The ABC's of Triangle, Square, Circle: The Bauhaus and Design Theory

by J. Abbott Miller, Ellen Lupton

"… accomplishes what the other books on the Bauhaus don't, which is to demonstrate, in concise language and clear graphics, exactly how Bauhaus design theory works in practice." — The Wall Street Journal
 
"A fascinating work of design theory and graphic design." — Architectural Record
 
"…an extremely important primer for anyone who knows the legend but not the story of the Bauhaus and its methods." —Steven Heller, The Daily Heller
 
 A new edition of a design classic on the Bauhaus, with a preface by leading designers Ellen Lupton and J. Abbot Miller.

Originally published in 1991, The ABC’s of Triangle, Square, Circle traces the origin and impact of the Bauhaus (the legendary art school in Dessau, Germany, operational from 1919 to 1933, that transformed architecture and design around the world) in relation to design, psychoanalysis, geometry, early childhood education, and popular culture.
 
The text is a provocative exploration of the school’s aims and achievements, while the book itself is a manifesto of Bauhaus ideals, synthesizing editorial concept, typography, and craftsmanship.
 
Designed in a manner that honors the aspirations of the Bauhaus, this extraordinary manual is a source of inspiration for design professionals and students and a revelation for all those interested in twentieth-century culture.

Genres: Design, Art, Art Design, Nonfiction, History, Education

72 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2019

Reviews

[Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these essays are really informative and thought-provoking. The work suffers as a whole, however, because of their increasing disjointedness. I understand that they were apparently assembled to accompany some exhibition and that the lack of coherence between them must to an extent reflect the exhibition's diversity. But there's not much of a framework to explain or justify this except for a little bit in the preface. As interesting as an essay about the unsuitability of Euclidean geometry to the study of fractals can be, it doesn't feel appropriate for a book subtitled "the Bauhaus and Design Theory."

[Leandro Aalto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bauhaus is know as one of the birthplaces of modern design and their impact is unmatched. On Bayer’s universal type theory he depicts a new form of designing, stripping itsef from old decorations of the past (seen as subjective, feminine) and keeping it “clean” (seen as objective, masculine). This understandind of “universal” design as something inherently masculine makes modern design misogynistic by it’s core. 🤯 Not something to be surprised about... Some of the articles in this book are really thought-provoking and worth the read. The historical context where Bauhaus situated itself was also something I never learned during my design education.

[Unpil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excerpts from Lupton's "Visual Dictionary"

- Saussure diagrams the grid of language as a series of vertical and horizontal relations. The relationship between sound and concept, or signifier and signified, is vertical [...]. Horizontally, each sign is linked to all the other signs against which it is defined [...]. The link between signifier and signified is not an inherent quality of the sign, but is rather a function of the overall system. A sign is thus not an autonomous, self-contained vessel of meaning, but only has value in relation to other signs. Kandinsky's series [yellow triangle - red square - blue circle] is analogous in some ways to a system of linguistic signs. [...]
 The central difference between the verbal sign and the ideal of the visual sign symbolized by Kandinsky's series is the arbitrariness of the link between form and concept, signifier and signified, in the verbal sign. Saussure argued that language is fundamentally social, depending for its survival on a shared cultural agreement; in contrast, Kandinsky's series symbolized the search for al naguage based in natural laws of perception. Yet Kandinsky's series itself bears cultural associations. Its kingship to children's toys carries the promise of generation, while its geometry and spectral purity allies the truth of intuition with that of science. (p. 33)

- Figure 5 [not shown], from Kepes's Language of Vision, consists of three consecutive graphics: a representation of a Mondrian painting follows two didactic drawings demonstrating the perceptual law that similar elements tend to consolidate into groups. Kepes has brought together two divergent cultraul discourses within a single frame: science and art. By using technical diagrams as models for artistic practice, Kepes has shifted them from their role as secondary support for a verbal argument to primary figures in their own right. Science is aestheticized by its association with art, while art borrows a sense of authority and explanatory power from science. Perceptual diagrams offered Kepes attractive formal qualities—abstraction, simplicity, typographic linearity. He also placed aesthetic value on their function, their role as direct manifestations of indexical records of the laws of vision. Diagrams from Gestalt psychology have no "meaning" or signified, but rather a function: to be seen. Perceptual diagrams are elementary sentences written in the language of vision. (p. 37)

[polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro ha sido una sorpresa y me ha encantado más de lo que pensé. Me ha ayudado a entender mejor la Bauhaus y los conceptos en los que se asentaba. Aunque la ultima parte del libro, no entendí muy bien que relación tenía. Lo recomiendo, tambien para entender un poco el contexto del diseño en el que nos encontramos.

[Stu Napier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but pleasant read, and a very pretty and well put together book. The coloured binding to match the front cover was a nice touch. However, the last chapter on fractals felt a bit out of place for this book, and lost me completely.

[Mark Bischuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Lidia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a designer and a person who loves shapes and geometrics so I liked this book. It brought me back to my art school days.

[Juanchi Maffeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuestionable edición de los contenidos, provoca una lectura obtusa. Buena tapa.

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bom livro. Explora as origens da escola e do pensamento das pessoas que a criaram. Mas alguns artigos (o livro é um apanhado de artigos) são mais fracos e desconectados a narrativa.

[Parker Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

idk but there’s something about the jenesequa and aura of this Weimar based art movement is hitting particularly hard in year of our lord 2025, how curious

[Brian Kovesci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this but I got less and less interested as the book progressed. Why did it end on string theory and a discussion of fractals? I mean, really though, why?