poster: universal alphabet by herbert bayer

"Attempt at a New script" is the title of Herbert Bayer's 1926 text in the Bauhaus issue of the magazine Offset. The article is illustrated on page 399 with his design for a new "Alphabet".

"just as modern machines, architecture and cinema are, so must writing be and expression of our modern times, " says bayer. rigorous lower case, simplicity, unity in construction, composition in the primary forms of square and circle - these are his demands. these specifications shaped many bauhaus designs around 1926.

on the published sheet, two characters, the g and the k, are described as still unfinished. in this way, bayer makes design visible as a process.

herbert bayer's design is an idealization of simple construction and universal application. however, legibility has been neglected, the font is more suitable for logos and single words, but not for longer texts.

the universal font was used by herbert bayer in the 1960s for the logo of the bauhaus archive berlin, which he designed, as it was adopted by the bauhaus shop at the same time. "a" and "r" are simplified, but the characters h, u and s are taken from the then popular script helvetica. for a more harmonious shape and better legibility of the lettering, the inner angles of a and v are indented.