Weaving Through Design History: Constructivism

Altogether now comrades!! Ah, it was fun to do another design history poster. This time: Constructivism, a very (and I mean very) influential Russian design era.

Constructivism was a movement started in 1913 that encompassed several fields like architecture, fashion, dance, film, and especially industrial design. Posters were characterized by very bold, dynamic use of font and often simple color schemes (normally revolving around red though. After all, we are talking about Mother Russia) x3

Also due to its place in history, communism was still a new, and very different, form of government for Russia. Posters were designed to help communicate to the public the ideals behind the U.S.S.R. While some could easily be lumped in as propaganda posters, several were more nationalistic or informational in nature. Most posters often depict workers, sometimes individuals or even large masses of workers.

If it reminds you of the Bauhaus poster I already did, you would be correct. Most of the influential Russian designers from the Constructivist movement taught several classes there, further refining (and eventually altering) the style. De Stijl was also heavily inspired from this movement.

Most of the WTDH posters I have done only pull inspiration from an era. This one on the other hand was much more directly inspired from this poster: Poster.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some awesome posters from this movement, but I was terribly fond of this one known only as “Fighting Lazy Workers,” artist unknown. It exemplifies the simplicity of the era’s lines and shapes (much better than mine at least).