Lesson video

Hello, welcome to lesson two.

Today we're learning about the Bauhaus.

I hope you had the opportunity to do some of your own research to find out what that was, what they did and why they're so important.

And why am I so enthusiastic about them? I'm hoping some of that's going to be catching when you realise about the significance of their work, and how it shaped the world around us.

Here's an interesting fact.

The Bauhaus was started by Walter Gropius.

Walter Gropius invented something that you might not think is very exciting.

But he invented the door handle that has that moves like that.

Before that door handles were a knob.

There you go, interesting fact for the day.

There may be more coming up soon.

I hope you enjoy the lesson.

Can't wait to see what we do.

For this lesson, you'll need your sketchbook again, pencil, some coloured pencils, A4 paper, I'd have a few sheets of those if I were you, and some scissors.

If you do have a black pen, or some coloured pens, you're welcome to use those.

But I would always recommend starting with drawing and writing in pencil first just in case you make any mistakes that you're not happy with.

Although we know mistakes are not a bad thing.

So in this lesson we're going to recap what we've learned before.

We're going to learn about Bauhaus design.

We are going to experiment with Bauhaus style design we've learned about and we're going to use all of that to help to make some really amazing looking posters.

So the key words for today.

But you've seen this word before.

This word is form.

We know it's what things look like.

Function, that's what things are made for.

And the word Bauhaus, Bauhaus is a German word and it means construction, or building house.

Sometimes you might see it written on the internet or in books as house of construction or house of building.

It means the same.

So we're going to start by getting ourselves warmed up.

Just like before, you do some physical activity, you don't need to do a warm up, you need to stretch.

Well, we need to do this with our brains as well, and our hands, of course.

So for today's warm up we need to think about what did you eat for breakfast today? Might have been a while ago, it might have been just now.

Did you have cereal? Did you have a kind of bread? What kind was packaging like? So you'll need to pause the video or you go and find the packaging for the thing that you had for breakfast and have a look.

Can you copy the typography? Can you use that style of writing to write another word? So we're looking at something that you might see every day, and just focusing in on the typography.

I'll see you when you're done.

So let's start finding out about what the Bauhaus was.

The Bauhaus was an art and design school in Germany from 1919 to 1933.

The students there were not children, they were adults.

So like college or university students we think of now.

And they were taught so many different skills.

Painting, photography, advertising, weaving, architecture, how to make things out of wood, how to make things out of metal, how to mix colours, different techniques of drawing, you name it, they learned it.

As well as that they learn how to design furniture and household products.

Now, the thinking behind this was if you were going to, as a student of the Bauhaus, if you were going to design a piece of furniture, or an object that was made of metal.

If you knew how to work with metal, you would have a greater understanding about the likelihood of your design being able to become real.

You'd also understand the problems behind that as well.

So it meant The Bauhaus students who developed as artists and makers and crafts people, were really well informed.

And though this basis of understanding really showed through in the products, the objects, the artwork that they produced, now the work that was made by the Bauhaus has had a world wide influence.

And you will find many adults that you know who know about the Bauhaus talk about the design work with enthusiasm and passion, just like me.

Now, Walter Gropius, I've already mentioned him when I talked about door handles.

Walter Gropius was the man who started the Bauhaus.

And this is something that he said, "The mind is like an umbrella.

It is most useful when it is open." What do you think about that? It reminds me of our first lesson when I said to you about the importance of making mistakes and being reflective, and being open to possibilities.

Now, when we are working on something that is creative, often we have a little voice.

It's the same voice that pops up in my head when I'm doing anything sporty.

Sometimes it's an encouraging voice, sometimes it's a voice that says, "Oh, I don't like the way that you did that." And it's a bit judgey.

And often, what we need to do when we're being creative, is listen to that and think, why am I thinking that about my work? Does it needs to be perfect? What are the possibilities here? What could I change? What could I develop? How can I use what I already know, which is true of all learning, to move forwards.

If you know what goes wrong, you know what works well for you.

And that's what I think when I think about what Gropius has said here, that you need to be open to possibilities and also open to trying out new things yourself.

