# Bauhaus poster generator

Big circles, squares and triangles in primary colours, held in tension on one diagonal by heavy bars and dots, with your words set in lowercase along the axis.

Open the generator: https://morph.ogeny.app/bauhaus/

## Design choices

- **Diagonal axis** (`layout.diagonal`): Composition driven by tilted axes and oblique movement. Set by “Diagonal axis”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/diagonal-axis/
- **Geometric primitives** (`form.primitives`): Circle, square and triangle as building blocks. Set by “Geometric primitives”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/
- **Rules & bars** (`ornament.rules-bars`): Thick bars, lines and dots as structural accents. Set by “Rules & bars”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rules-and-bars/
- **Dynamic asymmetry** (`layout.asymmetric`): Off-centre balance from the tension between unequal masses. Set by “Dynamic asymmetry”. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/
- **Primary triad** (`color.primary-triad`): Red, yellow and blue with black and white. “Colour”: Primary triad. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/primary-triad/
- **Limited spot colours** (`color.limited-spot`): Two or three flat inks. “Colour”: Black and one colour. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/
- **Lowercase only** (`type.lowercase`): Capitals rejected as unnecessary. “Letter case”: Lowercase only. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/lowercase-only/
- **All caps** (`type.all-caps`): Capitals for monumentality, order or shouting. “Letter case”: All caps. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/
- **Geometric sans** (`type.geometric-sans`): Built from circle and line: Futura, Avant Garde, Circular. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-sans/
- **Extreme scale contrast** (`space.scale-contrast`): Very large against very small elements, for drama and order. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/
- **Flat fields** (`color.flat-fields`): Unmodulated areas of colour. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/
- **Non-representational** (`form.abstract`): Pure form with no depicted subject. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/non-representational/
- **Rational & objective** (`tone.rational`): Clarity, neutrality and order above personality. Always. https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rational-and-objective/

## How it works

- A few big elementary forms stand in tension along one diagonal axis: each sits on the heavy bar, is cut by it or stands clear of it, alternating sides and stepping down in size.
- Bars, rules and dots hold the forms together and lead the eye; lowercase geometric type is set on, under, in or across the bar as part of the structure.

It never does:

- No orthogonal grid and no single repeated module: the diagonal and the scale contrast between a few forms carry the picture.
- No copies of known posters: no circle-and-profile exhibition poster, no birthday-poster layout, and no names of people, schools or exhibitions in the default text.

## Controls

- `words` Words (default "form und farbe"): Set on the axis, lowercase unless you choose capitals. Left as it is, each variation picks its own words.
- `tilt` Diagonal axis (0–60, default 30): How steeply the axis climbs or falls; 0 squares it to the page.
- `forms` Geometric primitives (1–5, default 3): How many circles, squares and triangles stand on the axis.
- `bars` Rules & bars (0–1, default 0.6): How many bars, rules and dots hold the forms together.
- `asym` Dynamic asymmetry (0–1, default 0.6): How far the weight sits off centre and how unequal the forms are.
- `colour` Colour (triad | pairs | spot; default triad): Each form its own primary; blue circles, red squares and yellow triangles; or black with red.
- `case` Letter case (lower | caps; default lower)
- `overlap` Overlaps (overprint | black | cut | stack; default black): Where forms cross: inks mix, the overlap prints black, it drops back to the paper, or one form covers the other.
- `scale` Scale (0.6–1.4, default 1): How big the forms are on the page.

## About Bauhaus

The Bauhaus was a German school of art and design, open from 1919 to 1933. In its printing workshop, posters and printed matter were built from elementary forms (circle, square and triangle), primary colours, heavy rules and sans-serif type, often without capitals, arranged asymmetrically and often on a strong diagonal.

This generator composes the same way. Each variation sets an axis at the angle you choose and stands a few big forms along it: each one sits on the bar, is cut by it or stands clear of it, stepping down in size and alternating sides. Bars, rules and dots tie them together, and your words are set in a geometric sans on, under, inside or across the bar. It tries a couple of dozen layouts for every variation and keeps the one with the cleanest margins, overlaps and balance.

Colour follows the primaries of whichever palette you pick: each form its own primary, the pairing of blue circle, red square and yellow triangle, or black with one colour. Where forms cross, the overlap can overprint, print black or drop back to the paper. The defaults never copy a known poster.

Bauhaus in Stylogeny (1919–1933): https://stylogeny.com/styles/bauhaus/

## Recipe

```json
{
  "tool": "bauhaus",
  "v": 1,
  "seed": 1,
  "format": "poster",
  "params": {
    "words": "form und farbe",
    "tilt": 30,
    "forms": 3,
    "bars": 0.6,
    "asym": 0.6,
    "colour": "triad",
    "case": "lower",
    "overlap": "black",
    "scale": 1
  },
  "palette": "bauhaus"
}
```