{"id":51182,"date":"2019-01-10T09:14:43","date_gmt":"2019-01-10T17:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/?p=51182"},"modified":"2024-04-17T22:35:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T05:35:02","slug":"design-trend-report-cubism-graphic-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativemarket.com\/blog\/design-trend-report-cubism-graphic-design","title":{"rendered":"Design Trend Report: Cubism in Graphic Design"},"content":{"rendered":"Cubist design,

one of the most well-known design trends in history, turned the world of art upside down in the early 20th<\/sup> century. Cubism boldly refused to go along with two big ideas of its day: that art should emulate nature and that artists should subject themselves to techniques like modeling, perspective, and foreshortening.\nInstead, Cubist design assessed objects, deconstructed them, and finally put them back together in a highly abstract form<\/a>. The end result was that viewers saw these objects through the lens of numerous viewpoints as opposed to just one, bestowing on the subject a farther-reaching context.\nThe list of names associated with this design trend reads like a who’s who of design greats, including Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, and Georges Braque.\nBecause of its groundbreaking, new style, Cubism would influence the development of subsequent trends that would also greatly shape the 20th<\/sup> century. Movements like Art Deco<\/a>, De Stijl design<\/a>, and Futurism<\/a> have Picasso and his friends to thank for their rise.\nThis deep dive into this style takes a look at everything from its history and influences to its characteristics and enduring legacy.\n<\/p>

<\/span>The History of Cubist Design<\/span><\/h2>

\nAs with various late 19th<\/sup> century and early 20th<\/sup> century movements in design, Cubism was only popular for a relatively short period of time, which is surprising when you think about it. This movement—which today many people have at least heard of in some way, shape, or form—only enjoyed a shelf life of less than two decades, measured by its popularity.\nThis relatively short lease on life can in part be ascribed to the tumultuous times of European culture in those days, when wars like the First World War—lasting from 1914 to 1918—created upheaval and uncertainty, but also gave artists something to react to and against. In all likelihood, immersing oneself in the creative pursuits of this new design movement also provided some much-needed escapism from the harshness of war.\n\"\"\n<\/p>

Image Source: Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>

\nOne of the earliest flashpoints for what would become Cubism can be found in the works of Cezanne, the French Post-Impressionist painter, and artist. In the years leading up to the birth of the new movement, Cezanne was obsessed with putting art in the context of something more abstract rather than natural. In addition to his appreciation of geometric structure, he revolutionized how he applied paint to canvas. Instead of sticking with classicism, Cezanne moved to painting works that showed off a strong patchwork effect, which included overlapping effects and random or arbitrary textures and contrasts.\nIn doing so, he laid the foundations for Cubism, with his penchant for rebellious art and design experimentation in full bloom and on full display.\nFor more ideas and inspiration on what comprise the essentials of this movement, see our large selection of Cubism-related digital assets:

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<\/figure>\n \nHistorians like Douglas Cooper, author of the classic The Cubist Epoch<\/a><\/em>, split up Cubism into three important and short phases: Proto-Cubism (beginning), High Cubism (peak), and Late Cubism (petering out).\n<\/p>

<\/span>The First Phase: 1907 to 1908<\/span><\/h3>

\nIn this year, the important building blocks that would eventually give rise to this design trend proper would be put into place. Proto-Cubism would allow the early artists of this movement the freedom to start experimenting as they gradually became more radical in their designs.\n1907 sees the first major work of Cubism by none other than Picasso, his famous and controversial work titled Les Demoiselles d’Avignon<\/em> (The Young Ladies of Avignon). In this piece, five prostitutes from a Barcelona brothel are depicted in heavy paint, angular geometric forms, and from a multi-perspective viewpoint (a trademark of Cubist design). Its legacy today is that it’s recognized as being vital in the early development of not just Cubism, but also modern art.\n\"\"\n<\/p>

Image Source: Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>

\nOther seminal works in this style soon joined Picasso’s powerful piece.\nIn 1908, Braque’s Maisons a l’Estaque<\/em> (Houses at l’Estaque), a landscape painting that also gave rise to the name of the movement. In this work, houses and trees are depicted without any form of perspective. Its heavy use of simple, geometric shapes and angular, sharp edges led an art critic of the time, Louis Vauxcelles, to brand it as being made up of cubes…hence creating the name of the movement.\nAt this juncture, it’s necessary to point out that another prominent design trend—Impressionism<\/a>, the late 19th<\/sup>-century style that came to prominence in France—also got its name from a sneering art critic mocking the avant-garde approaches of its painters. A pattern that we see again and again with trends that become legendary is the initial resistance by the establishment and elites of the time, who dismissed these new techniques completely, often resulting in eventual damage to their credibility.\n<\/p>

<\/span>The Second Phase: 1909 to 1914<\/span><\/h3>

\nBy 1909, when American novelist and playwright Gertrude Stein called Picasso’s 1909 paintings the first, true Cubist paintings, this new design trend was already in full swing. In 1911, Picasso was regarded as the inventor of this new style, and, in the same year, the very first exhibition of Cubist design was held at Salle 41 at the Salons des Independants (an annual and huge exhibition in Paris). It featured pieces by:\n<\/p>