The typography controversy of modernism

Whenever aesthetics are at stake, meaning things that cannot be precisely assessed, differing, even controversial, positions are inevitable. Typography experts have repeatedly commented on the suitability of typefaces, the use of ornamentation, or the optimal type area. Hans Rudolf Bosshard provides several historical examples – from Bodoni and Bertuch to Morris and Morison – before moving on to the so-called "Modern Typography Dispute" between Max Bill and Jan Tschichold in 1946. The dispute caused quite a stir even then and continues to arouse widespread interest today – not only in German-speaking countries, but also in the Anglo-Saxon world.
The trigger was a lecture by Tschichold entitled "Constants of Typography," in which he renounced the previously practiced and theoretically advocated "new typography" and advocated a return to traditional design forms. Max Bill was disappointed by the change of heart of the former pioneer of the "new typography" and viewed the return to traditional typography as an attack on modernism. Both accused each other (from opposing positions and entirely unjustified) of being close to National Socialist aesthetics. The heated exchange, presented here in detail for the first time, took place in the "Swiss Typographical Reports."