Lucian Bernhard
1883–1972 | BORN: Stuttgart, Germany | EDUCATION: Munich Art Academy
Invented the “object poster,” focusing on the product being sold
Rejected Art Nouveau’s decorative complexity
Designed several typefaces
Lucian Bernhard was in his early 20s when he entered his design in an advertising poster contest sponsored by Priester matches. (Consider this an early form of crowdsourcing.) Although Art Nouveau was popular at the time, with its complex ornaments and floral embellishments, Bernhard took a different creative direction, painting a simple scene showing a smoking cigar in an ashtray with matches. A friend saw the artwork and thought ...
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