Hans Rudi Erdt

Erdt was a German graphic designer, commercial artist and lithographer in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. He was considered one of the most influential poster artists at the time and had an excellent eye for the use of typography in his designs. Some of his work used negative space to capture viewer attention, this negative space is known as Gestalts principle(when your mind makes connections between objects without a physical line or joint)

POSTER, POSTER, POSTER

He contributed to the Sachplakat movement. Sachplakat means “poster style.” A form of artistry from the beginning of the 20th century that spread across Germany. His art was used in various circumstances, his most recognizable works are that of the German car brand Opel and their racing team. But his work was also used as propaganda in World War 1 for the general public, specifically the men, to enlist in the country’s defence and offence.

Can I get a Cig?

Quite a few of his posters were of smoking and cigarettes. He designed ads for companies like Malboro, Dubec Cigarettes and Manoli Ltd. Most of his artworks had the same distinct style. The style was not realistic but used solid colours, overlapping elements and negative spaces. Most notable was that it was simple, bold and unique. A lot of his work included people. The reason is that viewers connect more with another person than an object, mainly a person’s eyes. As you can tell in the Molsem poster, the “M” is formed in between the smoke circle from the cigarette, this shows the innovation of integration between the typography and the illustration or designs.

References
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