Bauhaus

Herbert Bayer,

May 1, 1923

Herbert Bayer, banknote for the State Bank of Thuringia, 1923. Germany's rampant postwar inflation necessitated large-denomination banknotes. Black type overprints a violet rectangle, lines, and a textural repetition of the denominations.

Herbert Bayer,

Jan 2, 1924

Herbert Bayer, proposed streetcar station and newsstand, 1924. A concise modular unit, designed for economical mass production, combines an open waiting area, newsstand, and rooftop advertising panels.

Walter Gropius,

Jan 1, 1925

Walter Gropius, Dessau Bauhaus building, 1925–26. This architectural landmark has a series of parts—workshop (shown here), classroom, dormitory, and administrative structures—unified into a whole

Herbert Bayer,

Jun 14, 1925

Herbert Bayer, universal alphabet, 1925. This experiment in reducing the alphabet to one set of geometrically constructed characters maximizes differences between letters for greater legibility. The lower letterforms show different weights. Later variations include bold, condensed, typewriter, and handwriting styles.

Herbert Bayer,

Jan 3, 1927

Herbert Bayer, exhibition poster for Europäisches Kunstgewerbe 1927 (European Arts and Crafts 1927). Bayer uses a modular grid to subtly create a dynamic composition.

Herbert Bayer

May 14, 1928

Herbert Bayer, cover for Bauhaus magazine, 1928. A page of typography joins the designer's tools and basic geometric forms in a photographic still life. Composed before a camera instead of at a drawing board, this cover achieves a rare integration of type and image.

Joost Schmidt

Jan 14, 1929

Joost Schmidt, Bauhaus magazine cover, 1929. This format allows effective use of varying image size and shape in the lower two-thirds of the cover.

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy,

May 14, 1929

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, brochure cover for the series of fourteen Bauhaus books, 1929. Two photoprints of metal type are collaged together to create an unusual spatial configuration. Colored ink is printed on the numeral 14.