A tension between organic and geometric forms, between a human figure and abstract design, energizes this poster for a Berlin-based cigarette company. A highly stylized female silhouette encircles a striking trademark, offset by a waving line that bisects the composition. Restricted colors are used to connote luxury (gold) and smoke (blue). The design builds on the German tradition of the Sachplakat (object poster), which reduced an advertising message to one memorable object or icon. One of the earliest and most famous examples is a 1910 poster by Lucian Bernhard, also for Manoli. Deffke, who became director of the Kunstgewerbeschule (Industrial art school) at Magdeburg, was a prolific designer of reductive, memorable logos in the 1920s.
The New Typography, December 23, 2009–July 26, 2010.
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