De Stijl
デ・ステイル / 1917–1931 / Style / Geometric Abstraction
Restricts the vocabulary to vertical, horizontal and primary color, building universal order from balance.


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At a glance
Visual cues
- Vertical and horizontal
- Red, blue, yellow
- White planes
- Asymmetric equilibrium
Best used for
- Brand systems that grow from few rules
- Uniting abstraction with lucid order
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Dictionary entry
- Type
- A rectilinear sans; treat letters as rectangles too
- Composition
- Divide the plane with orthogonals; shift the weight off center
- Material
- White, black, primaries; ration the colored planes
- Caution
- Not just red-blue-yellow squares. Design the ratios and the asymmetric balance.
- Further study
- Theo van Doesburg / Piet Mondrian / Vilmos Huszár
Related entries
- Bauhaus (バウハウス)Shared effects: Trust.Compare De Stijl and Bauhaus
- Swiss (スイス・スタイル)Shared effects: Trust / Calm.Compare De Stijl and Swiss
Often confused with
More from Geometric Abstraction
Continue through styles in the same Geometric Abstraction family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Neo-Impressionism (新印象主義)Shared effects: Technique / Trust / Calm.
- Hard-Edge Painting (ハードエッジ・ペインティング)Shared effects: Trust / Technique / Calm.
- Concrete Art (コンクリート・アート)Shared effects: Trust / Technique / Calm.
Browse all Geometric Abstraction entries
Cite this entry
The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.
- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/de-stijl
- Markdown
- [De Stijl — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/de-stijl)
- HTML
- <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/de-stijl">De Stijl — IndexStyle</a>