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Laura Diermann

b+d — A Comparison of Visual Identity

Primary colors, unornamented design, lower case — the striking appearance of the Bauhaus and documenta type styles bears considerable similarities.

The designers of the documenta’s typographic design deliberately took up the Bauhaus style and its striking simplicity. But what did the corporate design of the first documenta exhibitions look like and what are the parallels to the font design developed at the Bauhaus?

Type design always played a major role at the Bauhaus. It was not until 1925, under the direction of Herbert Bayer, that the students at the Workshop for Advertising and Printing investigated and tested various font designs. As early as 1919, typography was experimented with in the »Theory of Writing Forms« course. Some Bauhaus teachers were particularly involved in the project to develop an economic typography that reflected the spirit of the Bauhaus, including Oskar Schlemmer, Johannes Itten, László Moholy-Nagy, and Wassily Kandinsky. Joost Schmidt, Josef Albers, and Herbert Bayer supported this project from the student side.

In order to find a suitable type design, they experimented continuously with the basic shapes circle, square, and triangle and the primary colors red, blue, and yellow#m. Lothar Schreyer’s printing type theory course was one of the first investigations into geometric shapes. In 1921, he had students create alphabets based on circles, squares, and triangles and the three primary colors. In 1923, Josef Albers also attempted to create a »combination font« that would unite square, circle, and quarter circle.

more about Herbert Bayer
Index: People
more about Oskar Schlemmer
Index: People
more about Johannes Itten
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more about László Moholy-Nagy
Index: People
more about Wassily Kandinsky
Index: People
more about Joost Schmidt
Index: People
more about Josef Albers
Index: People
more about Lothar Schreyer
Index: People

Herbert Bayer, on the other hand, experimented with basic rectangular shapes to produce a suitable typography for the institution. László Moholy-Nagy’s appointment to Bauhaus Weimar in 1923 was a groundbreaking step in the described development, as he brought about a fundamental change in typography. He called for a standard typeface that would function as an instrument of communication »in the most urgent form«.

more about the Bauhaus Weimar
Index: Organizations
»
For example, a standard typeface should be called for, without minuscule and majuscule letters; only standard letters —not in size, but in form. (...) The adoption of basic shapes, such as circles, squares, and triangles, certainly leads today to interesting formal, even necessary practical results in the transformation of writing.
«
Source

Offset-, Buch- und Werbekunst,
1926, No. 7,
Leipzig 1926.

In that same year, in the course of preparations for the first large Bauhaus exhibition, László Moholy-Nagy, Joost Schmidt, and Herbert Bayer worked intensively on colorfully designed geometric forms and logos. They designed advertising graphics that strongly influenced the Bauhaus exhibition. Their unique selling point: »sans-serif« capital letters and an abstract minimalist design.

Joost Schmidt:
shown at the parallel exhibition "Graphik",
documenta 3, 1964
© bpk / Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz / Lázsló Tóth / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019

Herbert Bayer: Poster for the first Bauhaus exhibition, 1923
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019

Herbert Bayer: Poster for the first Bauhaus exhibition, 1923
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019

When the Bauhaus Weimar moved to Dessau, the idea of standard font also moved. Herbert Bayer continued the idea and demanded a uniform typography based on the geometric shapes of circle and square. Like Moholy-Nagy, he called for the renunciation of upper and lower case letters and designed the »Universal« font on the basis of the »Schelter’sche Grotesk« font.

The new font found its way into the corporate design of the Bauhaus in 1925 and became established in advertising and business stationery.

Herbert Bayer,
Versuch einer neuen Schrift, around 1926

from: Offset, Buch- und Werbekunst, Zeitschrift,
Heft 7, Sonderausgabe »Bauhaus«, 1926

© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019

Poster of the first documenta, 1955
© documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH

Information brochure for the secon documenta, 1955 — this time the »d« is colored in red
© documenta archiv

The »Commercial Grotesk« typeface chosen by Arnold Bode and his team, in particular Ernst Schuh and Heinz Nickel, for the corporate design of the documenta exhibition had the same effect as »the younger brother« of the »Schelter’sche Grotesk« — narrower, adapted in a modern way at the time of the first documenta in 1955. They took up the Bauhaus design and its tradition of clarity, simplicity, and objectivity. Their organized, straight-line poster depicted a red, and even blue, small »d« as a formative design medium. The text was written in small letters. Devoid of ornamental decorations and serifs, the poster design announced the exhibition as an objective, clear, and striking modernist show devoted to »Kunst des XX. Jahrhunderts (Art of the Twentieth Century)«.

The clear and abstract design found its way into all other documenta advertising and marketing strategy departments: The small »d« adorned tickets, menus, brochures, and the exhibition catalog.

more about Ernst Schuh
Index: People
more about Heinz Nickel
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more about the first documenta
Index: Organizations

Impact folder for documenta 4, 1968
© documenta archiv

Flyer for documenta 4, 1968
© documenta archiv

Envelope of the documenta 3 secretary's office, 1964
© documenta archiv

Invitation card for the opening of documenta 2 on the evening of 11 July 1959
© documenta archiv

Menu of the gastronomy in the Orangerie and the museum Fridericianum for the documenta 2, 1959
© documenta archiv

Envelope of the secretary's office of the documenta 2, 1959
© documenta archiv

With regard to the restriction to primary colors, the documenta designers were in no way inferior to the Bauhaus. This is particularly evident on the documenta 2documenta 2 poster. Square, colored areas in red, yellow, and blue, lower-case letters, and Roman numerals are incorporated into the typographic design of the poster.

Poster of the second documenta, 1959
© documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH

The design also had a striking effect outdoors: The small »d« on red, yellow, and blue flags not far from the Fridericianum attracted visitors from afar and did not elude anyone’s gaze.

more about the documenta 2
Index: Organization

Flags in front of the Fridericianum, documenta 2, 1959

© documenta archiv / Photographer unknown

Poster of the third documenta, 1964
© documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH

At documenta 3, the geometric shape rose above the poster and the design of the corporate identity. This time, the square was not only inserted as a geometric form, but also dominated the poster format. »Commercial Grotesk« was not used as the font. Instead, the »d« was designed exclusively for the exhibition. With its circular belly, it is strongly reminiscent of Herbert Bayer’s »Universal« font. Both letters unmistakably allude to the shape of the circle.


Poster for documenta 4, 1968
© documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH

documenta 4 also followed the Bauhaus style. Along with Bode, Karl Oskar Blase was now responsible for the design of the poster and the typography of the exhibition. Blue, red, and white geometric forms and especially squares were the focus of their joint design. And the primary colors blue and red were used again in the design.

Impact folder for documenta 4, 1968
© documenta archiv

mehr über die documenta 3
Index: Organizations
mehr über die documenta 4
Index: Organizations
more about Karl Oskar Blase
Index: People

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