And also, I think it helps us as well to be open to other people's opinions sometimes about work as artists.

It's very often the case that somebody might say to you, "Oh, I really like your picture." And your first reaction might be, "Oh, I don't know, I don't think I like that." Let's be open to it.

So the adult students of the Bauhaus had the opportunity, as I've said, to learn a whole range of techniques to work with lots of different materials, and to work on a whole process from the design to the making, to the reflecting just like we do.

And this was made possible especially because the students were taught by, they were teachers, but primarily, they were artists and crafts people.

And they were the very best.

Gropius gathered together artists who were forward thinking, who were open like that umbrella.

And it was thought that the students would have the opportunity to become experts in a wide range of skills, as well as having a really deep understanding of what they were doing, and why it was important, what the influence and impact might be.

So they were in an amazing position.

And that is why the work that they made was so deeply thought through, and why I think I get so enthusiastic about it.

Now one of the things that you notice about Bauhaus work, the graphic design in particular, is the use of shape.

They used triangles, circles, rectangles, and primary colours.

So that's the colours that are not mixed with another colour.

So not like orange, which is a mixture of red and yellow, but the primary colours.

So red, blue, and yellow.

And they also used black and white.

Now Bauhaus graphic design was very different to what had gone before.

It was very modern.

Sometimes it is described as modernist design.

Already spoken to you about my famous door handle story.

Before Bauhaus, lots of objects, posters designs were very, maybe very kind of flowery, maybe had lots of swirly bits on.

And the Bauhaus thinking was that that wasn't important.

The most important thing was the purpose, the function, and that the form was something looked like came afterwards.

But they were driven by need to make things beautiful.

So let's have a look at this poster.

This poster is one that had, was not produced at the same time as the Bauhaus were working.

It's been inspired by Bauhaus.

So it uses the Bauhaus style of colour and of shape.

Have a look at the typography on this poster.

Can you count the different types of lettering and the different effects here? Did you notice also the way that the picture has been made? What was the purpose of this poster? So for this activity, I'd like you to pause the video while you do this, so that you're not in any hurry, you've got lots of time.

And you're going to have a look at the poster.

Think about describing the shapes, and how they're used in this poster.

Notice what the function is, what's the purpose was it for? Notice the different types of lettering that's used, and the ways that the typography has been placed on the page.

Write down your ideas in your sketch book.

I'm going to have a look too when we come back together.

Let's compare what we found out.

So, welcome back.

What did you notice about the poster? Now, these are some of the things that I noticed, some of the features.

Did you spot these too? So I noticed that there is six different types of examples of typography on this page.

You count them now.

Well done.

The colour of the text that is used, I noticed, matches the colour of the shapes that have been used.

I noticed that the function, the purpose, the point of the poster is to advertise a two day exhibition.

It's an exhibition of photography.

I also noticed that shapes have been overlapped to create an image of the photographer and of the camera.

Now, let's not forget the Bauhaus was open as a school over 100 years ago.

That's a long time ago, isn't it? Now, what do you think it's true or false? The Bauhaus graphic design is considered to be old fashioned and dull.

It's false.

The Bauhaus style of design has inspired modern design styles that are used today.

Remember I use that word modernist.

We think of Bauhaus design as being a modernist design.

So we noticed at that poster there were six different types of typography used in one design.

We can have a look at ways using objects that we find around our homes of how we can use shape in typography ourselves.

So I've got a plate and my sketchbook and a pencil here.

By turning over the plate and drawing around the curve and then moving the plate down, can you see there's a gap between the top line and the bottom line that I've drawn here? And that gives me a guide that I can put my writing inside.

So here I've written my name and I've coloured it in.

Added pen just to make it stand out a bit more.

Can you see I've used the same colours, the primary colours that the Bauhaus often used.

I've used red, yellow, and blue, and also black.

And of course, my page is white.

Let's look at some more.

So still using objects around my home, you might have too.

So this is a card, it's a membership for an art gallery.

And I've drawn around the edge, the corner of the card.

