Toward Toward Toward Toward a New a New a New a New Typography Typography Typography

The Origins of the International Typographic Style

Jennifer M. Dyer

The International Typographic Style, technology, science, and psychology The paradoxes that defined life in the “Significant departures from also known as Swiss design, culmi- that it seemed human suffering could early 20th century are refl ected in the use of conventional typo- nated from a progression of artistic be eradicated. The discovery of the contemporary artistic expression. graphic forms occurred in ideas that had developed over the structure of DNA, the harnessing of Many artistic movements intermingled Europe at the beginning of the course of nearly a century. Character - atomic energy, the development of as artists synthesized a new under- 20th century. During this ized by a clean appearance ordered theories about the space-time con- standing of the world in their work activist period, experimenta- by a mathematical grid, the use of tinuum, the advent of space travel, and developed a new syntax for tion in all the visual and per- sans serif typefaces and a color and exploration of the human psyche artistic expression. Artists felt that forming arts was affected by palette limited to red, black, and suggested that humanity was on the they must reject the styles of history potent social and philosoph- white, the International Typographic verge of understanding life itself. Yet, and develop a mode of expression ical changes, industrial and Style achieved its greatest infl uence during these same years, two world appropriate for the modern era. technological developments, in the 1970s. It evolved from many wars began and ended, leaving Although many new developments and new attitudes about aes- stylistic infl uences that desired to countries politically, economically, occurred in both fine and applied thetics and modern civiliza- break from the past, address the and physically decimated. Revolu - arts, the styles of these decades are tion. Typographic design was needs of the present age, and look to tions and other political confl icts also nevertheless closely knit to the work pulled into this artistic revolu- the future. caused untold human suffering. Polit - of earlier artists. tion as poets and visual ical parties came into, and fell from, artists realized that both Artistic expression during the power. Political leaders proved them- The roots of the International Typo - meaning and form could be decades that preceded the Interna - selves capable of unfathomable graphic Style can be found in the intensified in typographic tional Style refl ected a world of tur- depths of inhumanity. Forced to con- work of William Morris (1834–1896) communications.” (Carter 68) moil, unprecedented technological front such extremes, artists sought a and the Arts and Crafts Movement advancement, and doubt. Humanity means of expressing and responding (c. 1860–c. 1898). Characterized by was making such strides in medicine, to them. simplicity, functionality, and high- Morris claimed to seek simplicity, but his work became increasingly ornate. He designed and illustrated this page from The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1896. Morris’s ideology, rather than its formal expression, had a legacy in the Inter national Style.

quality workmanship and materials, modern, forward-looking aesthetic. students were Walter Gropius, the ideals that Morris espoused were The inclination toward abstraction founder of the ; Le a reaction to the ornate style of the and the idea that artists’ work should Corbusier, inventor of modular archi- Victorian Era, which lasted until about be socially pertinent are marks of the tecture; and Ludwig Mies van der The design of Peter Behrens’ AEG Turbine 1903. Unlike the International Typo - modern aesthetic. The work of Peter Rohe, a later director of the Bauhaus Hall, 1909, foreshadows the Bauhaus style. graphic Style and the styles from Behrens (1868 –1940) helped define and highly infl uential architect and With little exterior decoration—only the this new role for the artist. His ideas designer. “The three giants of 20th- company logo and the building’s name— which it evolved, the Arts and Crafts the factory relies on its structural elements Movement was based in the past; it about the functionality of art estab- century design,” all were central to for aesthetic harmony. The grid pattern of represented a desire to return to clas- lished the ideal of applied and fine the development of a modern aes- windows, the arrangement of bricks in sical values. arts united toward a common end. thetic (Ferebee 65). layers that correspond to the windows, the geometric construction, and the grid-like In developing a modern aesthetic, Behrens’ infl uence on the develop- Behrens became a leading figure in rhythm of structural supports suggest the functionality, simplicity, and organization of artists chose not to draw on the past ment of fine and applied arts in the the (German Swiss design. but to find their inspiration in a 20th century was pivotal. Among his Association of Craftsmen), which was

2 Behrens shows the first stages of basing graphic designs on a grid. His work draws the infl u- ence of Dutch architect J.L. Mathieu Lauweriks (1864–1932). Behrens’ design for the cover of Mitteil ungen Der Ber liner Elek - tricitaets Werke (Berlin Electric- Works Maga zine), 1908, pro- vides a telling exam ple when compared with grids developed by Lauweriks.

founded in 1907 “to promote indus- unfailing good taste.” He also empha- are still artists in the Werkbund and “For the first time, after a long trial design. With its [the Werkbund’s] sized the importance of developing a so long as they exercise some infl u- period of imitation of histor- establishment, the role of the indus- form of creative expression that would ence on its destiny, they will protest ical styles, attempts were… trial designer was officially recog- not imitate styles of the past. He felt against every suggestion for the made to develop an all- nized by German industry.” that German industrial artists must establishment of a canon and for embracing style of the time, (Ferebee 65) produce works that were “the vehi- standardization.” He did not want to the so-called ‘modern style.’ In cles of convincing stylistic expres- see artists restricted to a standard- many countries, there were Two opposing factions emerged from sion” and that could be widely ized form before having explored the painters and architects espe- the Werkbund: One, headed by exported to other countries to pro- potential of the emerging style. He felt cially…who, from a sense of Hermann Muthesius, promoted stan- mote German art. The survival of that Muthesius wanted to impose social conscience and cultural dardization as the key to progress in German arts and crafts would, he felt, standardization prematurely, when engagement, tried to liberate design, and the other, headed by depend on the development of “a uni- the physiognomy should evolve natu- art from its isolation, intro- Henry van de Velde, supported the versal high level of taste” and “the rally from the creative work of artists. duce a synthesis of the arts individual expression of the artist existence of efficient large-scale busi- Also in contrast to Muthesius, van de and contrive a new unity of art (Meggs 232–233). ness concerns with reliable good Velde did not want German artists to and life.” (Rotzler 15) taste.” (Conrads 28–29) design for export without first estab- Muthesius (1861–1927) held that lishing their worth at home. Both did “standardization, to be understood as Van de Velde’s (1863–1957) verbosity agree, however, that German artists the result of a beneficial concentra- and impassioned language reveal a must strive for excellence and “show tion, will alone make possible the different outlook from that of Muthe - the world this native quality.” development of a universally valid, sius. He held that “so long as there (Conrads 29–31)

3 Pablo Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” 1907, marks the first step in the fl attening of the subject. This work reveals the infl uence of African carvings.

