De Gemeenschap

06/29/2023 (Post 1)

    My first post of the day is based on research on a new graphic designer (that I haven't mentioned), Paul Schuitema. According to my source of information, "Schuitema studied at the Academie voor Beeldende Kusten in Rotterdam. In the 1920s, he began to work on graphic design, applying the principles of De Stijil and Constructivism to commercial advertising...During his employment at the NV Maatschappij Van Merkel Patentscale company in Rotterdam, Schuitema gained recognition for his original designs of stationary and publicity material, often using only the colors black, red, and white and bold sans serif fonts". 

    This design of Schuitema's is called De Gemeenschap (Translated: The Community). This design was created for a magazine cover in 1930. De Gemeenschap can be an example of Early Modern design because of how these design elements are being put to the test. The lower case "g" is in a bright red/orange color, which to me seems like that letter "g" is an important part of this design. The viewer can also see some overlaying between the "g" and "3" along with "De Gemeenschap". The photograph chosen is also being put in the bleed, which means when the cover is being produced, the paper will cut some of the image off in the final design. 

    De Gemeenschap can be an example of Early Modernism because of the time frame that this poster was created. And while my source does explain that Schuitema worked in the De Stijil and Constructivism periods, I still do believe that the characteristics to this design that I pointed out can be an example of Early Modernism because these characteristics bring all possibilities to light when it comes to creating (at least for Schuitema). 

Image Citation:

Schuitema, Paul. De Gemeenschap. 1930. Magazine Cover. Found the image on June 22nd, 2023. Found image information on https://designobserver.com/slide.php?entry=8817&view=157&slide=12. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Schuitema.