarded as pioneers of Swiss graphic design, and their studio produced posters, corporate identities, logos, and complete visual identity systems for industrial and service-sector clients.[1][3]
Design and History
The studio’s own identity was closely tied to the working relationship of its two founders. Odermatt, a self-taught designer, had worked independently since 1950 before joining forces with Tissi, who had trained at the Kunstgewerbeschule Zurich and completed an apprenticeship in Odermatt’s studio.[1] The studio was known by the shorthand “O&T,” a name that appeared on their exhibition poster for the Reinhold-Brown Gallery in New York in 1992.[4]
While the studio’s own wordmark is not extensively documented in available sources, the pair’s approach to logo design is well recorded. Tissi created numerous logos and complete visual identities throughout her career, including a 1969 mark for the textile manufacturer Mettler & Co. That logo, an “M” with hatching that evokes woven fabric and layered cloth, was designed so that its layered structure could be revealed progressively in a 1970 anniversary brochure through die-cut strips.[2] The studio also produced logos for clients such as the Triennale für Druckgrafik (Triennial of Graphic Art) in 2003.[5]
Odermatt and Tissi worked independently on their own assignments within the shared studio, only occasionally collaborating on joint projects.[2] Their work evolved from the rigorous formality of the International Typographic Style toward a more playful and intuitive approach influenced by postmodernism.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
Tissi’s documented approach to logo design emphasized economy of visual means. As a designer of numerous logos, she learned to focus on the essential core of a product or company and give it a memorable form.[2] The Mettler & Co. mark is a documented example where the logo’s meaning derives directly from the client’s industry: the hatching of the “M” references woven fabric and layered textile folds.[2]
Typography and Design
Typography was central to the studio’s identity work. Tissi designed several display typefaces, including Sinaloa (1972), Sonora (1972), and Mindanao (1975).[7] Sinaloa was first distributed by Letraset from 1974 as dry-transfer lettering sheets, and in 2023 Tissi worked with the type foundry Lineto to digitally remaster and republish her typefaces.[7] Tissi’s letterforms have been described as having a “science fictional quality,” with the stripes in Sinaloa suggesting motion.[8]
During the 1980s and 1990s, Odermatt and Tissi frequently used a technique combining text typography on geometric shapes, where the configuration was generated by the line lengths of the text itself.[9]
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