Surrealism was a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise and dream-like imagery of the unconscious. Leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a revolutionary movement. Surrealism developed out of the Dada activities of World War I. From the 1920s on, the movement spread around the globe, eventually affecting the visual arts, literature, film, and music of many countries and languages, as well as political thought and practice, philosophy, and social theory. Important Surrealist artists included Salvador Dali, Yves Tanguy, Giorgio de Chirico and Max Ernst. Graphic designers such as Lester Beall, Hans J. Barschel and A,M. Cassandre were influenced by this style. -- RRR
In the 1980s, Punk was an American graphic style that represented a youthful attempt at rebellion. It was a manifestation of Postmodernism in which imagery often emulated comic book art. Key designers in the Punk style were Art Chantry, Gary Panter, and Mark Marek. -- RRR
Emerging in the 1950s in England and the United States, Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist’s use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is parallel with fine art. Pop removes the material from its original context and isolates the object, or combines it with other objects. Pop art often took as its imagery whatever was currently in use in advertising. Product logos and labels were prominent in the imagery chosen by pop artists such as Andy Warhol. Pop art and minimalism are considered to be the precursors to Postmodernism. -- RRR
This style was symbolic of the 1960s in America and particularly in California. The form mirrored the anti-establishment attitudes of the age of “sex, drugs and rock and roll.” Psychedelic design found its true format in the day-glo poster as it rejected any formal structure. Its masters were Victor Moscoso, Wes Wilson, and Stanley Mouse. -- RRR
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In clear contrast to the formalist aesthetic values of Modernism, Art Deco mirrored the society of the 1920's namely the lighthearted and outrageous manifestations of the Jazz Age. The movement was evident in many countries in Europe and America. Some of its more well-known practitioners were Eduardo Benito, Jean Carlu, A.M Cassandre, Karl Schulpig, Herbert Matter, Tom Purvis, Merle Armitage and Clarence Hornung. An important evolution of Art Deco form in the United States was known as "Streamline." -- RRR
The Plakatstil movement had its most significant expression between1900 and 1930 and was most visible in the poster work of Ludwig Hohlwein, Walter Kampmann and other German graphic designers. Hohlwein worked in Munich and became the chief proponent of this style of type and image. Also, through the leadership of Peter Behrens at AEG, the poster was raised to a high industrial art form. -- RRR
This movement was largely literary and found its most successful expression in graphic manifestations, largely during the 1920s. It renounced all form of objectivity, and was seen in various forms throughout Europe. Dada writers and artists were busy creating experimental typographic statements, especially in Germany and Switzerland. Its typographic products were influenced by the Italian Futurist F.T. Marinetti and his parole in liberta manifesto. Key proponents of Dada included Kurt Schwitters, Theo van Doesburg, Raoul Hausmann, Max Ernst, Hannah Hoch, John Heartfield, and George Grosz. --RRR
Emerging from Russia in the 1920s, Constructivist art and design was largely characterized by formal structure and objectivity. Simplicity and geometry were basic qualities. The color red became the symbol of this bold style that in many ways was revolutionary. Its champions were El Lissitzky, Gustav Klutsis, and Alexander Rodchenko. -- RRR
The Bauhaus was a German school that existed between 1919 and 1933 in three successive locations, : Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin. Following the chaos of World War I, the architect Walter Gropius seized the opportunity of creating a school where there would be a “unity of the arts.” Over the years the school evolved through three phases or program foci, namely art in Weimar, design in Dessau, and architecture in Berlin. Its visionary programs were led by teachers then considered among Europe’s finest creative artists, designers, and architects. Paul Klee, Làszló Moholy-Nagy, Joost Schmidt, Herbert Bayer, Josef Albers, Johannes Itten, and Marcel Breuer made major contributions to this school whose Modernist influence is still present today. -- RRR
Although this style had its roots in several of the European avant-garde art and design movements, it is generally associated with the impetus of the German typographer Jan Tschichold who in 1925 published Die Neue Typographie (The New Typography.) In this groundbreaking volume, Tschichold codified a formal system of typography. The standards were asymmetric page layout, exclusive use of sans serif fonts such as Futura, use of the warm red color of Constructivism, and emphasis on the use of symbols and photography. He was joined in his work by El Lissitzky and Kurt Schwitters. This movement set the stage for the International Typographic Style and much of the Modernist graphic design that followed. -- RRR
Geographically centered in Holland, the De Stijl (The Style) Movement was a utopian vision in art, architecture, and design that flourished in the early 1920s. Theo van Doesburg was its leader and was surrounded by creative individuals such as Vilmos Huszar, Gerrit Rietveld and Piet Zwart. The De Stijl form was the most fundamental of all the European avant-garde movements and was characterized by simplicity, geometric shapes, primary colors, and sans serif typefaces. --RRR
This style, which began as a “new wave,” is in contradiction to the structure of Modernism. Interestingly the movement began with designers who had been part of the Swiss International Style. The Swiss designer Wolfgang Weingart and the American Dan Friedman were among the first to challenge and move away from what was perceived as too much of an emphasis on pure formalism and functionalism. In a postmodern design, typography was pushed beyond its traditional norms of legibility. Other designers who were part of the post-Modern movement were April Greiman, Rudy Vanderlans and David Carson. -- RRR
Also referred to as “Swiss International Style,” this movement was a dominant style in the 1960s and 1970s, largely through the influence of graphic designers from Switzerland. It was an extension of the Bauhaus philosophy which was further refined at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm, Germany. In Switzerland it developed both in Basel and Zurich, each with its own formal, specific look. Designers working within this style would use the Helvetica typeface, asymmetry, symbols and photography. The International Typographic Style was spread through Swiss teachers who later emigrated to other countries, and through international students who studied in Switzerland. The designers Josef Müller-Brockmann and Armin Hofmann were key original originators of this style. -- RRR
A key outcome of the stylistic thrust of the European avant-garde art movements, Modernism refers to a hybrid form of expression influenced by functionalism, the machine, and, generally, a dramatic move toward the new and different. It was visibly manifested best in graphic communications such as the poster, printed materials, books, and letterheads. Asymmetry, simplicity, photomontage, geometry were all parts of the "look" of Modernism. It was evident in graphic design, architecture, art, and crafts, as well as other media such as music and theater. Early Modernists included El Lissitzky, F.T. Marinetti, Moholy-Nagy and Jan Tschichold. Creative strains of Modernism live on to this day as in the design works of Lella and Massimo Vignelli.