“Thou shalt comprehend the form and construction of all objects George Braque’s only in the sense of their strict - “Pitcher and Violin,” est, elementary logic and justifi- 1909, is a precursor to cation for their existence. Thou Analytical Cubism. The shalt adapt and subordinate painting alternates between a complex these forms and constructions to three-dimensionality and the essential use of the material fl atness. which thou employest. And if thou art animated by the wish to The infl uence of the Arts and Crafts over individual expression, advocated common approach that manifested beautify these forms and con- Movement on Werkbund ideals is by van de Velde. itself differently. structions, give thyself to the evidenced by the group’s mutual longing for refinement to which emphasis on functional design, elimi- During these same years, a number The Cubists responded to Paul thy aesthetic sensibility or taste nation of ornament, and high-quality of artistic movements developed, sev- Cézanne’s challenge to “treat nature for ornament—of whatever kind production. Van de Velde seemed to eral of which infl uenced the Interna - by the cylinder, the sphere, the cone, it is—shall inspire thee, only so have had a greater penchant than tional Typographic Style significantly. everything in proper perspective so far as thou canst respect and Muthesius for handmade objects, as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque that each side of an object or plane is retain the rights and the essen- well as a distrust for technology. pioneered Cubism; Expressionism directed towards a central point” tial appearance of these forms Muthesius and van de Velde never was nearing the end of its dominance; (Chipp 19). In their early works, the and constructions!” (Conrads 18) resolved their differences, and, at its was born; and Construc - Cubists depicted objects as a sum of annual meeting in 1914, the Werk - tivism and Suprematism were planes. By 1911, they had reduced —Henry van de Velde, “Credo” bund opted for standardization as emerging. These styles shared a the subject to a fl at plane with light from On the New Style, 1907 proposed by Muthesius and Behrens, and dark reading as objects rather

4 Through the use of brilliant colors and “Our epoch is a time of tragic formal abstraction, Expressionism (c. 1905– collision between matter and c. 1930) emphasized the emotional over the spirit and of the downfall of physical, as in “Picture with White Border,” the purely material worldview; 1913, by (1866–1944). Kandinsky “interpreted his age as one for many, many people, it is a dominated by a struggle between the time of terrible, inescapable forces of good, the spiritual, and the forces vacuum, a time of enormous of evil, materialism....Because he felt that questions; but for a few abstraction had the least connection with people it is a time of presenti- the materialism of the world, he believed that abstract painting might help awaken ment or of precognition of the the individual to the spiritual values neces- path to Truth.” (Long 202) sary to bring about a utopian epoch.” (Long 202) —Wassily Kandinsky

than descriptive elements. Analytical world was on the brink of World War I The formal style of the Futurists “We will glorify war—the only Cubist works refl ect tension between and with years of political strife to evolved over the course of several true hygiene of the world—mil- depth and fl atness; the viewer sees come. The Cubists’ pioneering of ab - years. The group published technical itarism, patriotism, the alternately a field of fl at objects and straction gave the art world a potent manifestoes on Futurist painting in destructive gesture of anar- an image of great depth. The Cubists means of expression. 1910, music and sculpture in 1912, chist, the beautiful Ideas then introduced trompe-l’oeils into and in 1914. Futurist art which kill, and the scorn of their work as they explored the object On February 20, 1909, the Italian poet is characterized by the depiction of woman. We will destroy as an expression of its own planarity Filippo Tom maso Marinetti (1876– the subject in motion, giving a sense museums, libraries, and fight and volume: A piece of caning or a 1944) founded the Futurist movement of speed and energy. The typography against moralism, feminism, newspaper clipping would arrest the with a bold proclamation that was is emotionally charged, with lettering and all utilitarian cowardice.” eye at and draw attention to the pic- printed on the front page of the Paris sprawled “onomatopoetically” across (Chipp 286) ture plane. daily newspaper Le Figaro. With a the page to give a sense of the con- passion for violence, war, speed, and tent. In many works, the subject is —F.T. Marinetti, from “The By breaking apart the physical trap- technology, as well as a call to reject depicted in several positions at once, Foundation and Manifesto of pings of the subject, Cubists could the past, the Futurist movement creating a blur of motion. Later artists, Futurism,” 1909 explore the emotions or psyche of the rejected Cubist ideology. They did, such as designer Anton Stankowski, subject—and the artist—more fully. however, borrow from the palette of used the same means of depicting The Cubist years ended when the Cubist formal techniques. motion to create vibrant, abstract

5 This poem by F.T. Gino Severini, “Suburban Train,” undated. Formal Marinetti from Les elements of Futurism are reminiscent of Cubism, yet mots en liberté the Futurists distinguished themselves from Cubists, (The words to as well as most other movements and styles; an Freedom), 1919, excerpt on the subject from the catalogue for a 1912 exemplifies the Futurist exhibition reads, “We declare ourselves to noise, commotion, be absolutely opposed to their art” (Chipp 294). and feel for tech- nology achieved in In “From Cézanne to Us, the Futurists,” 1913, Carlo Futurist typography. Carrà rejected Cézanne as “the last exponent of the old epoch.…The things Cézanne chooses to repre- sent are locked in an old type of design, even though he tries to render nature in terms of cones, spheres, and cylinders.” (Chipp 304)

