The page as a playing field: what the New Typography changed

Order without a central axis

The New Typography no longer took it for granted that the printed page should be a symmetrically ordered field. As the Museum of Modern Art explains, its designers arranged blocks of type and images in striking asymmetrical compositions. Photomontages were frequently added. The empty space between the elements was understood not merely as an unprinted remainder, but as part of the structure. This development is easily misunderstood if only its outward features are adopted. Asymmetry did not mean arbitrariness. Rather, weight, direction and hierarchy had to be coordinated afresh. A small block of text can hold its own against a large image if its position and spacing clarify its role. The historical innovation therefore lay as much in the relationships between the elements as in their individual forms.

Tschichold and the route into everyday life

Jan Tschichold brought together important approaches within the movement in his book ‘The New Typography’, published in 1928. MoMA describes the publication as an accessible systematisation of design principles inspired by the Bauhaus and other avant-garde movements, among others. The breadth of their application is crucial: not only exhibition posters, but also business cards, brochures, magazines and advertising were redesigned. This brought unassuming everyday printed matter closer to artistic experimentation. The exhibition ‘The New Typography’, held at MoMA from 23 December 2009 to 25 July 2010, displayed examples from the museum's collection. These included material from Tschichold's own collection that had supported his teaching and publications.

Looking closely at historical printed matter

An accompanying MoMA article highlights a quality that digital reproductions can easily obscure: despite their clear geometry, the historical works can have a distinctly handcrafted feel. Anyone viewing them solely as precursors to today's screen design overlooks paper, printing processes and small material irregularities. For the present day, the most interesting approach is therefore not to copy a historical look as precisely as possible. It is more productive to ask how a page guides the eye and which information should be understood first. An asymmetrical grid can help, but it is no guarantee of comprehensibility. Nor is every symmetrical composition automatically outdated. The New Typography remains stimulating when its decisions are read as responses to specific communication tasks, rather than as a timelessly binding collection of graphic prohibitions.

Keep exploring

• Bauhaus Is More Than a Look: Learning Through Materials and Experiment
• Biomimicry: Learning from Nature, Not Just Mimicking Its Forms
• Longevity Is More Than Timelessness: What Makes Good Design Endure