Many groups and people have influenced design in the wonderful world of Advertising, from William Morris and his Arts and Crafts style to Jules Cheret and Skill Nouveau. However, arguably no entity has been as influential to modern design as the collective known as the Bauhaus.
The Bauhaus was shaped in 1919 by German architect Walter Gropius with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier in Weimar, Germany (Barringer, 2009). But the Bauhaus was founded by an architect, it did not actually have structures office during its early years. Instead, Gropius wanted to focus on a report of art that would eventually encompass many different facets of design, tying them along in harmony (DesignHistory. org, 2010). Over the course of its amount of time in Germany, the institution had three phases/locations. That they had a college Weimar, one in Dessau and one in Berlin. The institutions were shut down by Hitler when he arrived to electric power in 1933 (Evans, 2004).
The schools development came during a time of trend in Germany, after the street to redemption of the German Monarchy which followed World Warfare I. Prior to the street to redemption of the monarchy the German people were at the mercy of much stricter censorship guidelines which limited the creative flexibility of German designers such as Walter Gropius (Evans, 2004). Because of this, many designers started out tinkering with what were considered very radical ideas at that time.
One of the major efforts of the Bauhaus was to the modernist movements. They were affected by the modernist activity which was producing in the Western world at the time. The modernism movements started in the later 19th century in america with the aid of architect Frank Lloyd Wright (Gentry, 2010). The Bauhaus would later continue to become the most influential make of the age in modern design.
Modernism moved from the ornate and intricate styles of Victorian art and other styles, to a simpler and cleaner look which is popular in the corporate world today. It rejected conventional ideals of realism that have been dominant before. Creatively, before this time around designers and painters focused on creating images which were accurate and sensible in nature, confined by the perceptions of certainty.
The Bauhaus name is often from the stating "less is more" (Time Publication, 1954), which contrasts heavily with early print advertising style, as early print ads often highlighted little to no white space and with often too much information or imagery. Efficiency is crucial in Bauhaus design, and their school did not believe in including imagery without reason (DesignHistory. org, 2010).
It is known that prior to the advantages of the Bauhaus, there was really no real concept of graphical design, only layout. People did not actually view type as an element of design, and type was often viewed as supplementary to the imagery. That is noticeable in many Victorian style adverts that feature brilliant imagery, but small text message often in scripted or old English fonts. The Bauhaus started to utilize type as an element of design, and not simply an afterthought (DesignHistory. org, 2010).
One of the major inventions the Bauhaus was responsible for was the utilization of sans serif fonts. Before the Bauhaus, san serif fonts were not widely used and type was usually only employed as copy rather than respected as a design element. A typographer who was area of the Bauhaus by the name of Herbert Bayers was one of the most crucial information in the development of the new iconic style. He developed many of the famous san serif typefaces that arrived of the era (DesignHistory. org, 2010). In 1927 he created the famous Common typeface (seen to the right) which combines uppercase and lowercase letters without the utilization of serifs anywhere in the typeface. San serif fonts are often used today in advertising as they are visually captivating.
San serif fonts are also considered better to read by many experts (Gregory, 2009). This is merely one of the enhancements which the Bauhaus helped usher in. San serif fonts are also the standard for web site design for this reason fact. Herbert Bayer assumed that serifs were unneeded and also believed that there was no need for higher and lower circumstance letters (DesignHistory. org, 2010).
Laszlo Moholy Nagy who was simply a Hungarian painter and professor at the Bauhaus beginning in 1923. He mentioned that the goal of type was "clarity of the subject matter in its most emphatic form (DesignHistory. org, 2010)". This bands true in today's advertising as the backup has moved a long way away from the style of the later 1800s and focuses on clarity, readability, and emphasizing the entire subject matter of the ad. Early print advertisements often used hard to learn scripts and didn't pay just as much attention to the keeping type and its own function of design.
The artwork in Bauhaus encouraged Advertising was also much different than that of the Victorian or Arts and Crafts style, as Bauhaus parts often included more modern day and simple skill that used unique angles to make a different style. The artwork was more inspired by modern fine art and expressionism, with less respect for detail and even more emphasis on emotion or message (Snider, 1996). The Bauhaus painters such as Josef Albers and Lyonel Feininger created bits which are believed modern and experimental in mother nature. Their artwork shunned realism in favor of abstract designs and compositions.
The Bauhaus style of design often features strong aesthetic communication which is by using tranquility, color balance, healthy layout, and sharpened geometric lines and patterns. The elements is seen in many portions from the era, as well as in many designs still today. One of these of Bauhaus design being used today are available in Obama's marketing campaign in 2008. He used a Bauhaus motivated design for a poster which publicized that he'd maintain Germany. The poster can be seen to the right. You may notice that it includes all of the elements mentioned above to make a structure which is reminiscent of Bauhaus design.
