Alexey Brodovitch: The First Art Director

Alexey Brodovitch madedesign  history — as a teacher and as role model for legendary photographers like Richard Avedon or as an art director of the fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar.

The Russian graphic designer Alexey Brodovitch began as an autodidact — and became a key figure in the field. In 1920 he fled to Paris where he established himself as an influential voice of a modern and elegant graphic design. In 1930 he emigrated to the USA and made design history — be it as a teacher and as a role model for legendary photographers like Richard Avedon or as art director of the fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar. His radically simple layouts and lots of white space revolutionized editorial design. The interplay of image and typography in his work remains a reference point for graphic design to this day. The exhibition presents Brodovitch's work in unprecedented breadth: the photographs, posters, and magazines on display trace the influential designer's career.