Design expert Ellen Lupton to speak on Bauhaus in Aspen on Thursday

Ellen Lupton — renowned curator, design expert, author, and self-professed typography geek — comes to Aspen on Thursday to talk about the Bauhaus influence, including that of Aspen’s Herbert Bayer, on typography as we know it.

Many of us rarely think about typography (if we even know the definition off the top of our heads), but we are influenced by it every single day. It’s the art of arranging text and printed information in a way to make it more visually appealing. Think of newspaper and magazine layouts, webpages, advertisements, company logos. It’s a subset of graphic design focused on the presentation of text through use of different typefaces, fonts, white space, and other techniques.

“In the 1920s, a progressive arm of the art world decided mass communication could be different,” said Lupton, explaining how these avant-garde artists and Bauhaus designers began combining photography with text, creating layouts in the middle of the page, using different fonts and sans-serif typefaces and white space. These visionaries changed the way printed materials looked and had a large influence on media as we know it today.

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“Every piece of news, every advertisement, every e-commerce site, the prices, the product descriptions — everything is typography – and, at some level, it’s affecting your opinion and your trust in that publisher or that company,” she said.

Bauhaus designer Bayer lived in Aspen for almost 30 years and was a major force in transforming what was then considered an abandoned mining town into a cultural gathering for elite tourism. His influence can be seen around the city, including the Wheeler Opera House and the iconic Hotel Jerome — two historic buildings, which he renovated and redesigned around 1950.

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The best local example of Bayer’s work, however, is the campus of the Aspen Institute, now home to the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies, also known as the Bayer Center. The center opened three years ago to preserve and honor Bayer’s work.

“Herbert Bayer designed the Aspen Institute campus, and we believe his interdisciplinary and multi-faceted work represents the fullest expression of the Bauhaus movement in America,” said Lissa Ballinger, executive director of the Bayer Center.

The center works to promote understanding of Bayer’s art and design — and the Bauhaus influence — through exhibitions, public programming, and more. It is currently hosting the exhibit “Bauhaus Typography at 100” through April 26.

Lupton wrote a book of the same title, considered an introduction to the original exhibit in San Francisco but dives deeper into the Bauhaus influence on typography. She also wrote a book on Bayer and his work and design process.

“(Lupton) has played a very significant role in the world of typography and in the education about typography,” Ballinger said. “She is the perfect complement to our exhibition. Truthfully, we’ve been trying to get her out here for years, and we’re so happy for the opportunity to host her.”

The Bayer Center collaborated with the Aspen Society to bring Lupton to Aspen to share her love and knowledge of the Bauhaus influence on modern typography and graphic design.

She will share Bayer’s story, along with those of lesser known Bauhaus visionaries, including Friedl Dicker, Johannes Itten, Làszlò Moholy-Nagy, and Anni Albers, as well as their influence and relevance on modern design and typography.  

“Corporate logos and all that stuff that we take for granted comes from that time period,” she said.

You needn’t be a typography geek or a graphic designer to enjoy her talk. Anyone interested in design, modern architecture, or furniture, old books, and other collectibles will enjoy learning about the Bauhaus influence, she said.

“Design is everywhere,” Lupton said. “Once you start noticing how powerful it is, you really can’t look away.”