Synopsis of Michael Engelmann

Straightforward photography, a restrained color scheme, simple texts set in a functional typeface: these are the formal elements that German graphic designer Michael Engelmann drew on to create an unmistakable pictorial language for posters, Engelmann came to advertising self-taught. In the 1950s, he set about expunging any trace of empty bourgeois enthusiasm for advertising by applying a strictly conceptual working approach. In his posters for Pirelli, The Philadelphia Enquirer, Renault, or Roth Handle, images and ideas came together in a way as simple as it was compelling, creating signs of great associative force. His was a highly regarded contribution to graphic design's breakthrough into the age of mass communication; it introduced wit and a sense of using resources economically. Poster Collection 10 brings together numerous posters created by Engelmann, who died prematurely at the age of 38.