Reference

Anton Stankowski (1906–1998) belongs to the leading graphic designers of the second half of the 20th century, having made important, individual contributions not only in various areas of visual communication, but also in the field of art. His career, beginning in the late 1920s, spans across more than fifty prolific years, interrupted only during the instabilities of World War II and his war imprisonment. In his work, Stankowski connects, invents and enhances design and art with a unique and recognizably signature style.  
In 1929, after residing in Zurich, he came into contact with the “Zurich Concretes”, a group of creative individuals in the early 20th century, that included people such as Richard Paul Lohse, Herbert Matter, Max Bill and Verena Loewensberg. During this time, Stankowski’s reputation began to rise due to his versatile work and inventive treatment of media in visual design, typography and photography. It was then that he also completed his famous “Gestaltungslehre” (Design Theory), establishing the basic forms of his creative expression.  

Creative process: 
What makes Stankowski’s approach so significant and unique? What can designers as well as artists learn from his creative heritage to this day? In times of accelerated production and distribution of images and visual data, it’s good to slow down and bring back to mind Stankowski’s typical choice of forms and visual language, stripped back to their essentials, void of any unnecessary decor. The strength of his approach lies not only in its timeless look and reduced aesthetics, but most of all, in its creative process.  
Stankowski was adamant that it’s necessary for both artists and designers to work freely, instead of following rules too pragmatically, in order to be able to explore new fields in art and/or design, and to fully accomplish their creative invention. From the beginning of his career, Stankowski followed a versatile involvement with design, art and other related media, trying to overcome the separation of these field. Yet, this attempt of freeing his mind and practice from conventional aesthetic boundaries can’t be confused with a vague stylistic setting. His body of work in various fields (along with his theoretical texts) display an acute awareness of the use and relationship of size, scale, colour, and form.  
Stankowski was interested in not only improving the aesthetic visualization of information, but also in the artistic and creative process; he set new standards in sharpening the understanding of the means of creative work. Regarding this personal process of thinking and working, his early drawings from the late 1920s are of great importance. They demonstrate his fresh application of symmetry and asymmetry, abstract geometric forms, the interactive relationship between positive and negative shapes, as well as an unprecedented use of perspective, conveying a spatial pictorial impression. In these early works, the diagonal line became his trademark, which culminated in 1974, when he created the Deutsche Bank’s famous logo. Stankowski’s name was then spoken of worldwide, not only amongst designers, but also in the general public. Designers can still learn from his emphasis on drawing, especially today, where a great part of the daily creative work takes place in front of the computer instead of an empty sheet of paper. The interaction with one’s own drawings; the pursuit of the ongoing exchange between the mind, the eye and the executing hand; the physical experience of drawing a line with the pressure of the pencil and the resistance of different paper stocks all help the artist/designer to understand their work on a deeper level.  

Looking at the chronological development of his work (regardless of the media) it becomes clear that Stankowski operated with specific forms and patterns in series. He continually tried to optimize their iconic readability without a pragmatic approach or creating standardized art for advertising. The designed pictorial form was also valued as an artistic invention. The artwork became a literal screen between the (mental) idea and the existing material world, inspiring the artist/designer to see new pictorial solutions. In creative work, reality is not understood as something that is static, rather, as a performative activity and a continuous exchange of action and reaction; one that’s between our knowledge and experience of this world and the inspiration that’s enriched by our perception. Therefore, reality is not simply interpreted, but is constantly articulated in a new fashion. In this sense, creative work is one of the main engines that helps our cultural heritage steadily move forward.  
The depiction and visualization of a pictorial composition is placing the depicted structures in a certain order and distinguishing them from one another. Whether it’s painting or drawing, art, and respectively any creative body of work, offers the possibility of fusing notions of the past, present and future. In that field, contradictory systems can coexist and enhance themselves, offering a new access and a fresh look at reality, and respectively at our knowledge and handling of the experienced world. The viewer then arises with enriched knowledge and an expanded horizon out of an analysis of good art and design. 

Summary: 
The field of free and applied art that Stankowksi discovered in Germany in the 1920s was mostly influenced by the inventions of Bauhaus, De Stijl and Constructivism, all of which established some of the most radical solutions in creative work in the 20th century. These movements wanted to do away with the boundaries of art and design, fusing the artistic inventive spirit with a form of functional convenience and a strict aesthetic order. But unfortunately, some of the practitioners dedicated their lives and practice to various ideologies, politics or mere mechanisms of production. Such an approach wasn’t convincing for Stankowski. His aim was to fully explore the possibilities of art and design in times of science and technology, establishing a creative body of work that faced the rational world head on.  Such ethics might look old-fashioned, especially today, because neither cool nor trendy results can be expected. But the effect is much more lasting: looking precisely at Stankowski’s rich body of work we realize that he tore down the inhibition threshold many onlookers experience when they are confronted with art—in particular, modern and contemporary abstract. With the reflected fusion of free and applied art, Stankowski offers the precious possibility that the onlooker can deal with both media in a direct way, comparing them and grasping their meaning and use. His work also shows that a systematic elaboration of clear forms and shapes does not necessarily lead to a frozen and unyielding style, but can be full of energetic dynamics, causing unexpected results. Ultimately, the rule is to find an individual style, not a dogma, where the artist/designer can fully develop the manifoldness creative potential. Closing with Stankowski’s own words, “one invents a system to break it.”