Bold by Design: Mid-century Modern Graphic Art
May-September 2025
Today, the term mid-century modern is often associated with architecture and furniture of the 1950s and 60s. But the hallmarks of that style—clean lines, bold colors, and an emphasis on function before form—can be found in all varieties of design from the late 1930s through the early 1970s.
The mid-century modern aesthetic largely grew out of the work of the German Bauhaus school, which aimed to combine art and craft into practical designs that were simple, yet beautiful. The school ran from its inception in 1919 until its forced closure by the Nazis in 1933, which scattered its instructors—and the design principles they upheld—around the globe.
The Bauhaus approach to design reflected a broader aesthetic shift during the interwar period, as artists and scholars worldwide searched for new ways to clearly express complex information. The Bauhaus designers’ emphasis on geometric composition, as well as minimalist typographic design that prioritized readability, marked a turn away from the ornamentation and natural forms popular in previous decades.
These modern design principles were widely adopted during the post-war period. Innovations in commercial printing technology made color printing cheap and accessible, while the newfound economic prosperity and consumerist culture led to a widespread increase in advertising and marketing materials. This drove designers to create ever more clever and eye-catching visual graphics geared to a populace ready to embrace a bright new future
Bold by Design: Mid-century Modern Graphic Art
May-September 2025
Today, the term mid-century modern is often associated with architecture and furniture of the 1950s and 60s. But the hallmarks of that style—clean lines, bold colors, and an emphasis on function before form—can be found in all varieties of design from the late 1930s through the early 1970s.
The mid-century modern aesthetic largely grew out of the work of the German Bauhaus school, which aimed to combine art and craft into practical designs that were simple, yet beautiful. The school ran from its inception in 1919 until its forced closure by the Nazis in 1933, which scattered its instructors—and the design principles they upheld—around the globe.
The Bauhaus approach to design reflected a broader aesthetic shift during the interwar period, as artists and scholars worldwide searched for new ways to clearly express complex information. The Bauhaus designers’ emphasis on geometric composition, as well as minimalist typographic design that prioritized readability, marked a turn away from the ornamentation and natural forms popular in previous decades.
These modern design principles were widely adopted during the post-war period. Innovations in commercial printing technology made color printing cheap and accessible, while the newfound economic prosperity and consumerist culture led to a widespread increase in advertising and marketing materials. This drove designers to create ever more clever and eye-catching visual graphics geared to a populace ready to embrace a bright new future