Hotel Schweizerhof | Zürich

I know of exactly two posters that became the trademark of a company in their entirety: Robert Hardmeyer’s rooster in a starched shirt, which advertised a Zurich laundry, and this design by Alex Walter Diggelmann for the Hotel Schweizerhof on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, created in 1935. The fact that the chosen perspective elegantly conceals the eyes of the porter is somewhat irritating – which conveys the subtle message all the more effectively: Here, guests can rely on unobtrusive and discreet service.

An icon of Swiss poster history and so rare that there is only one other original in a public Swiss poster collection.