# American Mid-Century Modernism

> The American synthesis of European avant-garde form with wit, pragmatism and commercial clients, led by Paul Rand, Alvin Lustig, Lester Beall, Bradbury Thompson and Saul Bass. Asymmetric layouts, cut-paper and collaged shapes, photomontage, playful hand-drawn marks and a few bright flat colours turned book jackets, magazines, advertising, film titles and corporate work into idea-driven visual puns.

- Period: 1940–1970
- Where: North America
- Origin: New York and Chicago, USA
- Branch: Pictorial & machine age
- Also known as: New York School (graphic design), Mid-century modern graphics
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/american-modernism/

## How it works

- Find one visual idea or pun and express it with the fewest possible shapes.
- Compose asymmetrically, balancing a bold image against open space and compact type.
- Combine cut-paper or torn shapes, photographic fragments and hand-drawn marks in one collage.
- Use two or three flat, bright spot colours on white, letting them overlap.
- Mix a geometric sans or a classic Bodoni with handwritten or hand-cut lettering for warmth.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Dynamic asymmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/) (defining)
- [Collage & layering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/collage-and-layering/) (characteristic)
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Diagonal axis](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/diagonal-axis/) (occasional)
- [Column grid](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/column-grid/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Generous white space](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/generous-white-space/) (characteristic)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (characteristic)
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (characteristic)

### Typography
- [Geometric sans](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-sans/) (characteristic)
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (characteristic)
- [Flush left, ragged right](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flush-left-ragged-right/) (characteristic)
- [Didone](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/didone/) (occasional)
- [Lowercase only](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/lowercase-only/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (defining)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Light ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/light-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Primary triad](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/primary-triad/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (characteristic)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (characteristic)
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (characteristic)
- [Squiggles & confetti](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/squiggles-and-confetti/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)
- [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (occasional)
- [Halftone & Ben-Day dots](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/halftone-and-ben-day-dots/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Restrained accents](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/restrained-accents/) (characteristic)

### Imagery
- [Photomontage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/photomontage/) (characteristic)
- [Flat vector illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-vector-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Treated photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/treated-photography/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (defining)
- [Motion & broadcast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/motion-and-broadcast/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Playful & witty](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/playful-and-witty/) (defining)
- [Rational & objective](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rational-and-objective/) (characteristic)
- [Warm & approachable](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/warm-and-approachable/) (occasional)

Avoids: Abundant decoration, Floral & vegetal, Central symmetry, Ornamented display, Horror vacui, Gloss & highlights

Palette: #f2ede1, #1a1a1a, #d6452f, #e2a83a, #2f5f8a, #5c7a3e

Typefaces: Futura, Bodoni, Franklin Gothic, Hand-cut paper lettering (Saul Bass), Paul Rand's handwritten script

Known for: Paul Rand (Direction covers, 1938–1945; Thoughts on Design, 1947); Alvin Lustig (New Directions book jackets); Lester Beall (Rural Electrification Administration posters, late 1930s); Saul Bass (The Man with the Golden Arm, 1955); Alexey Brodovitch (Harper's Bazaar); Bradbury Thompson (Westvaco Inspirations); Container Corporation of America, 'Great Ideas of Western Man' (from 1950)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Bauhaus](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bauhaus.md) (1919–1933)
- Influenced by: [Plakatstil / Sachplakat](https://stylogeny.com/styles/plakatstil.md) (1905–1920)
- Influenced by: [Die Neue Typographie](https://stylogeny.com/styles/new-typography.md) (1923–1940)
- Influenced by: [Surrealist Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/surrealism.md) (1924–1960)
- Led to: [Bengali Modernist Book Cover (Prachchhad)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bengali-book-cover.md) (1943–present)
- Led to: [UPA & Cartoon Modern](https://stylogeny.com/styles/upa-cartoon-modern.md) (1944–1960)
- Led to: [Push Pin Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/push-pin.md) (1954–1980)
- Led to: [Blue Note Jazz Sleeve Modernism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/blue-note-sleeve.md) (1956–1967)
- Led to: [Thaw Modernism (Soviet and Czechoslovak)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/thaw-modernism.md) (1956–1968)
- Led to: [Phototype Expressive Typography (Lubalin & U&lc)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/lubalin-typographics.md) (1962–1985)
- Alike in its design choices: [Scandinavian Functionalism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/scandinavian-functionalism.md) (1930–present), 70% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Bossa Nova Sleeve Modernism (César Villela and Elenco)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bossa-nova-sleeve.md) (1960–1968), 68% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Milanese Industrial Modernism (Olivetti, Pirelli, Studio Boggeri)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/milanese-industrial-modernism.md) (1933–1975), 66% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Turkish Modernist Poster & Graphic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/turkish-modernist-graphics.md) (1959–2000), 64% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Greek Tourism Modernism (EOT)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/greek-tourism-modernism.md) (1960–1974), 61% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Corporate Memphis](https://stylogeny.com/styles/corporate-memphis.md) (2017–present), 59% alike

## Real works

- [Light (Rural Electrification Administration)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Light_-_Rural_electrification_administration_-_Beall._LCCN2010646236.jpg): Lester Beall, 1937 (LoC: [193-]), Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Artist Posters collection (LCCN 2010646236), via Wikimedia Commons
- [It's Fine for Us (Rural Electrification Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:It%27s_fine_for_us_Rural_Electrification_Administration,_U.S._Department_of_Agriculture_-_-_Beall._LCCN2010650607.jpg): Lester Beall, c. 1939 (LoC: [193-]), Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Artist Posters collection (LCCN 2010650607), via Wikimedia Commons
- [America's Answer! Production](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:America%27s_Answer!_Production_-_DPLA_-_41aae1e65b86910471432d728a0e47b0.jpg): Jean Carlu, 1942, Hennepin County Library, via DPLA and Wikimedia Commons
- [DADA Poster](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/229395): Paul Rand, 1951, The Art Institute of Chicago (2015.169)
- [Poster for the film The Man with the Golden Arm, directed by Otto Preminger](https://www.moma.org/collection/works/5665): Saul Bass, 1955, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (202.1956)

## Sources

- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, Meggs' History of Graphic Design
- R. Roger Remington, American Modernism: Graphic Design 1920 to 1960 (2003)
- Steven Heller, Paul Rand (Phaidon, 1999)

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “American Mid-Century Modernism”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/american-modernism/