Plakatstil

Plakatstil was an early poster style of art that began in the early 1900s and originated out of Germany. "Plakatstil" means "poster style" in German. The traits of this style of art are usually bold, straight font with very simple design. Shapes and objects are simplified while the subject of the poster remains detailed. Plakatstil incorporated color combinations not seen in other art forms such as Art Nouveau. Plakatstil shied away from the complexity of Art Nouveau and helped emphasize a more modern outlook on poster art. Famous Plakatstil artists include Berliner Lucian Bernhard and artist Ludwig Hohlwein.

Ludwig Hohlwein (1874-1949)
Was also one of the most important artists of the Plakatstil (poster style). His career spanned both World Wars with his style developing in response to the dramatic and
cultural pressures.

Hohlwein began his studies with architecture turning to graphic design in 1906. Hohlwein designed for restaurants, cafés, and the clothing industry. Some of his more famous work was for Hermann Sherrer a men’s clothes line.

Like Bernhard, Hohlwein’s style was influenced by the Beggarstaff Brothers. There was a powerful composition balance to his work, which he combined with realism and again flat bold color. During WWI, Hohlwein produced emotional posters for fundraising and propaganda purposes. Between the wars Hohlwein designed travel posters, getting more involved with photography and airbrushing. And during WWII Hohlwein produced posters for the Nazis. Hohlwein, War posters for the Nazi's. He became known as a master propaganda artist.

Lucian Bernhard was a German graphic designer, type designer, professor, interior designer, and artist during the first half of the twentieth century. The family of typefaces he developed is called Bernhard. He was influential in helping create the design style known as Plakatstil (Poster Style), which used reductive imagery and flat-color as well as Sachplakat ('object poster') which restricted the image to simply the object being advertised and the brand name. He was also known for his designs for Stiller shoes, Manoli cigarettes, and Priester matches.