1910-1935 Early Modernism & Lucian Bernhard
Early modernism
Early modernism was a time when artists and designers broke from tradition to create a new style of design which would influence all artists and designers around the world. Early modern artists were described as new or experimental, as they changed the way others saw design and art.
Following on from some of the ideals of the Italian Futurists the Bauhaus was creating a new design philosophy, putting a design’s function before its form and rebelling against tradition in preference of anything new and different. This style became known as “modern” and was the start of the rebelling against tradition that has carried through time influencing all the other art and design styles of the world.
To Recap, the main characteristics of the Early Modern graphic design style are…
- geometrically based
- minimalistic approach
- clean type
- more photos, less illustrations
Lucian Bernhard
Born in Germany in 1883, Lucian Bernhard’s contribution to the development of modern design, advertising and culture in the early 20th century can be summed up in his poster design for the Priester match company. However, that piece was just the launching pad for his entire career. He designed posters, type, packaging, textiles, interiors and trademarks for a great many companies over the course of his career and his work was influential in both the United States and Europe; he emigrated from Berlin to America in 1923.
