Lars Müller in collaboration with the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich (eds.)

Max Bill’s View of Things

Die gute Form: An Exhibition 1949

The international touring exhibition Die gute Form was conceived by Max Bill on behalf of the Swiss Werkbund and was shown for the first time in 1949 at the Basel Mustermesse trade fair. The exhibition consisted of 80 display panels, designed by Bill presenting a selection of consumer goods from all over the world chosen by Bill as examples of good design. The show caused some upset in Switzerland and fuelled heated debates abroad. But it also exerted a wide-reaching influence – for example, upon the way in which consumer goods were perceived.

This publication documents Bill’s initiative in reproductions of the original display panels and layout plans for the venues visited by the exhibition, and places Die gute Form in a theoretical context that considers its reception and impact within the history of design.

The international touring exhibition Die gute Form was conceived by Max Bill on behalf of the Swiss Werkbund and was shown for the first time in 1949 at the Basel Mustermesse trade fair. The exhibition consisted of 80 display panels, designed by Bill presenting a selection of consumer goods from all over the world chosen by Bill as examples of good design. The show caused some upset in Switzerland and fuelled heated debates abroad. But it also exerted a wide-reaching influence – for example, upon the way in which consumer goods were perceived.

This publication documents Bill’s initiative in reproductions of the original display panels and layout plans for the venues visited by the exhibition, and places Die gute Form in a theoretical context that considers its reception and impact within the history of design.

English edition – also available in German

Edited by Lars Müller in collaboration with the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich

With contributions by Max Bill, Jakob Bill, Claude Lichtenstein, Renate Menzi and Deyan Sudjic

Design: Integral Lars Müller

21 x 29,7 cm, 8 ½ x 11 ¾ in

160 pages, 106 illustrations

hardback

2015, 978-3-03778-372-6, English
CHF 45.00

Lars Müller

Lars Müller, born in Oslo in 1955 and a Norwegian citizen, has been based in Switzerland since 1963. After becoming a graphic designer in Zurich, extended travels, and a one-year assistant position with designer Wim Crouwel in Amsterdam, Müller established his studio in Baden/Switzerland in 1982. In 1983, Müller published his first book and as Lars Müller Publishers, with offices in Zürich, has produced some 600 titles to date.