Compose styles
Rather than blending styles toward a middle, this gives them roles. The first one carries the structure, the next comes in as the accent, and anything after that shows up in a single detail. Where they fight each other, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Bauhaus: Treat shapes and letters as the same building blocks
- Type
- Set in Bauhaus's manner (Geometric sans-serif), and let Swiss's lettering (Neutral sans-serif; be bold with size contrast) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Bauhaus's material (Red, blue and yellow held together by black and off-white); bring in exactly one thing from Swiss (White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament).
- Colour
- Build on #eee7d4, #df2c22, #153f8c and admit one accent from #f1efe8, #ed3b22, #121210.
Where they fight
- Bauhaus and Swiss both belong to Functionalism, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Bauhaus Scattered shapes read as childish. Give every element a job.
- Swiss Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale.
Image prompt
Produce four original images that take their structure from Bauhaus (style, 1919–1933) and their accent from Swiss (style, 1950s–). ## What to make Make the kind of thing Bauhaus exists for: giving an idea a clear, legible form, or bringing intelligence and warmth to education and culture. Choose one subject and hold it across all four. ## Structure comes from Bauhaus - Elementary shapes - Primary colors - Functional beauty - Visible structure Composition: Treat shapes and letters as the same building blocks. Type and lettering: Geometric sans-serif. ## Accent comes from Swiss, used sparingly - Strict grid - Sans-serif type - Asymmetry - Objective photography Let one material quality come from it: White space and objective photographs; almost no ornament. ## Colour and feeling Build the ground on #eee7d4, carry the structure in #df2c22 and #153f8c, and let a single accent come from #ed3b22. These are read off real works, so a direction rather than a fixed palette. Feeling to carry: trust, play, calm. ## Where they fight - Bauhaus and Swiss both belong to Functionalism, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable. ## What goes wrong - Bauhaus: Scattered shapes read as childish. Give every element a job. - Swiss: Too much tidiness turns anonymous. Keep one strong jump in scale. ## Across the four Keep the roles fixed in all four. Vary the framing, the scale and the arrangement so the set shows what this pairing can do rather than four versions of one picture. ## Constraints - Do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. - Do not reproduce the composition of an existing work. - Produce original compositions in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Bauhaus 1919–1933 / Style / Functionalism
Makes function and play coexist through the circle, triangle and square.
- Swiss 1950s– / Style / Functionalism
Puts order front and center and makes the information itself the protagonist.
Share this composition:https://indexstyle.org/compose?ids=bauhaus+swiss