Trey Jones - Herbert Bayer: A Legacy of Simplicity

herbert bayer

a legacy of simplicity

universal typeface

1. Univeral typeface, 1925-1930

Herbert bayer believed in simplifying design and typography. while designing the universal typeface, which would go on to be the defining work of bauhaus design, he was dissastisifed with the overly ornate german typefaces at the time, and wanted to make a simple and compelling one. He also questioned the need for capital and small letters, deciding to omit capital letters from his universal typeface.

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“ hy should we write and print with two alphabets? Both a large and a small sign are not necessary to indicate one word. We do not speak a capital ‘a’ and a small ‘a.’ we only need a single alphabet”

2. bauhaus poster, 1968

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bauhaus design

1. joost schmidt, bauhaus exhibition poster, 1923 3

bayer attended the bauhaus between 1921-1925, shortly after his graduation, Walter gropius, found of the bauhaus, hired him as director of the newly founded printing and advertising workshop at the bauhaus dessau. bauhaus studies placed an emphasis on a combination of beauty and function, and sought to combine mass manufactury with elements of individual touch. they wanted to bring together artists of all mediums into one universal art school, this method of teaching has been adopted by most modern art schools. they created a universal foundation program that all artists, no matter the medium, would learn. bayer’s time at the bauhaus had a heavy influence on his style, and he in turn had a large impact on the bauhaus style, basically inventing the bauhaus design style.

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simplic 3. american line, 1924

4. designs for a cinema, 1924-5

bayer’s designs consistently had very limited color schemes, and very flat colors often. he used shading very minimally, and often sought other methods to show depth. I personally find this approach very aesthetically interesting, having flat, vibrant, and simple colors is often extremely eye-catching and works well.

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city of overly complex designs can lead to confusing the viewer, and having simple forms that convey your message well avoids this problem. herbert bayer used very simple shapes and lines to create both recognizable and abstract figures,

5. olivetti, 1959

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designed by trey jones, MECA ‘22 gd102 design basics; typography and image set in p22 bayer universal published to issuu.com copyright: 2020 trey jones, Maine college of art, portland maine