Bauhaus Typography Analysis

Before the modernist movement started, typography was not seen as clean and simple but rather typography that was more over the top and decorative. Bauhaus was a major contribution to the modernist movement, as can be seen in the Bauhaus typography. The Bauhaus typography is not complex at all, it is a clean and simple sans-serif type. To get an idea of why Bauhaus is so important to the design world, we can take a look at the typeface’s form and how it can be used as a universal type. Besides the Bauhaus movement making such a big impact in today’s design world, the Bauhaus typography developed simple, clean, and modern design. The historical origins of the Bauhaus can be traced back into the 19th century (Droste, 2002, p. 10). Around this

The influence of modernism is definitely shown within Bauhaus design because of their clean and simple style. Bauhaus is the most widely known, discussed, published, imitated, collected, exhibited, and cathected aspect of modern graphic design (Miller, 1993, p. 4). Typography is used to convey a message in the quickest most efficient way that is understood by people. Legibility was a big factor in Bauhaus typography because they wanted to draw away from complex and decorative type. The Bauhaus was the origin of modernism and was influenced by the three elementary shapes and the three primary colors: the dynamic triangle is yellow, the static square is red, and the serene circle is blue (Lupton & Miller, 1993, p. 2). Looking closer into the sans-serif fonts and how these typefaces became a well-known and heavily used modern font shows how important typography is. The essence of the new typography was clarity, not simply beauty; its goal was to develop form from the functions of the text (Megg, 2016, p. 355). The form of the fonts show how clean and simple Bauhaus

351). This universal type was an experiment in reducing the alphabet to one set of geometrically constructed characters maximizing the differences between letters for greater legibility (Megg, 2016, p. 350). Universal’s letterforms are composed of geometrically defined lines of uniform width; the ‘o’ is a perfect circle, the ‘b’, ‘d’, and ‘q’ consist of a circle and a vertical staff, and the ‘x’ is created by connecting half-circles (Lupton & Miller, 1993, p. 39). This universal type was not just a typeface but a complete writing system designed for print, typewriter, and hand use (Lupton & Miller, 1993, p. 38). Just like any other typeface this universal type had different type sizes and weights that would help in designs. Type size and weight helps in designs because they show a sense of hierarchy. Before Bauhaus, san-serif fonts were not really used in designs, but they were used as just a body copy and not a design element. Ever since the modernist movement, san-serif fonts are used way more often than before. Bauhaus having such a big impact in the modernist movement shows how style can go from complex to clean and simple. Clean and simple is one of the best ways to go in design because of legibility and clear