Blog Six 16th March 2009

Tonight's lecture was a basic continuation of last weeks discussion on pure form. It addressed the influences pure form had on design and the involvement it had on the future movements. The majority of the lecture discussed the De Stijl and Bauhaus movements. These periods were profound stages in time, regarding the history of graphic design, because it was the basis of modern graphic design and in establishing it as a school. The De Stijl movement addressed the idea of functionality as well as pure form; Architecture was also a big sector in this movement. A notable artist of this time was Mondrian, whose grid and geometric structures profoundly influenced design. He brought about the birth of analytical systems of layout, which was widely influenced the world of typography. Although De Stijl is a widely hated art movement amongst designers, due the the rejection of images, i feel that this was a fascinating movement. It simplifies object down into its most simple geometric forms and use visually pleasing grids. This especially important because type classes evolve around grids. The other topic that was addressed in much detail in tonight's class was the Bauhaus. This is also an altering time in history, because a set of guidelines and rules were formulated for art schools of the 20Th century. Two notable figures where Nagy and Bayer. What really intrigued me was the discussion Tschichold and Dutch design in regards to the 'new typography'. This is probably because of techniques such as uses of diagonals in a composition that created unity within the whole piece. This simple techique brings a whole different feel and movement to a piece but is still orderly and atracttive. I find dutch design phonominal because the order and structre that appears in there work cant be compared to as well as having the abilty to create different, fun, and unique compositions while still maintaining a grid in their design.