illustrations of scientific and technical the reference to objects “which do not exposing the insanity of the world and concepts. correspond to any reality” suggests destroying the current world order. de Stijl and Constructivist ideology. An excerpt from the 1910 Futurist Francis Picabia (1879–1953) denied “Who can still believe in the manifesto on painting reads, “One Several key figures in the Futurist that life has any meaning and opacity of bodies, since our may remark…in our pictures spots, movement were killed during World rejected art as an affirmation of life. sharpened and multiplied lines, zones of color which do not cor- War I, and, after the war, Marinetti He felt that wherever in life the life- sensitiveness has already respond to any reality, but which, in formed a new, ideologically different impulse might break through, as it penetrated the obscure mani- accordance with a law of our interior Futurist group that became a mouth- does in art, it must be torn apart, dis- festations of the medium? mathematics, musically prepare and piece for Mussolini and the Fascists. ordered, and disowned (Richter 72). Why should we forget in our enhance the emotion of the spectator. He wanted to destroy academic art creations the doubled power We thus create a sort of emotive Following on the heels of the first because he felt that it allowed people of our sight capable of giving ambience, seeking by intuition the Futurist movement, the Dadas were not to contemplate their world, their results analogous to those of sympathies and the links which exist drawn together by their common position in it, and the possibility and the X-rays?” (Chipp 290) between the exterior (concrete) scene sense of urgency. The movement, means of instituting change. (Dyer 5) and the interior (abstract) emotion.” which lasted from 1915– c. 1922, — F.T. Marinetti, “Futurist (Chipp 297) The use of abstract ele- united artists from diverse back- By incorporating pre-existing mate- Painting: Technical ments for emotional effect is reminis- grounds toward a common cause— rials, Dada artwork—such as collages Manifesto,” 1910 cent of Expressionism and Dada, and and Marcel Duchamp’s (1887–1968)

6 Raoul Hausmann, “Optophonetic Poem,” Marcel Duchamp’s early paintings refl ect a 1918. Dada typography shows the infl uence strong Futurist infl uence. His “Nude of early Futurism. Type races across the Descending a Staircase,” 1912, with its page and is placed at any angle that suits subject repeated in a time-lapse effect also the artists. The “words” are nonsense cre- suggests the infl uence of Cubist treatment. ations used for aural effect.

“Dada was the artistic, or anti-artistic, response to the ready-mades—brings into question depicts themselves works of art? Ultimately, the Dadas lived up to their apparent madness and dis- the nature of art and the role of the Where is the boundary between art anarchic word. The group could not order of the world. The ideal artist and confrontationally suggests and reality? maintain equilibrium and disbanded medium of Dadaist expres- destruction of the world and its arti- after several years of furious activity. sion—juxtaposing the incon- facts. The Dadaists also raise an Although it was short-lived, Dadaism gruous or unrelated— collage issue that the Cubists addressed in infl uenced many movements and creates in the face of destruc- their collage: If the artist represents became a counterpoint to others, tion, by means of destruction, the world as it appears to the eye, such as , that were and from the remains of why aren’t those objects that the artist based on a strong principle of order. destruction.” (Dyer 4)

7 Cubism and Futurism greatly infl u- enced the artistic activity of the en - suing decades and exchanged ideas with other contemporary movements. Although some of these movements shared a similar formal language, the philosophies on which they were based differed markedly. Yet all con- tributed to the International Style. The Cubists looked to the past for inspira- tion. They were concerned with cre- ating a new way of depicting the nat- ural world, whereas Constructivist, de Stijl, and Bauhaus artists created a world of abstract objects that was divorced from the natural world.

Many Constructivist techniques were later incorporated into the Interna - tional Style: the red, black, and white Lucian Bernhard (1883–1972) initiated color palette; dynamic angles; a Pictorial Modernism—characterized by simplicity, functionality, and integration of mathematical grid format; sans serif word and image—with his design for the type; and vertical and horizontal Priester matches poster, c. 1905. He re - Other Pictorial Modernists lent their own interpretation to the style, rules. The Constructivists also cre- duced the subject to a minimal number showing such infl uences as Cubism, Art Deco, and Classicism. ated photomontages and manipu- of shapes, defined by areas of fl at, bright They continued to use striking images with simple but compelling lated photography, both techniques color. Bern hard unified copy and image by lettering. Often the viewer was expected to complete a message or bringing them close together and using respond to an emotion suggested by the poster, as in A.M. that would reappear in International similar rough-edged treatment on both. Cassandre’s (1901–1968) railway poster, 1927. Style design. A cerebral art form,

8 Kasimir Malevich (1878–1935) introduced An important example of Con - Suprematism with “Black Square,” c. 1913. struc tivist design is ’s Divorced from the natural world, his work (1890–1941) “Beat the Whites was intended to have a purely emotional with the Red Wedge,” 1919. The impact and express “the supremacy of pure angle of division creates tension feeling in creative art” (Chipp 341, Meggs between the two halves that is 270). The use of “pure” abstract forms was offset by the balance between important to the International Style, but the circle and triangle. The color Swiss designers dispensed with the emo- scheme and the sharp angles tional content. suggest formal elements of the Interna tional Style, but the lettering has not been placed within a grid; Lissitzky has labeled each element as in a political cartoon.

Construc tivism invited much discus- Malevich, felt that art must remain an Lissitzky’s spread from The Isms sion and, in the tradition of the emotional, spiritual process and not of Art, 1924, is based on a grid. Futurists, inspired many manifestoes be subjected to the whims of society Vertical and horizontal rules direct the eye to follow one about its ideology. or industry; Alexander Rodchenko column on each page, rather (1891–1956) and Vladimir Tatlin than to read the entire page, and The Constructivists developed a form (1885–1953), on the other hand, felt help the reader find the appro- of abstraction unrelated to the natural that art must serve the needs of priate column on each page. world, rather than “breaking down the society and that art and work were to Horizontal bars at the beginning of the section call out an intro- forms of natural objects into abstract be one. This latter conception gained ductory quotation. (Meggs 275) or semi-abstract shapes, and then support from the Bolsheviks during reconstituting them into a dynamic the Russian Revolution and, for a arrangement which…still had ties to time, from the Russian government the original objects. This new painting after the revolution. referred to universals rather than to specifics.” (Chipp 309). The Constructivists wished to develop an “illustration technique appropriate The confl ict over the role of art that to the 20th century” (Meggs 277). had divided the Werkbund also con- They looked to modern technology in fronted the Constructivists. One search of a universal form of expres- group, including Kandinsky and sion for the modern age. Although

9 This page by Théo van Doesburg’s cover for Grund - Lissitzky from a begriffe der Neuen Gestaltenden Kunst, 1922 issue of de 1925, has a broader color palette than is Stijl uses the sans used in Swiss design, along with a visible serif typography grid. The vertical and horizontal type is and type set on an another element that would appear in angle that became International Style design. The play of prevalent in Swiss colors gives the impression of depth and design. The balances the asymmetrical layout. This arrangement and design closely resembles contemporary the many sizes of work by Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), type are disruptive, another important member of de Stijl. however.

