A discussion on the influence of the Bauhaus movement

[Big_stru]

Hello fellow designers and typography enthusiasts. I am doing a research project on the Bauhaus movement or more specifically, how did it influenced modern typography.

I wanted to ask some questions and get a discussion going on the importance (or UN-importance) of the Bauhaus movement in typographic design.

1. Are you aware of the Bauhaus’s contributions to typography and design. How so?  
2. Do you see the Bauhaus typographic idealism's in modern typography? Why is this?
3. do you feel that the Bauhaus is overrated when it comes to typographic design? Why?
4. Is there a possibility that a new movement comes around in the near future and changes typography like the Bauhaus did over 100 years ago? Give some details on why you think this way?

[Riccardo Sartori]

Not to be rude... But do you just copied and pasted the questions from your assignment? 

[Big_stru]

2 minutes ago, Riccardo Sartori said:

Not to be rude... But do you just copied and pasted the questions from your assignment? 

Hi Riccardo. I am just starting to understand how this is coming across, let me do some explaining.

I chose this subject it was not given to me, i formulated my own questions to ask designers. 

Since the start of September when i chose what subject i wanted to explore i have been in the library studying books on the Bauhaus movement and typography, reading journals, finding online articles of content about my subject, this is secondary research. what im trying to find with my questions is primary research, i need opinions from people with an interest in design and typography.

Im not asking you to do "my homework" (like it might come across) 

I am just looking for anything from the outside that is not my own opinion. as my opinion stands, i believe that Bauhaus was extremely important to modern typography. But for this part i am looking at other peoples opinions to reference and compare with my own   

Hope this makes more sense, and doesn't seem so lazy?  

I generally thought it would be a interesting discussion point for type enthusiasts 

[Ralf Herrmann]

It’s a big topic. Something that could fill entire books. So people might be reluctant to take the necessary time to write an answer in a forum. It would probably be better if you indeed give use your opinion as a starting point. You might raise a point someone doesn’t agree with and that’s usually motivation enough to weigh in. 😉 

[Big_stru]

Thanks for the advice Ralf, that indeed is a better plan of attack.

When i was deciding the angle of my report i went with "How did the Bauhaus movement influence modern typography". My 3 talking points are the birth of the school, there idealism's on type and design, the progression into swiss style and what they took from Bauhaus and thirdly asking the question if the Bauhaus ethos is still seen today and do people recognise its influence. I personally think you can, and it was an incredibly important movement. Plus i really enjoyed finding out more about the history!

Answering my own questions i would say.

1, It was not until the past year or two i fully realised Bauhaus influence. I always knew about the school but it was more of there design aesthetic and colour pallet, not much on typography.

2, I do but i feel like maybe younger designers/students like myself might not fully understand this and just get as far back as Swiss/international style and give that all the credit.

3, I don't feel that it is overrated as stated in my answer to 2, maybe people give Swiss style all the credit, but i was really interested to see the response to this one from more experienced designers.

4, Who knows, maybe in 20 years time we will all type with emojis! (maybe i should not have asked this question)

I understand if no one responds, i thought i would just give it a try and if i got a few responses that would be fantastic!

        

[Ralf Herrmann]

There is a good book I would recommend, but unfortunately it is only available in German at this time. The author, Julia Meer, makes the (in my opinion convincing) claim that the typical perception of the Bauhaus graphic design we find in graphic design text books is uncritically taken over from the Avant Garde designers themselves. And their claims were often highly exaggerated, since their purpose was often simply self-promotion. 

[Big_stru]

Thanks Ralf, that was a good incite! 

[Riccardo Sartori]

First off, sorry for my erroneous assumptions, and my somewhat unhelpful reaction.

I didn’t chime in because I didn’t think I can add something useful to the discussion, but sometimes I think the contributions of the Bauhaus to the field of typography could have been bigger.

In any case, today I stumbled upon something that could be of interest:

 

[jayar]

As Ralf said, this is indeed a big subject. I would recommend another German book: “bauhaus typografie” from Gerd Fleischmann, oktagon Verlag, 1984/1995. Fleischmann knows his stuff and presents it clearly in this book.