Modernist Mess is a type system that embraces reduced minimalism as well as various decorative elements and by doing so represents the multilayered facets of modernism. As a starting point an index has been created with a collection of patterns — from William Morris to the Wiener Werkstätte, up to Werkbund and Weissenhofsiedlung designers. (Stefanie Schwarz, 2024)

The typeface was initially designed for the exhibition “Muster & Moderne — William Morris meets Weissenhof”, a project by Stefanie Schwarz and Patrick Thomas in collaboration with the art historians Tobias Bednarz and Anja Krämer; taking place in a gallery (Weissenhofwerkstatt) inside the Mies van der Rohe building at the historic Weissenhof estate Stuttgart in December 2024 until March 2025.

Therefore Stefanie Schwarz created typographic banners presenting quotes of modernist designers pro and contra ornament. Besides Patrick Thomas confronts the clean-lined architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with a reinterpretation of Morris’ iconic “Willow” pattern (1874) silkscreen printed directly onto the wall.