Collective Agency stages the USM ball joint in a gradient of light.

Redefining the visual legacy of a Swiss interior design icon

USM Haller

USM Haller

In 1963, architect Fritz Haller and Paul Schärer developed the USM Haller system — modular furniture that turned Swiss engineering into a design classic found in offices and homes worldwide. Collective Agency took on brand strategy and photography: an image series and a range of campaign visuals that capture the iconic character of the furniture. The result is visual communication as considered and enduring as the furniture itself.

Client

USM Haller

Year

2025

Services

Brand Strategy | Videography / Photography | Brand Design

Collective Agency designs a poster around the USM screw detail.
Collective Agency photographs the perforated USM surface.

We developed an image series that captures the iconic character of USM furniture precise, architectural, quietly present. From it grew a set of campaign visuals built to adapt across formats and contexts.

We developed an image series that captures the iconic character of USM furniture precise, architectural, quietly present. From it grew a set of campaign visuals built to adapt across formats and contexts.

The approach treated each piece as an object of lasting relevance rather than a product to be staged. The photography lets the furniture’s structure speak: clear lines, considered light, space that keeps the object quietly in focus. The series was created in collaboration with Studio Johannes Bauer, whose precise visual language matches the character of the USM Haller system. Building on the core series, we developed a range of campaign visuals, exploring how the imagery adapts across different formats and contexts while maintaining a consistent visual language. The result is not a single campaign but a flexible image system — photography made to last, like the furniture it portrays. Today, the series underlines what USM has stood for over decades: design of enduring relevance.

Collective Agency reduces the USM frame to its geometric language.
Collective Agency photographs the corner joint of the USM system.
Collective Agency presents the USM connector as an exhibit.