process values:

reject traditional forms & decorative elements

simple + direct solution

rational, systematic methods (not intuitive)

relationship of form + content

visual values:

geometric shapes + primary colors

typography:

sans serif typefaces

contrast in type material

imagery:

use of photos or photomontage

silhouetted photos (white backgrounds)

maps & diagrams

graphic symbols + icons

organization:

asymmetric layout, grid & visual hiearchy

perceptual laws + continuity to page flow

It Mustn't Happen Here

LESTER BEALL

1930s, USA

gouache, gelatin silver prints, pencil and cut paper

28x20

Cover for Elementare Typographie

(24-page insert)

JAN TSCHICHOLD

1925, Germany

letterpress 30x22 cm

purpose:

explain asymmetrical typography to printers, typesetters, & designers

avant garde work from europe

*compare to EL LISSITZKY

Poster for Die Hose

JAN TSCHICHOLD

1927, Germany 

 letterpress 120x84 cm

Poster for Napoleon

JAN TSCHICHOLD

1927, Germany

letterpress 120x84 cm

Poster for Rural Electrification Administration

LESTER BEALL

1937, USA

silkscreen 30x40 in

designed for illiterate and semi-literate audiences

Poster for Rural Electrification Administration

LESTER BEALL

1937, USA

silkscreen 30x40 in

Poster for Rural Electrification Administration

LESTER BEALL

1937, USA

silkscreen + litho 30x40 in

allusion to american flag + happy children 

= government programs make life better

Cross Out Slums Poster

(for USHA)

LESTER BEALL

1930s, USA

litho 30x40 in

aspirational image with "action hand"

Cover for Harper's Bazaar

art director ALEXEY BRODOVICH

1939, USA

photomontage

eve of WWll > patriotic image with gaudy materials

ironic & ambiguous

Harper's Bazaar Spread

(Photo: MAN RAY)

art director ALEXEY BRODOVICH

1936, USA

visual images that communicate quality

but also a sense of "the unexpected"

Harper's Bazaar Cover

(Photo: HERBERT MATTER)

art director ALEXEY BRODOVICH

1940, USA

repetition as a design device

Cover for Vogue

art director ALEXANDER LIBERMAN

1945, USA

high fashion appeal for good cause

poster-like impact

Cover for Vogue

art director ALEXANDER LIBERMAN

1950, USA

balancing light and dark

figure + foreground

Poster for the New York World's Fair

JOSEPH BINDER

1939, USA

america embraces modernism, technology and global power

"future progress"

Engelberg Poster

HERBERT MATTER

1934, Switzerland

influenced by bauhaus and new typography

Ad for Knoll Furniture

HERBERT MATTER

1950s, USA

design principle: repetition

Brochure cover for Knoll Furniture

HERBERT MATTER

1956, USA

Ad CCA's "Great Ideas" Campaign

HERBERT BAYER

1954, USA

protection from injustice and oppression > large hands rejecting

hint: finger

As for CCA's 48 States Campaign

E.M. KAUFFER

1944, USA

JAN TSCHICHOLD

new design layouts

symmetrical, red+black, avant garde

functional and straightforward

LESTER BEALL

federal agency

bring electricity to less populated

reduced pro-electrification messages to elemental signs

WALTER PAEPCKE

1926

manufacture of paperboard & corrugated containers

national packing materials: business + culture