Just like I did with the plate, I've moved it down to create a gap.

Within that gap, I've written my name.

So I wrote my name in pencil first, then I shaded with yellow.

And then I've used a black pen to go over the top.

Now if I didn't have a black pen available, I could go back over in pencil and just make sure I pressed a bit harder, or maybe stick in the line to make it stand out.

And here I have, now this is called a set square.

But anything really that you've got that might have a corner and edge that you can draw to make that shape.

Or you could make one yourself out of a piece of cardboard.

Or not, you don't have to use the same shapes as me.

So I drew the triangle, and within that I wrote my name, keeping that triangle shape.

And by rubbing away my pencil triangle, it makes the writing, the typography stand on its own.

I like that one.

So now you need to pause the video, go to work in your sketchbook.

And just like I did, go collect some objects from around your home that you can use as shape guides.

Try writing your name.

So we're just focusing again on your writing your name.

And in as many different shapes, you can remember to use primary colours, red, yellow, and blue.

And you're also able to use black and white.

We're doing that because we are trying to show that we understand the style, the characteristics of the Bauhaus design school.

So when you're ready, pause, and I'll see you soon.

So now we've spent some time looking at the Bauhaus style.

We've tried out some typography.

See if we can make some of our own Bauhaus inspired posters.

So we can take your skills and your understanding and make a Bauhaus name poster.

But you need to think about what you would like your Bauhaus inspired name poster to look like.

Now this can be a sign for your bedroom door, could be a cover page for your sketchbook, a poster for your wall.

This is your artwork, it's up to you.

It's really important.

Remember that quote from Gropius about the open umbrella? Be creative and experimental.

We're going to use shape and colour just like the Bauhaus students did.

So remember, we're talking about the primary colours, red, yellow, blue, and also you can use black and white.

We're talking about circles, triangles, squares, rectangles.

They were the shapes that were used by the Bauhaus artists.

So, you'll need to pause your video to complete this task.

You're working in your sketchbook and you are planning and preparing your poster.

So what you need to do is get some household objects from around your house to try and make the 2D shapes that you can move and overlap.

Remember that poster we looked at where the shapes had been moved? That's what you're aiming for.

In your sketchbook, plan what you would like your poster to look like.

Include the shapes, include the colours you're going to use, and include the form.

Now this plan can be notes, this plan can be drawings, it can be both.

This is you planning your ideas, and it will help you when you come to work on your poster.

Pause the video, see you soon.

So this is a poster that David has made.

And I'd like you to become me for a moment, be the teacher.

So I've got some questions for you to think about.

So if you were a teacher and David was in your class, and he brought you his work proudly for you to have a look at, what feedback would you give him? What would you say to him? Now look carefully.

Has he followed the Bauhaus style? Has he worked with the shapes that we talked about? Has he used the colours that we've mentioned? Now, what do you like about David's poster? Is there anything here that you would improve? What could he improve or could he change? So now is the time for you to use your plan and your thinking to make your Bauhaus inspired poster.

Work from your plan.

Now, often, I find when I plan a piece of artwork, that when I come to actually do it, that some of my ideas have changed.

And that is fine.

Just make sure that you have all of those elements of Bauhaus design that we mentioned.

Shape, the use of colour, you can use typography that is shaped in the way that we practised using plates or corners.

It's absolutely up to you.

What I'd really like you to do when you finish this, is put it somewhere where other people are going to see.

I'd like you to explain to somebody what you have done and what has inspired you.

And if you can remember information about Bauhaus, what it means, where it was the kinds of people that studied there, that would be fantastic too.

Pause the video.

See you soon.

I have really enjoyed being enthusiastic about the Bauhaus with you.

You've produced some wonderful work and you are developing skills that I am so impressed with.

Now, something very exciting.

Next lesson we're going to find out about an artist called Freyja Crow.

Now Freyja Crow is not a graphic designer, but she works using some of the graphic design techniques.

We're going to make some illustrated self portraits in her style.

So fantastic drawing next time.

Can't wait to explore Freyja Crow's work together with you.

See you then.