Speaking of Type | Peter Behrens

By Marjorie Crum

Who is the man known today as the “father of corporate identity” and is know both as an architect and designer?

This man begins his professional career by mixing with the artistic radicals of his day as well as being a member of the Munich Secession. Peter Behrens is the man who works as a painter, illustrator, and book-binder in an artisanal way during the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) movement in Germany. He frequents bohemian circles and is interested in subjects related to the reform of life-styles. In 1899 Behrens accepts an invitation of the Grand-duke Ernst-Ludwig of Hesse to join the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony. In Darmstadt, Behrens builds his own house in which he designs every component, from structure down to cutlery. The building of this house is considered to be the turning point in his life, when he leaves the artistic circles of Munich and moves away from the Jugendstil movement towards a sober and austere style of design. He is one of the leaders of architectural reform at the turn of the century and is a major designer of factories and office buildings in brick, steel and glass.

In 1907, Behrens and ten other people (Hermann Muthesius, Theodor Fischer, Josef Hoffmann, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Bruno Paul, Richard Riemerschmid, Fritz Schumacher, among others), plus twelve companies, gathered to create the German Werkbund. As an organization, it was clearly indebted to the principles and priorities of the Arts and Crafts movement, but with a decidedly modern twist. Members of the Werkbund were focused on improving the overall level of taste in Germany by improving the design of everyday objects and products. This very practical aspect made it an extremely influential organization among industrialists, public policy experts, designers, investors, critics and academics.

Also in 1907, AEG (Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gessellschaft) retains Behrens as artistic consultant. He designs the entire corporate identity (logotype, product design, publicity, etc.) giving him the title of first industrial designer in history. Peter Behrens was never an employee for AEG, as artistic adviser, his job was to transform the entire image of the huge company. This marked the emergence of corporate identity. Behrens pioneered the concept and put it into practice. He often expounded his belief in the necessity of the unification of art and industry, an important point later taught by his students at the famous Bauhaus school. His identity also included another innovation, for A.E.G. he designed the first corporate typeface with sole ownership and use for and by A.E.G. This typeface was later released for public use. Behrens’ work for AEG was the first large-scale demonstration of the viability and vitality of the Werkbund’s initiatives and objectives.

As a teacher of design he had students and assistants, and among them were Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Adolf Meyer, and Walter Gropius (later to become the first director of the Bauhaus.) Peter Behrens remained head of the Department of Architecture at the Prussian Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin. In 1936 Behrens was called from Vienna to conduct a Master class in architecture, in succession to Hans Poelzig, at the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin, reportedly with the specific approval of Hitler. Behrens became associated with Hitler’s urbanistic dreams for Berlin with the commission for the new head quarters of the AEG on Albert Speer’s famous planned north-south axis. The vast AEG building mercifully was not built. War ensued instead.

However, Peter Behrens was a pioneer in everything he did in the first half of the 20th century and his ideas were spread around the world by his students, especially by Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. The creation of the concept of corporate identity had a direct influence in other post WWII companies such as Braun, IBM, and McDonald’s.

Posted by newyorkupstate in Design Education | March 2, 2010