Modernist Graphics | Design Talks

The Nazis hated Futura. They deemed the typeface as too radical – subversive even. Members of Bauhaus embraced it for its radicalism, and it came to be associated with the movement from 1919 through to 1933, when the school was forced to close and its members dispersed around the world. Futura: the Typeface examines the fascinating story of this popular type. Published this month by Laurence King, the book taps into a new movement in exploring type as an art form, re-discovering histories that tell of a time and a place, and of its intricate craft. The stylish hardback features 500 illustrations and includes essays by design writers Steven Heller, Erik Spiekermann and Christopher Burke. Crucially, Future places type in the wider context of design history.

Futura was authored by Paul Renner, a German designer who wasn’t officially part of Bauhaus yet shared the movement’s ideology. He crafted the typeface in 1927 based on geometric sans-serif forms, and it was released in the same year by the Bauer Type Foundry. Experimenting with sans-serif types was part of a larger movement at the time, yet Futura became one of the more prominent typefaces of the period. Bauhaus leader Lazlo Maholy-Nagy was a fan as was the American Paul Rand who liked its functionality noting that it was devoid of ‘doodahs and ringlets’. Later Stanley Kubrick made use of a derivative Futura Bold in his films. Most recently for their 2017 menswear label Jijibaba, designers Jasper Morrison and Jaime Hayon featured Futura in their logo. It also found its place in history books by being the first typeface to land on the moon in 1969.

‘In this fast-moving digital world, this copycat world we live in, the importance of typography is even more felt,’ says Adam Thomas, the creative director and partner at London creative agency Spinach. ‘This includes the origins of type, the small thing that make good typography so right, elements that can so easily be overlooked. While the modern day graphic designers spin themselves off their axis trying to keep up with the latest design trends and fashions, the more traditionally-focused, admirers of strong, classical design, proportion, elegance, refinement, balance, it is those who I feel stand to gain the most.’

Nargess Banks

Futura: The Typeface is written by Petra Eisele, Annette Ludwig and Isabel Naegele and published by Laurence King. It is available to purchase this month.

Jens Müller is fascinated by simple, reduced logos. The Düsseldorf-based graphic designer has been collecting examples for some years, examining each one, delving into their past, discovering their origin and narrating their design history.

As many as 6,000 have found their way into Logo Modernism to form somewhat of an encyclopaedia of icons of graphic design. The ‘Modernism’ side, says the author, is by sheer chance – Müller just happens to be drawn to symbols that adhere to the modernist philosophy.

How we communicate through graphics is largely a continuation of ideas introduced by the modernist movement in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. The thought process behind communication, its execution through graphic design, typography, logos, were one of the key areas explored by the pioneers of the movement. They sought to create clean visual concepts as a way of counterbalancing an increasingly complicated world with clarity.

Müller breaks down the rules of modernist logos: they function in black and white, that they be simple enough to be able to be hand-drawn, and that they be based on geometric forms, including letters.

Logo Modernism focuses on the period 1940–1980 with examples ranging from media outfits to retail giants, airlines and art galleries. The sweeping survey is organised into three chapters: geometric, effect, and typographic with a further 20 style categories including dots, 3D, grid and squares.

Müller feel that these logos are largely connected through their ‘attitude’ – an attitude towards simplicity and something that can be immediately recognised without a linguistic or cultural context, he says.

The book features designer profiles and instructive case studies, with a detailed look at the life and work of such luminaries as Paul Rand, Yusaku Kamekura, and Anton Stankowski, as well as projects such as Fiat, The Daiei Inc., and the Mexico Olympic Games of 1968.

Logo Modernism is a wonderful resource for graphic designers, advertisers, and branding specialists, and is equally fascinating to anyone interested in social, cultural, and corporate history, and in the sheer persuasive power of image and form.

‘One big thing about modernism is that it is, in a way, timeless,’ says Müller.

Logo Modernism is written by Jens Müller and R. Roger Remington?and published by Taschen.

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Futura: The Typeface placed type in the context of design history

Logo Modernism: the persuasive power of image and form