Pictorial Modernism

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This chapter we start to learn about poster design, influential designers along with the introduction of the art deco movement and war posters. I am going to talk about an influential designer by the name of Lucian Bernhard. Lucian was a 15 year old boy from London who became well know by accident. Lucian was designing a poster for a competition and he started painting a magnificent scene with matches, cigars and dancers. Then he did not like what he had so he painted over everything but the matches, and when time fell short all he had was matches so he wrote the company name on the sheet and sent it in. Lucian just moved design forward towards simplification and reduction of ideas. These ideas continued through World War One with the poster designs. Germany used these simple pictographic symbols in their poster to represent complex ideas. While the allies were more focused on the Victorian styles of using emotions in posters to get rallied up. Later we get to the movement of Art Deco which uses geometric shapes and ideas of cubism, Bauhaus, Vienna Secession, De Stijil, and Art Novoua. Edward McKnight was an influential designer who designed a poster for the Daily Herald using basic geometric shapes that made a scene of birds flying. Using basic interlocking shapes he created one of my favorite designs in the book.

I find it interesting that simple designs is what people like but we keep avoiding them.

Question-How come it seems like United states is so far behind in graphic design. It seems like many advancements happen in Europe? Is it better flow of information then there was no internet to share ideas and there are more people in Europe to share ideas with?

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I liked this chapter because it had a lot of focus on poster design and advertisement which seems real interesting to me. i like some of the styles used here and i dislike some of the styles. i like the styles that include the play of typography and i really like the underground posters that used collage like techniques to say "its warmer or colder down here" that was a cool design because of the color layout and the idea. here are my notes along with some questions and thoughts put inside them...

Chapter 14

Pictorial Modernism

James Pryde and William Nicholson were brothers-in-law and close friends, both respected academic painters they decided to open up an advertising design studio in 1894 and found it neccessary to adopt psuedonyms to protect their reputaution.they developed a new technique, later named collage. Often incomplete image challenged the viewer to participate and dechipher the subject.

Question: why did they decide to use fake names?

Plakatstil- The flat- color design school that emerged in Germany early in the twentieth century is called Plakatstil.

15 year old Lucian Bernhard painted two matches on a table with a cigar and ellaborate dances but painted over everything but the matches in the end and sent his poster in because he ran out of time and ended up winning the competition, he moved graphic communications one step further in the simplification and reduction of naturalism into a visual langauge of shape and sign.

During Berhands early years he used a sans serif lettering style painted in broad brushtrokes. His type became a typeface and his sense of simplicity was also applied to a trademark design.Once again a designer is doing architecture work. He had an emphasis on reduction and minimalist form. ( I like this guy )

The poster goes to war

World War 1- Govt turned to posters as a significant role in proprganda and visual persuasion. Klingler- war posters exspress complex ideas with simple pictoraphic symbols.

The allies used illusrtative approach rather then symbolic meaning. British posters stressed the need to protect traditional values, the home, and the family.

Alfred Leete- Created the britian poster with popular Lord Horatio Kitchner. Pointing directly at the viewer.

James Montgomery Flagg- Made the famous poster of uncle sam pointing. And uncle sam is actually Flagg because its a self portrait.

The maverick from munich

Ludwig Hohlwein- Howlein took great interest in reducing images to flat shapes, he applied a rich range of texture and decorative pattern to his images . He also combined simple powerful shapes with naturalistic imagery. (14-32)

`Howlien was a designer for hitler because his style matched hitler’s cocept of effective propoganda. Howlien moved to bold , heavy forms and strong tonal contrasts during this time.

Postcubist pictorial modernism

Post WW1 cubist ideas about spacial organization and synthetic energy inspired an important new direction in pictorial images.

Art Deco- term used to identify popular geometric works of the 1920’s and 1930’. To some extent an extension of art novoue, it has influenced of cubism, the bahaus, and the vienna secession comingled with De Stijl and suprematism as well as egyptian, Aztec, and Assyrian motifs. Streamlining, Zig-Zag, moderne and decorative geomety.

Ok so what doesnt it involve would have been easier is there an easier way to describe this.

Edward McKnight Kauffer- Paris- used cubism ideas in his work. Mde the daily herald poster with the birds, showed principles of modern art and cubism. He developed 141 posters for the london underground using modern art styles. He also achieved visual impact with landscape subjects on posters by reductive design, editing complex environments and interlocking shapes.

A.M. Cassandre-Ukraine- Bold simple designs emphasize two dimensionally and are composed of broad, simplified planes of color. He reduced his subjects to iconographic symbols. He has a love of letterforms he used cinematic sequence of word and image in print. (cool idea) he designed typefaces with daring idead such as the type bifur!!! I like this font I have used it before.

Question-How come it seems like United states is so far behind in graphic design . It seems like a lot of advancements happen in Europe? Is it better flow of information then there was no internet to share ideas and there are more people in Europe to share ideas with?

Carlu- “used feelings of ease, relaxation, and comfort with the use of curves. She “avoided the use of two lines where one would do” and “two ideas where one will deliver the message more forcefully”

Paul Collin- Vibrant Color, informal compositions, and energetic linear drawings exspressed joy in life.

Austin Cooper- Used cubism ideas and collage in his works my favorite examples of his work were the two underground posters saying “It is Warmer Down Below” and “It is cooler down below” using color spectrums to portray temperature.

Joseph Binder- Vienna - used various influences including cubism, koloman Moser and pictorial graphic design style with strong communicative power. He used basic shapes and forms to portray images, much like cubism. He developed a highly refined and naturalized style in posters and billboards advertising throat drops, beer, travel, and public services.

How did they print large billboards back then?