OUGD504 - Brief 01 - Inspiration for Development

At the beginning of this brief, I thought to myself, why not try designing an info-graphic or incorporate some sort of illustration/icons into the design of this leaflet? I took a couple of books out of the library and did some very quick research into info graphic design and organising information and that made me realise that I wanted to avoid attempting that. So I was back at square one, stuck without a concept or aesthetic. I then remembered researching the Bauhaus philosophy quite a lot during my Context of Practice module last year, and remembered how much I discovered about it's philosophy and unique ways of teaching. I then thought that those principles would translate well into a design process. Students studying at the Bauhaus were definitely taught in a way that replicated a design process. It was instilled into them that everything they created would ultimately end up being mass produced or used some way in the public domain. This was the ultimate vision of the design school.

It was known as the Bauhaus manifesto. Walter Gropius formulated a manifesto for the Bauhaus which stated "The final goal of all artistic activity is architecture." The Bauhaus principles are best summarized by Alfred Barr, the Director of the Museum of Modern Art 1938, in his preface to the book Bauhaus (edited by Gropius and Bayer). Here are a few which I used as inspiration for development of my leaflet design:

• most students should face the fact that their future should be involved primarily with industry and mass production rather than with individual craftsmanship

• the schools of design should, as the Bauhaus did, bring together the various arts of painting, architecture, theatre, photography, weaving, typography, etc., into a modern synthesis which disregards conventional distinctions between the "fine" and "applied" art

• it is harder to design a first rate chair than to paint a second rate painting-and much more useful

• a school of design should have on its faculty the purely creative and disinterested artist such as the easel painter as a spiritual counterpoint to the practical technician in order that they may work and teach side by side for the benefit of the student

• manual experience of materials is essential to the student of design- experience at first confined to free experiment and then extended to the practical workshop

• the study of rational design in terms of techniques and materials should be only the first step in the development of a new and modern sense of beauty

• because we live in the 20th century, the student architect or designer should be offered no refuge in the past but should be equipped for the modern world in its various aspects, artistic, technical, social, economic, spiritual, so that he may function in society not as a decorator but as a vital participant.

These steps are to me a unique way of thinking and working within the realms of art and design; they form part of the Bauhaus's design process. Gropius himself said,"The Bauhaus does not pretend to be a crafts school; contact with industry is consciously sought...the old craft workshops will develop into industrial laboratories: from their experimentation will evolve standards for industrial production...The teaching of a craft is meant to prepare for designing for mass production. Starting with the simplest tools and least complicated jobs, he gradually acquires ability to master more intricate problem and to work with machinery, while at the same time he keeps in touch with the entire process of production from start to finish." Bauhaus teaching aimed to develop rational principles to determine the organization of type, rules, white space, colours, etc.

The Bauhaus teaching was so strict and revolved so heavily around those ideologies and principles. This inspired me to take my leaflet design in a different direction. I did some visual research into the Bauhaus, looking specifically at shape and pattern and typefaces associated with the iconic institution. I discovered that the three main shapes of the Bauhaus are simplistic: a square, a triangle and a circle. The three primary colours are also closely associated with these shapes. Below are a few examples of iconic pieces of work closely associated with the Bauhaus principles. 

These monochrome prints caught my eye the most. I like their abstract simplicity and the slight roughness achieved through the screen printing process. I'm unsure whether or not to use colour in my design or to just keep things monochrome and print onto a lovely coloured stock. I will decide once I have collected some feedback from my peers. 

Here are examples of a rough mock up I produced quite quickly. I took inspiration from the research I did into design produced at the Bauhaus. I created a type only pattern and then translated this into the backing for the leaflet. I am happy with it as an initial concept but it definitely needs refining. I am really pleased with the type choice as I feel it has a lot of potential.