Constructivism vs Soviet Picture Book

構成主義 / ソビエト絵本

Constructivism comes from Avant-garde and Soviet Picture Book from Publishing and Editing. They are reached for with different intent, which is the fastest way to tell them apart.

Constructivism

Constructivism — El Lissitzky《赤い楔で白を撃て》1919 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainConstructivism — Liubov Popova《コンポジション》1917 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Turns a message into motion with diagonals and hard contrast.

Soviet Picture Book

Soviet Picture Book — セルゲイ・チェホーニン《色とりどりの子どもたち 表紙》1927年 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSoviet Picture Book — ニコライ・トゥイルサ《水の下で 表紙》1930年 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSoviet Picture Book — ニコライ・ラドロフ《絵で読むお話》1937年 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

The children's books of the revolutionary avant-garde: Lebedev and others brought constructivist flatness and simple shapes to storytelling, making cheap lithographed picture books a laboratory of 20th-century book design.

ConstructivismSoviet Picture Book
Era1910s–1930s1920s–1930s
FamilyAvant-gardePublishing and Editing
KindStyleStyle
CuesRed, black and white / Diagonal axis / Photomontage / Imperative letteringConstructivist flatness / Machines and labor simplified / Text and image designed as one / Limited lithographic color
Best used forCampaigns that demand action · Delivering a strong statement in an instantPicture books and teaching material explaining how machines and work function · Booklets and exhibition panels printed within a strict color limit
TypeHeavy condensed type in capitalsType placed as a compositional element, lines running along the shapes
CompositionCollide photography and type along a diagonal spineDesign each spread as one figure, movement across the gutter carrying it
MaterialCoarse halftones, cut-out photos, three colors onlyTwo or three lithographic colors, overlaps making the intermediate tones
CautionCarries strong propaganda associations. Check the ethics of context and message.Arranging flat shapes without designing the order of the story kills the movement of turning the page, and a child cannot follow it.

Put these two together

Avant-garde ／ Publishing and Editing

IndexStyle