Josef Müller-Brockmann (1914–1996) was a leading figure in Swiss graphic design. Starting the 1950s, he helped to pioneer the Swiss Style that would shape graphic design worldwide for decades. After an early career doing illustrations, Müller-Brockmann did a radical about-face in 1950, henceforth developing an uncompromisingly rational formal language. His posters are legendary and his magazine “New Graphic Design” (1958–1965) spread the doctrine of sober design based on constructive principles across the continents. As a teacher in Japan and at the design schools in Zurich and Ulm, as well as a lecturer and consultant, Müller-Brockmann was a distinctive voice in the design world. He was married to the Japanese-Swiss artist Shizuko Yoshikawa.

Lars Müller was born in Oslo in 1955 and has been based in Switzerland since 1963. After becoming a graphic designer in Zurich and extended travels, he started a one-year assistant position with designer Wim Crouwel in Amsterdam. Having founded his own studio, Integral Lars Müller, in Baden (Switzerland) in 1982, Müller established a long-lasting friendship with his mentor Josef Müller-Brockmann. In 1983, Müller published his first book and, as Lars Müller Publishers, has produced some 800 titles to date.

Lars Müller is a passionate educator and has taught at various universities in Switzerland, Europe, the USA and Japan. Müller frequently serves on academic and competition juries. From 2009 to 2015 he was a member of the jury of Design Preis Schweiz and from 2013 to 2015 the international president of AGI Alliance Graphique Internationale.