During the 1950s, a design movement emerged in Switzerland and Germany that has been called Swiss design or, more appropriately, . The visual characteristics of this design movement include visual unity of design achieved through the asymmetrical organization of the design elements on a mathematically constructed grid; objective photography and copy that present visual and verbal information in a clear and factual manner, free from the exaggerated claims of much propaganda and commercial advertising; and sansserif typography set flush left, ragged right. The initiators of this movement believed sans-serif typography expressed the spirit of a progressive age and that mathematical grids were the most legible and harmonious means for structuring information. This design movement won converts throughout the world and remained a major force for over two decades, and its influence continues.