The Bauhaus Impact on Graphic Design

Last week I visited an exhibition at the Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art in Chicago on the Chicago Bauhaus Legacy. Perhaps, if you are not a designer, you don’t know what the Bauhaus is. Even if you do, you might not understand the connection to Chicago.

In brief, the Bauhaus was a revolutionary design school founded in Germany after World War I. Before the Bauhaus, applied arts such as graphic design, photography, architecture were not recognized as “Art.” The Bauhaus believed that fine arts and the applied arts could work together to improve everyday life. Art, craft and technology were combined to create design that served its function. Graphic design was not just a way to decorate a page, but effective visual communication, with easily read typography, balanced layouts, and harmonious colors.

Many of the Bauhaus educators immigrated to the US. Bauhaus master, László Moholy-Nagy, founded the New Bauhaus in Chicago. This had an enormous impact on on U.S. design curriculum. Some of my college instructors were students at the New Bauhaus. They learned the principles of design developed at the Bauhaus, and taught their students these theories and the belief that design is problem solving.

Design should not be about “making it pretty.” When working with a client, Resolution Creative will determine what needs to be communicated, the desired results, and the audience. As the Bauhaus taught, design can be functional, attractive, innovative and cost effective.