5 Peices of modernist Graphic Design

Emerging in the early 20th century, and thriving up untill around 1945, Modernist graphic design has one main underlying rule of thumb, form always follows functionality. It came as a response to the cultural changes taking place, urbanisation and industrialisation stripping design of any ornamentation and unnecessary decor to allow true function and simple form to emerge.

Modernist design can generally be found to exercises the following:

• Photo-montage
• Use of grids and angular layouts
• Simple colour
• San-serif fonts
• Abstract compositions
• Function before Form
• Universal design language

Cover of "Typografia," listopad 1932, Ročník 39, Číslo 11 (November 1932, Vol. 39, number 11) - Technical Journal of Czechoslovak Printers. 

Very minimal use of typography, completely stripping back image to make way for white space and black type. The grid was heavily worked with in modernist graphics and can even be seen here integrated into the final design. 

Hermann Eidenbenz - grafa international poster 1936.  (Hermann also designed the Clarendon typeface.) - http://grainedit.com/2009/06/30/hermann-eidenbenz/

 

 

Again, very minimal and simple use of colour. The title works only in lower case and flaunts a contemporary sans-serif typeface. The only other information on the cover is the date and location (I think). The imagery is again minimal, very geometrical with perfect circles and lines integrated with repetitive photo montage.

Catalog for "Cordatic." Designed by "Csemiczky." 1930. Published by "Verlag des Deutschen Buchgewerbevereins zu Leipzig." 

Integrating simple block colour with photo montage. Informative text situated at the bottom right corner, not disrupting the focal point of the design - typical of modernist design. Very sleek typeface, lacking serifs and fully capitalised.

Die Schweiz im Schnee, circa 1935. Design and photomontages by Herbert Matter.

Stronger use of photo montage, black and white with spot colour, very typical of Swiss design from the era. Again minimal use of text executed in a sans-serif font.

WWII mini-poster - Moscow: Izvestiia, 1941.  Artist Victor Koretsky.

 

Strong sense of the grid used comes through in this design. Small paragraph of text aligned with the orange geometrical shape at the bottom keeps the design very orderly. Spot colour is again evident alongside a sans-serif font. The imagery is stripped of detail using only silhouettes to depict the actions of the character.