Staying in the spirit of the great Bauhaus, we explored and discussed more artists, influenced by the modern design, and how they introduced these concepts into a daily life of people, especially in America. Among many, there is Jan Tschichold who plays a very significant role in the process. Born in a German family of a signwriter, he was traditionally trained in calligraphy from his early years of school education. After visiting Bauhaus in 1923 at the age of 21, he became strongly influenced by the modern design. Two years later he started to write on the matter and released his first work, trade magazine, Elementary Typography. In 1927 he published his most acclaimed book, entitled Die neue Typographie, New Typography. It was a manifesto and a collection of graphic design rules, such as the use of Grotesk fonts (sans-serif), non-centered layouts, asymmetric balance of the elements, use of the white space, standardized paper sizes. It was followed by the series of articles and soon after 1927, the works by Tschichold gained popularity among German workers and printers. However, due to six weeks interrogations of him, his wife and the son, and pressure from the Nazi government, which denounced Tschichold and the follow designers as cultural Bolsheviks, he had to abandon the modern style. From 1932 onwards he turned back into the classic style. Later in his life he criticized the fascination for the modern, functional ideas written in New Typography. He moved to England and started to work for the Penguin's book, creating over 500 cover designs. He set up the system of Penguin Compositional Rules which are used until today.
Herbert Matter was another designer working in the field. He was a Swiss born artist, acclaimed for the use of photomontage. As Tschichold he was traditionally trained and studied painting in academies in Geneva and Paris. When he moved back to Zurich he was commissioned to work for Swiss National Tourist Office to create advertising posters. He tended to combine clear type with a new method of photomontage. In 1936 he came to the United Stares and started to work for such giants as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Knoll and taught at several universities, including Yale.
Addison Dwiggins and Lester Beall were influential designers who introduced modern aesthetics to the American audience. Even though the field of graphic design had already been working in a spirit of the modern design, the common people did not share these ideas in their daily life. Dwiggons and Beall were both commercial artists in the major cities in the country, e.g. Chicago, New York. Beall produced a series of advertising posters for Rural Electrification Administration, Time Magazine, Chicago Tribune.
Robert Muchley also worked for the social benefit. Working with the government he became a part of a new movement of art and design for people. His posters are characterized by a generous negative space, silk screening methods and a feel of cubist shapes and forms.
I think it is very interesting to see the transition between the Bauhaus design and how it was approached in America. While in Germany the artists had to fight for their existence and worked on the edge of danger, designers in the United States could not only work freely but also contribute to the society. It is fascinating to see how design is applied in the life of common people through the advertising and how it actually helped the people. I think it was a ground breaking time for the designers to get separated from the group of traditional artists, such as painters, sculptors, etc. They became a part of the industry and indeed very influential part in the modern times. I especially liked the posters with social context, 'John is no really dull', etc. We might laugh at the content now, but these posters did not differ in the rhetoric from nowadays advertising for breast cancer tests or HIV tests.
Herbert Matter was another designer working in the field. He was a Swiss born artist, acclaimed for the use of photomontage. As Tschichold he was traditionally trained and studied painting in academies in Geneva and Paris. When he moved back to Zurich he was commissioned to work for Swiss National Tourist Office to create advertising posters. He tended to combine clear type with a new method of photomontage. In 1936 he came to the United Stares and started to work for such giants as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Knoll and taught at several universities, including Yale.
Addison Dwiggins and Lester Beall were influential designers who introduced modern aesthetics to the American audience. Even though the field of graphic design had already been working in a spirit of the modern design, the common people did not share these ideas in their daily life. Dwiggons and Beall were both commercial artists in the major cities in the country, e.g. Chicago, New York. Beall produced a series of advertising posters for Rural Electrification Administration, Time Magazine, Chicago Tribune.
Robert Muchley also worked for the social benefit. Working with the government he became a part of a new movement of art and design for people. His posters are characterized by a generous negative space, silk screening methods and a feel of cubist shapes and forms.
I think it is very interesting to see the transition between the Bauhaus design and how it was approached in America. While in Germany the artists had to fight for their existence and worked on the edge of danger, designers in the United States could not only work freely but also contribute to the society. It is fascinating to see how design is applied in the life of common people through the advertising and how it actually helped the people. I think it was a ground breaking time for the designers to get separated from the group of traditional artists, such as painters, sculptors, etc. They became a part of the industry and indeed very influential part in the modern times. I especially liked the posters with social context, 'John is no really dull', etc. We might laugh at the content now, but these posters did not differ in the rhetoric from nowadays advertising for breast cancer tests or HIV tests.
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