“Some of the partisans of these they used the Cubist concept of out Europe, and many of the artists left Because, like Constructivism, de Stijl principles believed that in the abstraction as a point of departure, Russia to pursue their work elsewhere. was a theoretical, abstract art form, rarified realm of the univer- the Constructivists were pursuing a the group generated extensive sals, laws existed for art as new form of expression that would be The Dutch group de Stijl was founded writing. The de Stijl artists held as well as for geometry, that independent from the past. by Théo van Doesburg (1883–1931) their ideals functionality, universality, supreme example of perfect in 1917. Established within a few purity, clarity, and logic, and they relationships, and that there- Lissitzky was responsible for much years after Russian Constructivism, sought “a universal harmony of which fore it might even be possible cross-pollenation among contempo- de Stijl shared many of the Russian man could partake by subordinating to construct works of art by rary artistic movements: his travels to movement’s guiding principles. The himself to it” (Chipp 315). The strict means of the intellect. Art Berlin brought him into contact with approach of de Stijl was more rigid, code defining not only philosophical constructed according to this members of de Stijl, the Bauhaus, and insisting that universality could be ideals but also formal style became a ideal, having avoided all taint Dada, as well as other Construc tivists achieved only by eliminating indi- central element of Swiss design. of the material world, and be- (Meggs 272). This exchange of ideas vidual expression. Literally “the style,” ing free of any personal became particularly important when de Stijl embraced a code for design, In 1930, van Doesburg published the infl uence of the individual the Russian government turned unlike Constructivism, which denied manifesto of , setting artist, would be completely against the Constructivists. Their being a style (but nevertheless had a forth his belief that abstraction is the autonomous and obedient only ideas had already taken root through - distinctive “look”). purest form of expression. He felt that to universal laws.” (Chipp 309)

10 The first de Stijl manifesto, 1918, refl ects a profound awareness of the connection between world events and artistic expres- 1. There is an old and a new consciousness of the age. sion. The authors expressed their desire to The old one is directed towards the individual. The new reunite a world that was being torn apart by one is directed towards the universal. The struggle of the political strife. individual against the universal may be seen both in the world war and in modern art. 2. The war is destroying the old world with its content: individual predominance in every field. 3. The new art has brought to light that which is con- tained in the new consciousness of the age: a relation- ship of equality between the universal and the individual. art should be created from geomet- used either a simple grid for a make- 4. The new consciousness of the age is prepared to rical forms according to a mathemat- up sheet or no apparent formal orga- realize itself in everything, including external life. ical construction and that art should nizational scheme. Le Corbusier’s 5. Tradition, dogmas, and the predominance of the indi- be entirely self-referential, thus Modulor provided the order that had vidual stand in the way of this realization. making no reference to the natural been lacking in earlier design. 6. Therefore, the founders of the new culture call upon all world. Although by its who believe in reform of art and culture to destroy these nature cannot be totally independent The Modulor is Le Corbusier’s “redefi- obstacles to development, just as in the plastic arts—by of the world, the formal elements and nition” of the Golden Section—which doing away with natural form—they have eliminated that mathematically derived structure that had originally been discovered by the which stood in the way of pure artistic expression, the van Doesburg prescribed would Ancient Greeks—according to the logical conclusion of every artistic concept. become important to the International proportions of the human figure. He 7. The artists of today, all over the world, impelled by one Style. (Meggs 333) felt that an environment that refl ects and the same consciousness, have taken part on the spir- the same proportionality as its human itual plane in the world war against the domination of in - Swiss architect Le Corbusier (1887– inhabitants would be more appealing, dividualism, of arbitrariness. They, therefore, sympathize 1965) designed a grid system, the functional, and harmonious. Through - with all who are fighting spiritually or materially for the Modulor, which he had intended to be out the ages, it has been widely formation of an international unity in life, art, and culture. applied to architecture and city plan- accept ed that the Golden Rectangle, 8. The organ de Stijl, founded for this purpose, seeks to ning. The grid did not take hold in whose sides are in the proportion of contribute towards setting the new conception of life in a architecture but did form the founda- the Golden Section, is inherently har- clear light. tion of the International Typographic monious and pleasing to the eye. The Style. Other styles did not use a rig- Golden Rectangle, and the Fibonacci orous mathematical grid to organize series obtained by arranging Golden their graphic designs; instead, they Rectangles in a group, became the

11 Johannes Itten (1888–1967) combines a The Golden Section is obtained by dividing Each number in a Fibonacci series is the series of rectangles with two inscribed a line into two portions, such that the ratio of sum of the two preceding numbers. When nautilus-shell curves in a study for “The the longer portion to the whole equals the combined to create a sequence of ratios, the Meeting,” 1915–1916. The theme stems ratio of the shorter portion to the longer one. numbers express certain natural pro cesses, from a tradition of inscribing a curve in a The value of this ratio is an irrational num - such as the spiral growth pattern of the series of Golden Rectangles. ber, approximately .618. leaves on some trees. Le Corbusier’s nau- tilus-shell curve refl ects this organic pattern.

