Modernism

What is Modernism?

Modernism emerged at the beginning of the 20th century in response to the rapidly industrialising new world. The movement mirrored this desire to innovate and evolve as a society, developing work that is culturally enriching and constantly striving to improve upon previous outcomes. Artists strived to create new imagery and practices which “reflected the realities and hopes of future societies”. Modernist pioneers therefore steered away from the traditionalist, highly decorative aesthetics of the previous century. A much more pragmatic and logical attitude was taken in design. Practitioners applied tools like visual hierarchy and grid structures; colour theory; geometry and simple shape forms; and legible typography to produce artwork valued the theory that form follows function i.e., a design’s visual appearance should be informed by its functionality.

Background: The End of the Bauhaus

During the 1920s, the Bauhaus movement revolutionised the art world; cultivating exciting and daring examples of design which challenged classical teachings and pushed society to evolve with the rapid speed of technology being developed. Its teaching staff included iconic painters like Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky encouraged students to experiment with the abstract and expressive techniques developed by avant-garde movements like cubism, constructivism and surrealism that had spread throughout Europe. The school had flourished in post-World War One Weimar Germany where a large community of creatives had based themselves. However, this world of visual art experimentation was devastatingly eradicated upon the Nazi party’s consolidation of power and establishment of the Third Reich dictatorship in 1933. Hitler rejected modern art as morally corrupt and the product of who they viewed to be enemies of the state, like Jewish and Communist artists. In reality, the Nazi party were afraid of the freedom Modernism provided the public to openly protest and rally others against the genocidal regime. Under the pressure of the country’s new leadership, the Bauhaus was forced to close in 1933. In 1937, the Nazi’s organised the Degenerate Art Exhibition where 650 pieces of art were displayed to the public as “an insult to the German people”, while thousands more were confiscated from museums throughout the country. This included the work of Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Max Beckmann, Jan Tschichold and Paul Renner. The exhibit and the introduction of legislation like the Nuremberg Laws forced many great artists to leave Europe – many Jewish or other ‘enemies of the state’  who were fleeing for their lives. Seeking refuge in other states like America and the U.K. allowed these practitioners to introduce modernist art and design internationally.

Typography 

Jan Tschichold (1903-1972) and Paul Renner (1878-1956) were both typeface designers and colleagues who left Germany after being denounced as  “cultural bolsheviks” by the Nazi party. Both promoted the modernist principles of typography, developing and advocating for clarity of message in design. In 1927, Tschichold joined The Circle of New Advertising Designers and in 1928, published the acclaimed guide entitled: “The New Typography”. In this book, Tschichold outlined the key principles of this group for the future of typography and commercial design: 1) the asymmetric balance of elements, 2) content designed by hierarchy, 3) intentional use of white/negative space and 4) use of sans-serif typography. These principles would have a significant influence on the pioneers of the Swiss Style/International Typographic Style which would emerge nearly thirty years later. During the same year Tschichold was developing The New Typography, Renner had released the sans-serif typeface: Futura. Futura was based on simple geometric shapes (especially the circle) which give it a modern aesthetic that evokes a sense of forwardness and is considered a progressive typeface that represented the European avant-garde. The typeface exemplified the clarity of message Tschichold had wrote about in The New Typography, providing a typeface that was constructed under the premise that it was easy for an audience member to read. Having learnt about the Futura’s background, I decided to use the typeface as the subject of my Typeface Specimen (Project 001). It was interesting, developing a template and design which reflected the modernist era from which it emerged.

Modernism in America and Corporate Design

While Tschichold and Renner remained in Europe, many artists and designers immigrated to the United States following the rise of fascism in the continent during the 1930s. These artists and designers brought with the multi-disciplinary practices and aesthetic philosophies developed by schools like the Bauhaus, leading to a cultural shift in which major American cities like New York became the new hub for design. Among these artists Herbert Bayer, an Austrian artist who had worked in conjunction with the Bauhaus, immigrated to the U.S. after his work was displayed in the Degenerate Exhibit. Bayer and other European designers and artists taught and influenced the work of iconic American designers like Saul Bass and Paul Rand. Both designers are iconic figures in the world of corporate design, having emerged during the “Golden Age of Advertising” of the 1960s.

Saul Bass

Saul Bass was an American (1920-1996) was an American graphic designer who is credited with revolutionising film posters and title sequences as well as producing some of the centuries most iconic corporate branding. Traditional film posters produced during the early 20th century, relied heavily on detailed illustration and photography or stills taken from their motion pictures. Bass’ vibrant and animated style revolutionised this genre of design creating dynamic and exciting sequences that release on minimalist planes of colour and geometric shapes to construct images. This is evident in for example, his design of the “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959) opening title imagery, which utilises a simple collection of shapes arranged playfully to create the impression of a dismembered body that reflects the films plot. I found his use of colour really effective as he utilises black against incredibly vibrant tones which engage the audience in their legibility. Bass was also a successful corporate designer, his bold style carried through in the stylish logo designs for brands like Kleenex, Quaker and Warner Communications where he modernised the companies image. I think his logo design for Warner Communications (1972) is particularly successfully as he constructs a letter w by combining three arcs which run parallel on a diagonal angle to create a sleek finish.

Paul Rand

I haven’t changed my mind about modernism from the first day I ever did it…. It means integrity; it means honesty; it means the absence of sentimentality and the absence of nostalgia; it means simplicity; it means clarity. That’s what modernism means to me…”

— Lecture, A Paul Rand Retrospective, Cooper Union, Oct. 3, 1996

Paul Rand (1914-1996) was an American graphic designer and contemporary of Bass. Rand’s work is iconic in logo design with his portfolio including logos produced for ABC, IBM, UPS. His style mirrored the principles of Modernism; utilised bold weight and contrasting colours to create designs that fulfilled their function; communicating a brands message to the audience member in a legible form.

Otl Aicher and the Ulm School Design

Otl Aicher was. German graphic designer and typographer best known for directing the team who designed the 1972 Munich Olympics graphics. His Olympic designs were very versatile as he created systems that could be applied to all templates including match boxes and tickets not just print (pictograms) to advertise the Olympics. His 1972 designs are significant for their use of grids, simple colour palette and geometric shapes arranged on an underlying grid to create a huge series of symbols depicting figures performing each sport competing at the Games in a minimalist style that promoted the universality of the Olympics.