Lucian Bernhard
Invented the "object poster," focusing on the product being sold
Rejected Art Nouveau's decorative complexity
Designed several typefaces
Lucian Bernhard was in his early twenties when he entered his design in an advertising poster contest sponsored by Priester matches. (Consider this an early form of crowdsourcing.) Although Art Nouveau was popular at the time, with its complex ornamentals and floral embellishments, Bernhard took a different creative direction, painting a simple scene showing a smoking cigar in an ashtray with matches. A friend saw the artwork and thought it advertised cigars. So Bernhard reduced all unnecessary detail until all that remained was a pair of red matches. He then painted the brand name. There was no slogan, nothing to detract from the visual of the product and its name.
Bernhard's design was influenced by the reduced silhouettes and minimalism of England's Beggarstaff Brothers (brothers-in-law actually, who ran an advertising design studio under a pseudonym). Like the Beggerstaffs, Bernhard used flat planes of solid color, but unlike them, he didn't outline individual shapes in his artwork.
Not only did Benhard's design win Priester's poster contest, it also launched a new, straightforward style of advertising. German companies in particular embraced this new flat minimalism, which they called Sachplakat (object poster, which lead to the broader Plakatstil, or poster style) — advertisers felt that Art Nouveau's intricate decoration could obscure or compete with their product. Posters needed to make a quick impression — people passing by are not likely to stop and spend time deciphering the message. Bernhard's focus on the product and its name addressed this issue.
Bernhard opened his own firm in 1906, employing more than 20 designers. Later, he moved to New York, where he expanded inot interior design and helped start the collective Contempora, which sold products like textiles and home goods, He also designed typefaces that are still used today, like Bernhard Modern and Bernhard Gothic.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
Lucian Bernhard's submission to the Priester matches advertising competition was not immediately embraced — the judging panel initially threw it in the trash. But another judge, Ernst Growald, arrived late. Spying Bernhard's work in the bin, he rook it out and studied it, and declared, "Here is a genius." Growald persuaded the other jurors, and Bernhard's poster won first prize.