A B C 1 2 3 5 8 13 AB = BC AC = AB 2 3 5 8 13 21 basis of the square and diamond- recommendation, Walter Gropius was shaped grid systems of International named director of the schools. He Style typography. combined them, along with a new department of architecture, under the Although Le Corbusier’s primary name Das Staatliches Bauhaus and contribution to the International Style shortly afterwards issued the school’s was the Modulor, he made significant first manifesto. innovations in architecture—including the fl at roof, white unornamented This first Bauhaus manifesto echoes surfaces, and horizontal bands of the words of Peter Behrens (with windows—that suggest International whom Gropius had apprenticed), Style typography (Ferebee 82). In Henry van de Velde, and the Werk - addition, his ideals of pristine sur- bund. Gropius believed that the faces; functional, well-ordered space; applied and fine arts must be united and a modular system of ready-made toward the common goal of architec- units are reminiscent of elements of ture. A true artist, in his opinion, International Style ideology. understood the material and spiritual qualities of all elements of a building From 1908–1914, Henry van de Velde and was able to perform every stage directed the Grand-Ducal Saxon of construction, from the building to Academy of Art and the Grand-Ducal its furnishings. Saxon School of Arts in Weimar, Germany. In 1919, at van de Velde’s

12 Lyonel Feininger’s woodcut “Cathedral,” 1919, and the early (1919) and later Bau - haus seals (Oskar Schlemmer, 1922) reveal the change in focus of the Bauhaus between 1919 and 1922. Both the cathedral, which shows the infl uence of Cubism and Con- structivism, and the early seal express in their form and the quality of reproduction the organic material from which they are made and the fact that they were hand- made. The new Bauhaus logo looks machine-produced in its mechanical preci- sion and fine lines, as well as its greater abstraction and linearity. Both images, how- ever, remained representational in an age of increasing abstraction and detachment from natural subjects.

“The ultimate aim of all visual arts is the complete building!” Gropius used the metaphor of a question the extreme crafts orienta- workshop—based on the Medieval tion of the curriculum. They pressured “Together let us desire, con- system of apprenticeship—for stu- Gropius into changing the focus of ceive, and create the new dents, or “apprentices,” to learn a the Bauhaus to the union of art and structure of the future, which craft or trade from their teachers, The infl uence of Théo van Doesburg technology toward an aesthetic ideal. will embrace architecture and called “masters.” To this end, stu- and de Stijl brought dissent and Gropius tried to maintain a crafts sculpture and painting in one dents worked with masters of both the unrest to the Bauhaus. Gropius dis- emphasis in the curriculum but even- unity and which will one day applied and the fine arts, including agreed with the principles of de Stijl tually yielded and changed the cur- rise toward heaven from the , , Johannes and would not invite van Doesburg to riculum to emphasize typography, hands of a million workers Itten, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, teach at the Bauhaus. Van Doesburg photography, and graphic design. like the crystal symbol of a El Lissitzky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and proceeded to exert a strong infl uence Van Does burg began visiting the new faith.” (Conrads 49) Henry van de Velde. Students by hosting his own informal discus- Bauhaus in 1922 and taught there became apprentices in workshops sions for members of the Bauhaus. occasionally until 1924. —Walter Gropius, from the both within the Bauhaus and in the The infl uence of de Stijl led the Programme of the Staat - surrounding community. Bauhaus faculty and students to liches Bauhaus in Weimar

13 ’s typographic treatment for the cover of “elementare typographie,” 1925, demonstrates the principles that Tschichold explains in the booklet. The foundations of Swiss typography, as well as the infl uence of de Stijl and Constructivism, can be seen in his use of asymmetry, dynamic white space, horizontal and ver- tical rules, a limited palette, sans serif type, and a hierarchy of elements established by the weight, size, and placement of type.

“Typography is the efficient means to an essentially utili- tarian and only accidentally architecture to painting, from crafts to Tschichold’s philosophy reveals the aesthetic end, for enjoyment graphic design. infl uence of the Bauhaus and Con - of patterns is rarely the structivists: For him, the primary reader’s chief aim. Therefore, Jan Tschichold’s (1903–1972) sem- concern of modern typography was any disposition of printing inal work Die neue Typographie (The functionality, rather than beauty or material which, whatever the New Typography), 1928, had a major artistry. He did not believe in strict intention, has the effect of impact on typography when it was utilitarianism, however. He felt that coming between author and The Bauhaus became a fl ourishing published; it became a model for good modern design conveyed a reader is wrong.” (Ashwin 250) center for the exchange and develop- Swiss design. (Unfortunately, this sense of dynamism and movement ment of Constructivist, Suprematist, work is not widely available, particu- and be came aesthetically pleasing “Nature and technology both de Stijl, and Futurist ideals toward larly in English.) Tschichold recog- through harmony of the design with teach us that ‘form’ is not practical, and practicable, ends. nized that the typographic form of the materials used, as well by something independent but Confl ict with the Nazis forced the publications must respond to the expressing content and functionality grows out of function (the Bauhaus to move to Dessau in 1924 reader’s needs. He reasoned that the in its form. (Meggs 298) purpose, specification), the and ultimately to close in 1933. The modern reader, who constantly is nature of materials used Bauhaus philosophy spread through - constantly exposed to vast amounts Tshichold set his magazine insert (organic or technological out the world when the school was of printed material, does not have the “elementare typographie” (1925) in a materials), and the organic, forced to close and many of the time to fathom that material and will serif typeface. Only the cover was set that is to say, technical, artists fl ed to other parts of Europe ignore unclear typography. As a in Akzidenz Grotesque. By the time construction.” (Ashwin 253) and the United States. Although it result, he held, a modern aesthetic for he published The New Typography, operated for only 14 years, the typography must be established to many more sans serif typefaces had —Stanley Morison, from First Bauhaus became extremely infl uential accommodate the modern reader. been designed, offering typographers Principles of Typography in all areas of modern art, from (Ashwin 252–253) a broader selection of display and

14 The pioneering work of Swiss designer and photographer Herbert Matter (1907–1984) was important to the International Style. Matter’s Pontresina tourist poster, 1935, incorporates extreme contrasts of scale, impersonal photography used as a sym- bolic element, and bold sans serif type.

