Plakstil

# Plakatstil

Designers in Austria and Germany were inspired by their move toward geometric structure and simplicity of form.

In Austria, a group of artists led by Gustav Klimt broke with the künstlerhaus in 1897 and formed the Vienna Secession. These artists and architects rejected academic traditions and sought new modes of expression. Members pushed graphic design in uncharted aesthetic directions.

For them, medieval poetry and complex patterns had no place in this brave new world.

Lucian Bernhard was fifteen years old when he attended an exhibition in Munich of work that moved away from the drab tones and clutter of the Victorian era. His father kicked him out of their home but he made the giant leap into realizing that design could be minimal and clear.

• Considered to be the founder of the Plakatstil movement.

• Contributed to developing modern design, advertising, and culture for the Priester Match company.

• His style moved graphic design closer to simplification.

The design (Plakatstil) is the start of modern graphic design today that relies on symbols and shapes rather than illustrations.

Plakatstil:
• A design school originating in Germany. Means "Poster Style"
• Can also be called as "Sachplakat" which means object-poster in German.
• it continued the exploration of pure form.

Traits of Plakatstil are usually: BOLD, STRAIGHT, LETTERING WITH A VERY SIMPLE DESIGN

The use of implied form with negative space is an incredible way to make the viewer work.

Typography was created by hand as part of the illustration, it was reduced to the most basic message. STRONG VIVID COLORS, ABSTRACT AND FLAT PATTERNS, AND A REJECTION OF ANYTHING DECORATIVE ARE THE HALLMARKS OF THE GERMAN POSTER MOVEMENT. These artists without knowing it also were the first to work with modern corporate identity.

The idea of LOGO today is a simple icon and name. Traced back to the original Priester poster. Effects of the German poster period are with us in modern identity design, minimal posters, and the basic concept of less is more.

Peter Behrens played an important role in graphic design. He helped to develop a philosophy of Neue Sachlichkeit ("New Objectivity") in design, emphasizing technology, manufacturing process, and function, with style subordinate to purpose.

1907, Emil Rathenau, head of the AEG (Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Geselldchaft, a vast electrical manufacturing firm), appointed Behrens as artistic adviser for all AEG's activities. Rathenau believed the industry needed the visual order and consistency that could be provided by design.

For AEG, Behrens developed what is considered to be the first cohesive "visual identity system" consistently using the same logo, Roman typeface styles, and geometric grids to create products in printed matter.

Behrens's work for AEG was a harbinger of a major area of graphic design. The creation of corporate identity through a program using trademarks, typefaces, formats, and color in a consistent controlled manner.

Ludwig Hohlwein began as a poster artist, a self-taught style that was influenced by the collage techniques of the British Beggarstaff Brothers. He had a signature style of applying colors, letting them dry at different times and printing one on top of the other, producing modulation of shading.

Hohlwein plays with few elements, light and dark, foreground, and background in his sober composition. The complex plays light and the shade suggests that Hohlwin based his paintings on photography. The image dominates the elements yet he did not lose sight of his lettering.

His images show an optimistic view of contemporary middle-class life. He turns his expertise to making billboards for the war effort, accepting commissions from the... Nazi regime...

Hans Rudi Erdt a German graphic designer is known for his contribution to the Plakatstil movement, he was one of the most important representatives of German poster art.

Erdt has been recognized for his innovative use of typography in posters. He became a student of Maximilian Dasio at Munich School. He joined Hollerbaum and Schmidt, becoming part of "Berlin School", where he created what is considered one of the most enduring examples of Plakatstil.

Characteristics of PLAKATSTIL

• usually bold, straight, font with a very simple design.

• Flat presentation

• shapes and objects are simplified while the subject of the poster remains detailed.

• Eye-matching colors.

• An accessible message made aesthetically pleasing.

What aims of PLAKATSTIL? Standardization