Bauhaus vs Swiss Modernism
Graphic design in the 20th century was both diverse and innovative as designers aimed to encapsulate the ever changing world through their work. Both the Bauhaus and Swiss Modernism design period display distinct stylistic features that capture this sense of design innovation, in turn creating a basis for the designs we encounter today.
The Bauhaus design period was given life between 1919 and 1933 and centralises around the fusion of functionality and artistic expression. Its use of distinct conceptuality and reimagination of the material world allowed this style to transform the notions of 20th century design immensely. In relation, it was founded in the German city of Weimer by architect Walter Gropius who envisioned the style to combine the practices of sculpture, painting and architecture into one outlet of creative expression (Griffith Winton, 2007). This vision was then remodelled into a curriculum and taught to emerging designers and artisans of this time at the Bauhaus School of Design.
Components of this style include sans serif typography, diagonal vectors, inverted black and white photography, use of primary supporting colours and grids to create visual heirachy. Notable designers of the Bauhaus era include Marcel Breueur, Walter Gropius and Marianne Brandt, who all in turn heavily shaped graphic design practices of this period.
László Moholy-Nagy - Booklet Design
Image Source: VCD101 Lecture Slides Week 2
Moholy-Nagy's Bauhaus booklet design exhibited above, captures the stylistic features of this style while reinforcing how these features can be used to create effective design.
The booklet was designed for the purpose of advertising the Bauhaus Bücher, a series of educational design books composed by Bauhaus teachers and contemporary designers. It can be examined that that the designers use of bold red rectangular pillars and bold capitalisation of the text guide the readers eyes through the design. For example, the title of the heading on the right page is underlined by a thick red rectangle, in turn effectively utilising the concept of salience through colour and scale to enhance the readability of the brochure. In relation, the designer has chosen red specifically as this is a core colour in the Bauhaus movement. Ultimately, creating an effective contrast between the white page and black letter pressed text. Similarly, the vertical direction of the text illustrated on the cover page enhances its adherence the principles of this design style.
Walter Gropius - Herbert Bayer, Invitation to the inauguration of the Bauhaus building (1926)
Another example of a design piece from the Bauhaus era is Walter Gropius's invitation design for the inauguration of the Bauhaus building in 1926. Within this design, the clear confinement to compositional Bauhaus elements such as perpendicular grids, diagonal text, scale and red and yellow colour is illustrated thoroughly.
The designer's utilisation of black and white photography paired with red and yellow rectangular boxes capture the eye of the reader, providing the work with an intriguing nature which is significant for an invitation. Moreover, the placement of the light coloured and large scale heading text on the black rectangle divides the heading and informative text, controlling the order that readers view the text. Gropius has further utilised the colour red through the text on the left side, simultaneously using downwards vectors which draw the readers eye down the page to the supporting text at the bottom. Ultimately, the distinguishment between the text in the design is predominantly achieved through the designer's use of colour and scale. Thus, reinforcing how Bauhaus design principles in this work were utilised to create an effective and eye-catching invitation design.
Swiss Modernism, also know as the International Typographic Style, is a movement of design that occurred in the 1950's. Led predominantly by Josef Müller-Brockmann, Ernst Keller and Armin Hofmann, Swiss modernism is renowned for it's clean lower case sans serif typefaces, grid layouts and minimalist design ethos. More specifically, typefaces such as Helvetica and more traditionally Altzek Grotesk are a distinguishing element of this style.
In relation, It is described by most as the "authentic pursue of simplicity" (Terror, 2009), commonly exhibited today through web, brochure and poster design. The process of this style begins with the construction of a mathematical grid, which is believed to be the most efficient and harmonious way to communicate clearly through design. Similar to Bauhaus, this style of design arose from Keller's design curriculum at Kunstgewerbeschule, an arts and craft school located in Switzerland (Budrick, 2020).
Giselle Poster (1959) - Armin Hoffman
Hoffman's monochromatic Swiss poster explores the relationship between simplistic typography and photography for the purpose of advertisement. Similarly, the poster was designed to advertise the performance of an outdoor classical ballet piece titled Giselle in 1959.
In order to effectively communicate this concept, compositional elements such as vectors, white space and the use of tone to create salience have been utilised. For example, Hoffmans distinct use of vertical vectors through the ballerinas upright form and direction of the hero type 'Giselle' communicate authenticity and professionalism to the viewers. Moreover, the designers choice to include a contrasting black negative space, paired with large scale, off-white coloured typography creates salience towards the text. This is significant as the posters purpose is to advertise, meaning the text must be the first thing audiences read.
Ultimately, the designers use of the Helvetica typeface and left grid alignment of the supporting text illuminates how this poster adheres to Swiss Modernism. Furthermore, Hoffmans incorporation of a black and white photograph enhances the Swiss design elements as this is a common feature of this style.
Beethoven Poster (1955) - Josef Muller-Brockmann
The poster exhibited to the left, is one of Muller-Brockmann's most infamous and celebrated designs from the Swiss Modernism era. It was designed with the purpose to advertise Beethoven, simultaneously redefining the boundaries of graphic design.
Muller-Brockmann's strict utilisation and analysis of angles through the geometrical arc result in the poster appearing clinically clean, which is an identifier of this Swiss style. In relation, the use of circular vectors surrounding the text create a sense of movement, simulating the intensity and flow of Beethoven's musical masterpieces. Thus, demonstrating how compositional elements of a design largely contribute to its effectiveness. Aspects of visual heirarchy are achieved through the black geometry, which in turn guide the viewers eyes to the Beethoven text, followed by the supporting text. The designers use of lower case type and a minimal font reinforce the components of Swiss design.
Overall, both Bauhaus and Swiss Modernism have heavily influenced the way designers form their work. An interesting point to take away is that the most innovative design styles are often formed when the designer ignores existing trends and uses only their talent and creativity to design authentically. This is exhibited through the practice of Josef Muller-Brockmann. It was also interesting to learn that graphic design styles are often influenced by other forms of design first such as architecture, sculpture and painting. Thus, displaying how this research has deepened my understanding of the design world.
REFERENCES
Griffith Winton, A 2016, The Bauhaus, 1919–1933, The Met, accessed on 16/05/22
Budrick, C 2020, Swiss Style: The Principles, the Typefaces & the Designers, Print, accessed on 14/05/22
Terror, D 2009, Lessons From Swiss Style Graphic Design, Smashing Magazine, accessed on 14/05/22
BLOG 1 "Historical Context" - TASK 3
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