text typefaces. Herbert Bayer created Typographic Style. A teacher at the “Printing does not want pri- the highly infl uential universal alpha - Zurich School of Applied Art, Keller marily to be art but the most bet (1925) during his tenure at the “established a standard of excellence responsible part of our social, Bauhaus; Paul Renner and Rudolf over the course of four decades” that economic, and intellectual Koch designed the geometric Futura was based on his belief that, in structure.” (Ruder 12) (1927) and Kabel (c. 1928), respec- design, form must emerge from func- tively; and Eric Gill produced Gill tion (Meggs 332). Keller’s legacy to —Stanley Morison Sans c. 1928–1930. All of these type- the International Style was an empha - faces are still widely used today. The sis on precision, order, clarity, and much earlier Johnston’s Railway functionality. Type, 1916, designed by Edward Johnston for the London Swiss designers Théo Ballmer (1902– negative space within letterforms and Underground also infl uenced later 1965) and Max Bill (b. 1908), both of white space on the page. designs and is still in use today. whom had studied at the Bauhaus, established the use of grids in their In 1950, Bill founded the Institute for When the Nazis forced him to leave designs. In 1931, Bill began to incor- Design at Ulm, which was guided by his native Leipzig in 1933, Tschichold porate the formal language of principles similar to those of the settled in Switzerland, where his Concrete Art—abstract geometrical Bauhaus. In time, the school became ideas about typography took root in forms—into his work. Whereas Bill’s a proponent of mathematically and the emerging design style. grids were frequently tilted and asym- scientifically based design solutions. metrical, Ballmer’s were vertical and (Meggs 334) The work of Ernst Keller (1891–1968) symmetrical. Ballmer achieved ten- marks the advent of the International sion in his work by manipulating the

15 Bill achieves a sense of “ordered random- ness” in this poster for an exhibition of United States architecture, 1945. The pre- cisely positioned elements are unified, while also seeming to be scattered about the page. The limited color palette, objective photography, sans serif typography, and dynamic white space are all elements of classic Swiss design.

Max Huber, Monza automobile race poster, 1948. An infl uential designer who occasion- ally collaborated with Max Bill, Huber (b. 1919) took a different approach from both Bill and Ballmer. His designs feature bright colors, curved lines, and complex photomontage and type treatment without their becoming decorative elements or losing a sense of balance.

German designer Anton Stankowski Stankowski was also a talented subject thoroughly before attempting (b. 1906) had an uncanny ability to photographer and incorporated intri- to depict it graphically. “Many pieces of printing are depict complex scientific processes cate photomontages into his work. attractive for the simple and concepts through abstract After World War II, he came to focus Emil Ruder (1914–1970) was trained reason that the typographer designs. He studied at the Folkwang - on that area of design for which he is at the Zurich School of Arts and put aside artistic ambitions schulen in Essen, where he learned best known (Meggs 336). His formal Crafts. He taught at the Basel School and tried to make the print do Constructivist principles. He worked techniques, such as the use of repeat - of Design for 40 years and has had a its job well” (Ruder 8 and 14). as a graphic designer in Zurich from ed radiating lines to depict motion, lasting infl uence on the teaching and 1929 until 1937 (Rotzler 167–168, have been imitated by many design - practice of design. He showed a pro- —Emil Ruder, Typography: Meggs 336). Among his many infl u- ers. The most important operative in found understanding of letterforms A Manual of Design ences numbered Futurism, Con - Stankowski’s work was the principle and their communicative ability, as structivism, and other Swiss design - that design must emanate from func- well as their importance as the basic ers like Bill. (He likewise infl uenced tion. Stan kowski would research his unit of graphic design. Beginning with their work.) the letter and progressing through the

16 “Inventing…that’s what I like doing best. Representing con- temporary processes for the first time, that’s my favorite job!” (Rotzler 168)

—Anton Stankowski

Stankowski “is not concerned with private matters but with objective conditions and their clarifying representation; and he tries to bring this purpose into harmony with order and beauty” (Rotzler 170).

In his logo for Standard Elektrik Lorenz AG, 1953, Anton Stankowski makes the com pany’s product, electromagnetic waves, tangible and vibrant. The lines press against the edges of an implied square.

From the earlier sans serif typefaces, such alphabet, of course!). Univers, designed by as Universal, Futura, and Akzidenz Adrian Frutiger in 1954, consists of 21 coor- Grotesque, evolved those used predomi- dinated styles ranging in weight and width. nantly in the International Style: Univers and Because the typefaces were designed Helvetica. Swiss designers sought a type- simultaneously, they exhibit a degree of face that was fl exible enough to be used in unity that was lacking in early designs of any setting, from display to small text sizes, Helvetica (c. 1955), which were created by and that would have an even color when set various designers. (Meggs 336) in any language (that used the Roman

17 Armin Hofmann (b. 1920) began teaching at A classic example of Swiss design, Josef the Basel School of Design in the same year Müller-Brockmann’s Of the Film exhibition as Ruder, 1947. Hofmann exhibits a simi- poster, 1960, found a harmonious design larly profound understanding of letterforms solution in overlapping type and a layout and exploited the nature of each character that is asymmetrical both vertically and hori- to establish visual unity among letterforms, zontally. This piece illustrates the power of a as well as with images. Hofmann’s poster small area of white versus a large area of for the Basel theatre production Giselle, black. Müller-Brockmann grounds the 1959, suggests movement with its blurred phrase “der Film” with the small type below photograph, but the word “Giselle” con- it. The two lines of type at the top of the trasts with the dancer’s figure to make the poster exert enough of a vertical pull, in image simultaneously static. The dot on the alignment with the type at the bottom and “i” draws attention to the detached, abstract the central letters of the title, to balance the parts of the photograph and makes them piece vertically. All elements are arranged seem to fl oat on the surface of the image. according to a 3x5 grid that approximates These small areas of white punctuate the the Golden Section. field of black.

