Graphic Design has been shaped by social, cultural, political, and technological circumstances throughout its evolution. When it comes to different Graphic Design styles they come and go and then return again. Even in the new digital world, many of the old conventions are relevant. I find it is interesting that there are so many different styles that even originate back to the 1800s. The styles that intrigued me the most had to be Cubism, Futurism, Dada, and Bauhaus.
I really liked the photos that I saw when looking up Cubism examples. There seems to be a huge aspect of creativity in many of the images which come off very abstract. Cubism refused to go along with two big ideas of its day: that art should emulate nature and that artists should subject themselves to techniques like modeling, and perspective. The uniqueness that comes along with cubism is one of the main reasons why I enjoyed it. When I look at numerous examples of cubism I’ve noticed the use of geometric shapes a lot, sharp edges, and it seems that oftentimes there are multiple viewpoints. The great thing about Cubism is that it was like a break from the norm and it gave you the opportunity to be more creative in a way that had not been experienced yet.
When it came to Futurism I was quite surprised with the examples I saw mainly because it seemed like they were ahead of its time. One of the main things that I picked up on in many futurism examples was the idea of motion in the picture. In many of the pictures I saw while doing research I enjoyed the usage of landscapes and newer technology such as trains, planes, and cars. A couple of techniques that I noticed were being used in most of the futurism examples were fading, blurring, and repetition. These techniques are what I believe gives many of the Futurism photos that sense of motion.
To me, Dada was a style that was about expressing an opinion. The idea that this style was brought up by a ‘world gone mad’ after WW1 was totally fitting. Almost every picture I’ve seen that is in the Dada style is indescribable. Something about how random and crazy these images are is what made me like them so much. Artists seemed to make their work not make much of any sense at the time because of how life felt for so many people at the time – confusing. The fact that the Dadaists were so different is why this style was interesting to me. Whatever art stood for, dada stood for the opposite. This time period showed a sense of rebellion toward how art was usually portrayed. One of the more intriguing aspects of Dada to me is the humor that is involved with it.
The style that influenced graphic design more directly than any other was Bauhaus which meant the “House of Construction”. When I searched through Bauhaus picture examples I noticed a lot of geometric shapes and primary colors. One aspect of this style that I liked was how simplistic many of the images were. I find it surprising in a lot of ways that this style of design is still able to influence aspects of our everyday lives even to this day. That goes to show how important and influential this time period was for graphic design. Not only did the Bauhaus movement have an impact on graphic design but it also had a profound influence on subsequent developments in art, architecture, interior design, industrial design, and typography. Something that stuck out to me about this style is where it came from – in 1933 the Nazis in Germany forced the school to shut down.
It seems clear to me that each design style is a reflection of what is happening in the world at that specific time. Many things such as cultural or political circumstances, or even what technology is available for use – are all factors to consider when it comes to what’s going on in the world. Something that seemed to be common throughout the styles of design is that they were predecessors to one another. Often times you would see some type of influence going from one style into the next. Overall, my favorite style was probably Dada – the reason being it is so free of rules and expectations. When it came to Dada you never knew what to expect and you couldn’t really question what you got, the creativity aspect is great.
