Stylogeny combining Russian Constructivism × Czech Poetist Book Design

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Style combination · Contrasts

Russian Constructivism × Czech Poetist Book Design

Same bars, diagonals and photomontage with the opposite mood; use the Poetist version when a constructivist layout needs lightness and wit instead of command.

From the research on Czech Poetist Book Design (Devětsil)

Mix them and make something Russian Constructivism Czech Poetist Book Design

NEWRussian Constructivism × Czech Poetist
A sample layout drawn from the recipe: shapes from Czech Poetist Book Design, their arrangement from Russian Constructivism, the finish from Russian Constructivism. Not a real work, and not an image of either style.

01

What each style brings

Each part of the design comes from the style with the stronger say in it, and each style gives at least two.

Russian Constructivism Czech Poetist Book Design (Devětsil)

Type from Russian Constructivism
Colour from Czech Poetist Book Design
Form from Czech Poetist Book Design
Composition from Russian Constructivism
Surface from Russian Constructivism

02

The type

Open fonts standing in for each style’s own type, which is often hand-drawn or commercial.

Display · Russian Constructivism

New

Archivo Black, standing in for Soviet heavy grotesques (rubleny shrift)

Text · Czech Poetist Book Design

The book and magazine design of the Czech Devětsil circle, where Karel Teige and his colleagues turned constructivist tools (asymmetry, sans and slab capitals, heavy bars, photomontage) toward Poetism's lyrical celebration of travel, cinema, jazz and the circus. Covers and 'picture poems' set type among postcards, ocean liners and aeroplanes, and in Abeceda (1926) a dancer's body poses as each letter of the alphabet.

Inter; Czech Poetist Book Design used Jobbing grotesque capitals from Prague print shops and Egyptienne slab-serif display capitals

03

The colours

The ground and leading colours come from Czech Poetist Book Design, with a counter-accent from Russian Constructivism. The ink reads on the ground at 4.5:1 or more.

Russian Constructivism Czech Poetist Book Design (Devětsil)

  • #f2ebdc ground · 36%
  • #161514 ink · 14%
  • #e9b52c accent · 18%
  • #d1261c accent · 14%
  • #c9b28a accent · 10%
  • #2459a6 accent · 8%

As CSS

:root {
  --ground: #f2ebdc;
  --ink: #161514;
  --accent-1: #e9b52c;
  --accent-2: #d1261c;
  --accent-3: #c9b28a;
  --accent-4: #2459a6;
  --font-display: "Archivo Black", sans-serif;
  --font-text: "Inter", sans-serif;
}

04

The two styles

1917–1934 · Eastern Europe Russian Constructivism Constructivism rejected art for art's sake in favour of the artist-engineer building useful things for the new Soviet society. In posters, books, film publicity and state advertising it fused bold grotesque type, heavy bars, photomontage and diagonal axes into an urgent, utilitarian language of agitation that shaped modern graphic design worldwide. A retro travel poster reading “SOLAR TRIP” combines a large black-and-white image of a smiling woman in a swimsuit with a coastal town, a vintage bus on a winding seaside road, and divers above the water. Red diagonal shapes, blue stripes and sea, a yellow sun, and rows of dots decorate the cream background. 1922–1938 · Central Europe Czech Poetist Book Design (Devětsil) The book and magazine design of the Czech Devětsil circle, where Karel Teige and his colleagues turned constructivist tools (asymmetry, sans and slab capitals, heavy bars, photomontage) toward Poetism's lyrical celebration of travel, cinema, jazz and the circus. Covers and 'picture poems' set type among postcards, ocean liners and aeroplanes, and in Abeceda (1926) a dancer's body poses as each letter of the alphabet.

05

More combinations

With Russian Constructivism

All 21 combinations with Russian Constructivism

With Czech Poetist Book Design

Every style combination