“Typography has one plain duty word, the paragraph, and the page, lished in 1959, brought international ical grid; an asymmetrical layout; before it, and that is to he guided students to pay attention to attention to the Swiss design style. sans serif type set fl ush left, ragged convey information in writing. every element of their designs. He right; a clear hierarchy of elements No argument or consideration also advocated the use of a grid to The articles discussed the new indicated by the size, boldness, and can absolve typography from organize type. (Meggs 339, Ruder) design and its proponents, and the placement of type; and plenty of this duty. A printed work magazine itself exemplified in its white space to activate the printed which cannot be read At the same time, Zurich designers design the tenets and formal ele- areas of the page. becomes a product without Carlo L. Vivarelli (b. 1919), Richard P. ments of the International Typo - purpose.” (Ruder 6) Lohse (b. 1902), Hans Neuberg (b. graphic Style: a universal, scientific As a result of the work of the Zurich 1904), and Josef Müller-Brockmann approach without personal expres- artists, the International Typographic —Emil Ruder, Typography: (b. 1914) were also establishing the sion; the functionality of all design Style gained international acclaim A Manual of Design International Style. Their journal, New elements; the importance of the and, in the 1970s, became the domi- Graphic Design, which was first pub- designer as communicator; clarity nant graphic design style in the world. and order; an underlying mathemat- Although designers soon began to

18 modify Swiss design to refl ect their Cézanne. Some movements, such as personal style and lessen its rigidity, Futurism, rejected these very ele- the International Typographic Style ments that would later become cen- continues to be highly infl uential in tral to the International Style, but design and is the foundation of many developed other ideas that appealed design programs. to the Swiss designers. As abstrac- tion became an intellectual and spiri- After nearly a century in the making, tual pursuit, the philosophies moti- the International Typographic Style vating artists’ work took on greater came to fruition. Following the pre- importance. The peak of the Inter - cept of pure functionality, the Swiss national Style represents the culmina- corporate clients because of the Carlo L. Vivarelli, designers incorporated into their phi- tion of years of testing, rejecting, style’s clean, elegant appearance, cover for New Graphic Design, losophy and work those elements of accepting, and condensing diverse simplicity, and sense of order. Clients 1959. many earlier art and design move- artistic ideals. also be came aware of the power of a ments that would best represent and strong graphic identity and typo- serve the modern age. The emphasis Although the formal style of Swiss graphic communication. Swiss design on functionality of design began with design no longer dominates graphic was responsible for distinguishing William Morris, whose focus on the design, its precepts concerning the applied design from fine art, as well past was rejected by later artists in role of the designer have changed as gaining recognition for designers favor of an entirely modern style. The the way designers are viewed in as skilled, objective communicators concept of abstraction began with the society. Swiss design became the who perform a useful and Cubists’ response to a statement by preferred form of expression for many important function.

19 Bibliography Dyer, Jennifer M. “Mind Meets Matter, Richter, Hans. Dada: Art and Anti-Art. Round 1: Collage.” Visual and New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966. Carter, Rob; Day, Ben; and Meggs, Environmental Studies 104r, Harvard Philip. Typographic Design: Form and University, 1987. Rotzler, Willy. Art and Graphics. Communication. New York: Van Zurich: ABC Verlag, 1983. Nostrand Reinhold, 1985. Ferebee, Ann. A History of Design from the Victorian Era to the Present. Ruder, Emil. Typography: A Manual of Chipp, Herschel B. Theories of New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, Design. New York: Hastings House, Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists 1970. 1981. and Critics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. Long, Rose-Carol Washton. Smith, Bert. History of Graphic “Expressionism, Abstraction, and the Design, Publications Design 712, Conrads, Ulrich, ed. Programs and Search for Utopia in Germany.” The University of Baltimore, 1995. Manifestoes on 20th-Century Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting Architecture. Cambridge: The MIT 1890–1985. Ed. Edward Weisberger. Press, 1964. New York: Abbeville Press, 1986. pp. 200–217. Craig, James. Thirty Centuries of Graphic Design: An Illustrated Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Survey. New York: Watson-Guptill Design. New York: Van Nostrand Publications, 1987. Reinhold, 1992.

20 Timeline Timeline Timeline Timeline Art Events 1906 Behrens, Anchor 1909 Behrens and 1913 Malevich, first 1916 van der Leck, 1919 Gropius, founds 1922 Kandinsky joins 1924 Lissitzky, The Isms Linoleum pavilion and Bernhard, AEG Turbine Suprematist paintings; Batavier Line poster; Bauhaus; Feininger Bauhaus; Dada loses of Art; Rodchenko, serial 1900 Behrens, sans graphics Hall; Marinetti, Futurist Synthetic Cubism Dada founded; Johnston, informs Bauhaus of de cohesiveness covers, Mess Mend serif running text; manifesto; Braque, Johns ton’s Railway Type Stijl; Lissitzky, PROUN books; Breton, Surrealist 1907 Deutscher Werk - 1914 Werkbund 1923 Moholy-Nagy Klingspor, Eckmanschrift “Pitcher and Violin” paintings, “Beat the manifesto; Man Ray, “Gun bund formed; Behrens embraces Muthesius’s 1917 De Stijl movement replaces Itten at Whites…” poster; with Alphabet Squares” 1901 Klingspor, joins AEG, designs trade- 1910 Behrens, AEG rationalism; de Chirico, and journal begin; Ball, Bauhaus; Bauhaus exhi- Schwitters, Merz exhibi- Behrens schrift mark; Picasso, “Les lamp poster; Mondrian “Departure of the Poet” Dada sound poems bition, Tschi chold 1925 Bayer, universal Demoiselles d’Avignon” learns of Cubism; tion; Berlin Dada; Leger, attends; Werkman, first alphabet; Tschichold, 1904 Laweriks teaches 1915 Marinetti, 1918 van Doesburg, “La Fin du Monde…” geometric grid composi- Analytical Cubism “Mountains + Valleys + “Composition XI”; Next Call; Maya kovsky “elementare typographie” 1920 Klee joins Bauhaus and Lissitzky, For the tion in Germany 1912 Gris, “Portrait of Streets x Joffre” Apollinaire, Calligrammes; 1926 Gropius, Bauhaus Voice; Schwitters, Merz Picasso” Hausmann & Höch, 1921 Feininger, building at Dessau; photo montages Europaische Graphik magazine Bayer, Kandinsky poster woodcuts

