The importance of geometry in Cubism Essay

Modernist designers adopted the importance of geometry from the Cubist painters. During the Bauhaus, geometry became a crucial element of design. Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky was hired by Gropius in 1922 to teach visual design and painting. He published Point and Line to Plane in 1926 where he outlines the importance of geometric shapes in design. He also proposed that the situation of an element on a canvas will assume different meanings which was a radical idea at the time. Kandinsky also believed that unity should be created through both colour and form. He created a questionnaire for the students of the Bauhaus to see if there was a connection between form and shape. The questionnaire consisted of a triangle, a square, and a circle, and students were asked to colour each using red, yellow, or blue (see Figure 2). Studies shown that ..He believed that certain shapes should be a particular colour. For example, the circle has no angles or interest should be the colour blue. A shape with intermediate interest like a square warrants an intermediate colour like red. A dynamic shape like a triangle with its sharp angles should be an energetic yellow. There are strong visual connections between shapes and colours. These geometric studies have gone on to define modern design. Kandinskys belief in the importance in the situation of an element lead to geometric grid structures used in designs to establish hierarchy.

Typography was one of the most revolutionary elements at the Bauhaus. Herbert Bayer was a painter, photographer and typographer who studied Art Nouveau at the Bauhaus for 4 years and was later appointed by Gropius as head of printing and advertising. He believed that Typography should be shaped by functional requirements and be kept in their simplest form. In 1925 he was commissioned by Gropius to design Universal typeface that was characterised by its simplicity, legibility and lack of serifs (see Figure 3). The New Typography features letterforms reduced to their bare essentials. Bayer removed capital letters and all serifs. He strove to revolutionise typography. Within his essay On Typography he maintains that typeface is only the beginning of the revolution into Modernism, and that it would begin with Universal. The type was derived of straight lines and circles. Bayer argued that the spoken word does not require capital letters, and that the use of them in type was unnecessary. Lszl MoholyNagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer who was hired by Gropius to teach at the Bauhaus in 1923. His studies lead to the development of Typophoto a combination of both type and photo in design. This became a popular style of advertising. MoholyNagy believed that typography should be defined by its strength, legibility, and the use of colour. He stated that type "must be communication in its most intense form. The emphasis must be on absolute clarity. Through their strict use of geometric form and composition, both Bayer and MoholyNagy strove to create suitable typefaces acceptable for the Modern era.