In my estimation, the aspect of the Bauhaus that separates it from other movements and colleges of thought in design is the endurance of their ideas. The Bauhaus design of design continues to be relevant today, and it also influenced other following moves that dominate the world of advertising today. The Bauhaus was a precursor to the later Swiss varieties of design which also frequently uses san serif fonts, clean and simple designs and white space to make visually appealing compositions. The partnership between the German Bauhaus and the Swiss design movements is well recorded in books and on the internet (Smearedblankink. com, 2010). The sans serif fonts developed by the Bauhaus and specifically Herbert Bayers were part of the enthusiasm and idea for the geometric forms found in later fonts such as Helvetica. These fonts are trusted in today's contemporary society and are commonly found in commercial logos, street indications, buildings plus more (Meggs, 1998). You do not to go any further than the closest city to begin recognizing the Bauhaus's impact on today's contemporary society from structures to artwork. The Bauhaus's method of modern design is also evident in modern advertising, in the style of typography, art way and overall strategy.
Very few design actions have had the lasting impact which the Bauhaus has had. In today's world of advertising, the Bauhaus's focus on duplicate and type and function of the overall design continues to be common. Designers are constantly utilizing type creatively to keep their adverts interesting. In a global where so a lot of things are vying for our attention, creativeness and functionality are fundamental. Advertisers must strive to create press which isn't only interesting but that is also clear and serves a purpose or function. An advertisement can feature expensive artwork, but if it is not offering some key function in the concept that it's trying to provide, maybe it's considered pointless. These ideas were key in the Bauhaus school of thought.
The Bauhaus believed that they could create an almost universal design style that may be appreciated and understood based after its efficiency (Barringer, 2009), and this has been accomplished to some degree. The Bauhaus style is well valued in most elements of the world, looked after greatly influenced the modernism activity which is utilized widely used in the corporate world, for city signs, for logos, and in fine art.
However, not everyone loves the Bauhaus style of design. Many have criticized it to be too impersonal, corporate and business and even lacking a feeling of mankind as seen in the recent advertising from Saab seen to the left. The ad takes a small jab at the Bauhaus by expressing: "A modernist maxim was a house is a machine for living. While reliable, this stringent form-follows-function strategy can lack a amount of humanity. The Saab college of design considers the psychological needs of people as well. " The Bauhaus design of design is very calculated as supposed by its founders, which accounts of the "lack of humanity". The Bauhaus style will not utilize organic varieties and style which many people understand as humanistic elements.
Regardless of these criticisms, the Bauhaus design of type continues to be very prevalent in much of today's advertising, their art work direction might not be as popular today, but the major principles on which the institution was formed remain as important today. Walter Gropius shown on design in 1962 when he stated "Our guiding concept was that design is neither an intellectual nor a materials affair, but merely a fundamental element of the stuff of life, necessary for everyone in a civilized culture. (Barringer, 2009)"
To the right is another example of the Bauhaus design guidelines applied to today's piece done for the new ANDROID OS phone operating system. It further shows that the art design of the Bauhaus continues to be used today. You can view brilliant colors, strong lines, color balance, tranquility and angles which are all quality of the Bauhaus style.
Another example of Bauhaus design principles being applied on today's design is the poster to the right, which is ideal for a modernism show at a museum. The advertisement is from 2009 so it is a fairly recent example these key points being applied. Many ads today use either elements of Bauhaus style or other styles which were in some way inspired by them.
The Bauhaus in addition has had influence outside of printing design as well. In addition they contributed to the field of architecture. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who was simply an architect by trade, designed the campus of the Illinois institute of technology after he and other Bauhaus members experienced immigrated to the United States (Evans, 2004). Many metropolitan buildings seen in cities around THE UNITED STATES have been affected by Bauhaus design.
Also, certain Bauhaus music artists such as Anni and Josef Albers are considered greatly influential to the creative world. Anni Albers has often been considered the most widely known textile musician of the 20th century and her work established fact (Jewish Virtual Collection, 2010). Josef is also considered to be greatly influential to the formation of modern design curriculums (Kelly, 2010). These are just a handful of the highly influential designers and creative thoughts that arrived of the Bauhaus.
In final result, it is apparent that the Bauhaus has generated a huge effect on the world of advertising and design. The brand new use of san serif typefaces, color and strong lines has greatly influenced the modernist movements and the world of modern advertising. It really is almost impossible to encounter a modern print out advertising in a newspaper or newspaper which has not been inspired in some condition or form by the Bauhaus movements. The "less is more" tackle introduced by the Bauhaus continues to be appreciated in today's population which is indicative of its real truth. The Bauhaus was made up of some of the most brilliant design minds of their own time. The long-term legacy of the Bauhaus after ninety years is a testament to how ahead of its time it certainly was.