World Events 1905 Einstein, Theories 1909 NAACP formed 1913 New York Armory 1916 Battle of Verdun 1919 US Prohibition 1922 Soviet Union 1924 Mussolini and of Relativity Show begins formed Fascists consolidate 1910 Stravinsky, The 1917 Russian Revolution 1897 Thompson discov- 1907 Lumiere Brothers, Firebird 1914 World War I begins begins 1920 Russian Revolution 1923 Hitler, Mein Kampf 1925 Fitzgerald, The ers the electron color photographic ends; US women gain Great Gatsby 1911 Carrier invents the 1915 Griffith, The Birth of 1918 World War I ends; 1898 Curie discovers process vote air conditioner a Nation Czar Nicholas II executed 1926 NBC, first national radium 1908 Model T Ford 1921 Sacco and radio network 1912 Wilson, US 1899 Freud, The introduced president Vanzetti convicted Interpretation of Dreams 1900 Boxer rebellion 1901 Queen Victoria dies 1902 Frank Lloyd Wright, “prairie style” house 1903 Wright Brothers, first airplane fl ight 1904 Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard 1927 Renner, Futura; 1930 Mies van der Rohe 1933 Nazis close Bau - 1941 Lissitzky dies 1948 Huber, Gran 1953 Stankowski, 1959 Neue Grafik (The 1967 Ruder, Lehning, i10; Depero, moves Bauhaus to Berlin; haus, arrest Tschi chold; premio dell’Autodrome Standard Elektrik Lorenz New Graphic Design), Typography: A Manual of 1942 Bill, Moderne

“Dinamo Arari” van Doesburg, Concrete Beck, London Under - Schweizer Architektur poster AG logo first issue; Hofmann, Design Art manifesto; Construc - ground map; Nazis raid Giselle poster 1928 Gropius, Moholy- 1949 Vivarelli, For the 1954 Frutiger, Univers 1968 Ulm School of tivist graphic design Heartfield’s apartment 1944 Herdeg, Graphis Nagy, Bayer leave Elderly poster 1960 Müller-Brockmann, Design closes; Stan - (1930s) first issue; Mondrian dies 1957 Miedinger, Haas Bauhaus; Tschichold, 1934 Matter, Swiss der Film poster kowski, Berlin design 1950 Odermatt opens Grotesque (later named Die Neue Typographie; 1931 Gill, “Essay on travel posters; Heartfield, 1945 Bill, USA Baut program; Zapf, Manuale studio; Ulm School of Helvetica by Stempel 1960s de Harak, poster Zwart, NKF catalogue; Typographie”; van Yuletide poster Design planned foundry) McGraw-Hill covers Typographicum Koch, Kabel; Gill, Doesburg dies; de Stijl 1935 Matter, Pontresina 1947 Tschichold joins 1970s The International Gill Sans journal ends Penguin books; Ruder 1952 de Harak opens 1958 Froshaug designs 1965 Hofmann, Graphic poster New York studio Ulm journal Design Manual Typographic Style 1929 Lissitzky, 1932 Morison, Times and Hofmann join Basel becomes dominant 1939 Sutnar immigrates School of Design “Russische Ausstellang” New Roman to US throughout the world. poster; Man Ray, “Sleeping Woman” u 1927 Stalin rules 1930 Gandhi, Indian 1933 Hitler, chancellor of 1941 Japan attacks Pearl 1949 Mao Ze-dong’s 1953 Stalin dies, 1959 Castro ousts 1967 Six-Day Arab- Russia; Lindbergh, solo protest against salt tax Germany Harbor Communist forces cap- succeeded by Malenkov; Batista from Cuba Israeli War fl ight across the Atlantic ture China; NATO structure of DNA discov- 1931 Empire State 1934 Mao Ze-dong leads 1942 Bataan “Death 1960 Kennedy, US presi- 1968 Martin Luther King established; Orwell, 1984 ered; Hillary and Norgay 1928 Warner Brothers, Building constructed “Long March” March” dent; Brezhnev, USSR Jr. and Robert F. climb Mt. Everest first sound motion 1950 Korean War begins president Kennedy assassinated; 1932 Low point of 1935 Rural Electrification 1943 Mass production of picture 1954 Senate censures Nixon, US president Depression; Roosevelt, Administration penicillin 1951 UNIVAC I, first 1961 Bay of Pigs fails; McCarthy; Supreme Court 1929 Stock Market US president mass-produced computer Peace Corps established; 1969 US lunar landing 1936 Roosevelt 1944 D-Day crash bans segregation first manned space reelected; Spanish Civil 1952 Eisenhower, US 1970 Massive protest 1945 Roosevelt dies; War begins president; US explodes 1955 Sabin, polio fl ights; Berlin Wall erected against the Vietnam War A-bombs dropped; World vaccine first hydrogen bomb; 1962 Cuban missile crisis 1937 Picasso, War II ends 1972 Watergate break- Korean War ends 1956 Soviets crush “Guernica” 1963 Kennedy assassi- in; Steinem founds Ms. 1946 French war in Hungarian Revolution nated, Johnson becomes 1938 Munich Pact, Vietnam begins; 1973 US Vice President German occupation of Nuremburg war trials; 1957 USSR, first man- president Agnew resigns made satellites Czechoslovakia xerography invented 1964 Tonkin Gulf 1974 Nixon resigns 1958 NASA established; Resolution escalates 1939 Germany invades 1947 Marshall Plan presidency; Ford, US Poland, World War II passed Supreme Court orders Vietnam War president begins; NY World’s Fair school desegregation 1948 Gandhi 1940 Churchill, “blood, assassinated toil, tears, and sweat” speech