From the course: Learning Graphic Design History

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The Bauhaus: Part Two

The Bauhaus: Part Two

From the course: Learning Graphic Design History

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The Bauhaus: Part Two

- Graphic design at the Bauhaus focused on typography, shape and color. Professors integrated the tenets of modernism into the classes and workshops. In product design, furniture making and architecture, design for the masses slowly replaced Gropius' original idea of designer as craftsman. In graphic design, however, the refinement of form and typography maintained the concept of craftsmanship. Typography was one of the Bauhaus' greatest legacies; it was bold and clear with simple sans serif fonts. At one point, this was simplified further by Herbert Bayer's attempt to create a typeface with no capital letters. The typography was based on rational anathematical systems. Grids and the Golden Section were part of each solution. Every element, from a word to a hairline rule, existed to serve a function, from indicating where a letter begins on a letter-head, to organizing text into the legible blocks. Design solutions favored photography, again, due to its realism as opposed to something…

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