Posters: A Concise History | Notes 2

Modern and Professional - Formal Art Movements

pg. 91 - 'The country that followed the developments of the Bauhaus most closely was Switzerland'

'There was no real outlet in Switzerland for advertising, and it became necessary to cultivate an artistic organisation in order to continue graphic work.'
'Switzerland, well known for its precise craftsmanship, also has a distinguished history of design. Among Swiss poster artists of international rank one can number Grasset, Steinlen and Amiet - and, more recently, Matter, Max Bill and Leupin.'

Circus Knie, 1956 / Swiss Federal Railways, 1962
Herbert Leupin

'Two elements in Swiss poster design which originate from the 1920s became known as 'New Objectivity'. They consisted of, on the one hand, of a realistic image - usually very precise - of the object together with simple, formal lettering, and on the other, a two-dimensional simplification of the object reduced to a symbol.'

'This led to the abstract poster, which, as it became accepted, was a step forward in the development of an international language of communication symbols - a necessary step among nations that have become increasingly independent through technology.'

Bunny Lake is Missing (1965)
Saul Bass
The Professional Designer

pg. 110 - 'The importance of the professional graphic designer had emerged from the interchange between the fine and applied arts at the turn of the century, which, in turn, had derived from the original design movements of the nineteenth century.'

pg. 114 - 'An inspired use of design, that extended throughout the advertising of a single product and introduced a number of outstanding visual innovations, was the series of decorative posters and murals made by Charles Loupot for the firm of St Raphael in France.'

St Raphael, 1938-57
Charles Loupot and Atelier

'Following the anonymous design, which appeared in 1928, showing two waiters bearing St Raphael Apéritif, Loupot produced a number of variations in 1938 which made a formal pattern out of the design.'

'The most interesting part of this campaign was the establishment of design in an environment - free from the conventional hoarding or billboard if necessary, and relating one mural to another over a wide landscape.
The same design was also used on cars, and buses: even to the extent of linking the movement of the bus to set the elements of design in motion.'

St Raphael mural, Charles Loupot

pg. 118 - 'Naturally the form of a poster, when it comes not only from an industrial designer but from one who is playing a part in the overall policy of design, is bound to be different from that of a poster designed by an independent artist.'

pg. 121 - 'Professional design consultants, agencies, groups of studios and companies, and the establishment of graphic-design courses for students suggest a degree of organisation that might have stifled experimentation'