This week we looked at modernism and its effect of design and visual communication. We looked a lot at propaganda posters and early info-graphics, mostly detailing what to do in war-related tragedies. In tutorials we analysed some WWI and II propaganda posters, looking at colours, shapes, faces and composition and how they would’ve conveyed a particular message to their audiences.
So, this week in my blog I wanted to look more into the history of The Bauhaus, as its design in type and imagery are really interesting and were extremely influential at the time and today. Their primary focus was on combing art and manufacturing together, out of fear of art becoming obsolete in the growing industry of mass-produced items.
Started in 1919 by German Architect Walter Gropius, it was initially focused at the Arts and Crafts movement, trying to create unique things specifically against mass-manufactured products. However, this was costing the school a lot of money, so instead they focused on making mass-produced items that were also pieces of art. The phrase “Art Into Industry” was adopted by them in 1923. The Bauhaus had a selection of specialised workshops including cabinet making, textiles, typography and wall painting.
They were the first school to teach what modern design is considered today, as for their time art school and technical collages were different institutions all together. Art schools taught purely fine art and technical collages taught architecture and engineering.
“ An object is defined by its nature, in order to design it to function properly, one must first of all study its nature. For it to serve its purpose perfectly, it must fulfil its function in a practical way. ”
Walter Gropius
Information:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/bauhaus/
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20171109-the-endless-influence-of-the-bauhaus
Image:
https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/12/bauhaus-architecture-design-school-a-z/
Design Doodles 