Modernism

The modernism era was hugely successful at it's peak, so much so that it was described as ephemeral and metamorphic by the classical French poet Charles Boudelaire. He explained;

"Modernity is the transient, the fleeting, the contingent; it is one half of art, the other being the eternal and the immovable."- (Baudelaire, C., 1863, "The Painter of Modern Life")

Since then, obviously the movement is no longer ephemeral or "current" but is cemented in the history of design, leaving a legacy of new beginnings, new technology, new ways of working and thinking and a big inspiration for the current designers of today. A big step forward and development within the modernist movement was the development of typography. Previously, the only real 'unusual' type was used in scriptures such as holy books, classic novels etc. Now, however, this breed of designers aimed to set the bar higher with typography and create their own unique brand of ways of expression through words.

Example of Neurath's isotype

Otto Neurath devised the system of 'isotype', now considered to be the beginnings of information design, an international picture language to satisfy his own views (classically saying that "words divide, pictures unite")
with the following intentions;

•  form over content
•  authorship
•  grand narrative
•  originality, authenticity and expression
•  individual, single producer
•  integrity, autonomy of artwork

The use of symbols as type rather than the universal "characters" system was groundbreaking and was eventually rooted in cultural, artistic and political movements at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.

This leads on to the recognition of universal symbols. For example, most famous brands have an image, "symbol", that makes them instantly recognizable to the audience across the whole world. Most prominent uses that spring to mind are the Nike "swoosh" and the McDonald's yellow arching "M". Wherever you go in the world, these icons are used for the same purposes. Obviously, you know that if you see the prominent McDonald's logo that there is food available. This is what Otto Neurath wanted to create with his invention of isotype.

Many people within the design industry, once isotype had officially arrived, dismissed previous, "classical" uses of typography. Most notably Max Miedlinger exclaimed that the simple helvetica font was the "scent of the city", meaning it was everywhere you go and how just because it's there to use simply, doesn't mean you have to, especially now that the world was becoming a 'global village' with much more developed communication and later the creation of the computer and furthermore internet.