Background
He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 15, 1883, as Emil Kahn to a Jewish family, but changed his name to his more commonly known pseudonym in 1905.
artist university professor graphic designer
He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 15, 1883, as Emil Kahn to a Jewish family, but changed his name to his more commonly known pseudonym in 1905.
Though he studied briefly at the Akademie in Munich, he was largely self-taught.
His first name is often spelled Lucien. He was influential in helping create the design style known as Plakatstil (Poster Style), which used reductive imagery and flat-color as well as Sachplakat ("object poster") which restricted the image to simply the object being advertised and the brand name. He was also known for his designs for Stiller shoes, Manoli cigarettes, and Priester matches.
He moved to Berlin in 1901 where he worked as a poster designer and art director for magazines.
In 1920, he became a professor at the Akademie der Künste until 1923, when he emigrated to New York City. In 1928, he opened the Contempora Studio with Rockwell Kent, Paul Poiret, Bruno Paul, and Erich Mendelsohn where he worked as a graphic artist and interior designer.
After 1930, he worked primarily as a painter and sculptor until his death on May 29, 1972. Bernhard Antiqua (1912, Bauer)
Bernhard Fraktur (1912-1922, Bauer)
Bernhard Privat (1919)
Bernhard Brush Script (1925, Bauer)
Bernhard Cursive + Bold (1925, Bauer), also known as Madonna and Neon Cursive, also cast as "Madonna Ronde" by Stephenson Blake
Lucian series (1925, Bauer), later digitized as Belucian by Font Bureau
Lucian + italic also known as Graphic Light
Lucian Bold + italic also known as Graphic Bold
Bernhard Schönschrift (1925-1928)
Bernhard Bold Condensed (1926, Lanston Monotype)
Bernhard Handschrift (1928, Bauer)
Bernhard Roman + Italic (Bauer)
Bernhard Fashion (1929, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and Intertype)
Bernhard Gothic series (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)
Bernhard Gothic Light (1929)
Bernhard Gothic Medium (1929)
Bernhard Gothic Light Italic (1930)
Bernhard Gothic Heavy (1930)
Bernhard Gothic Extra Heavy (1930)
Lilli (1930, Bauer)
Negro (1930, Bauer), later digitized as Berlin Sans by Font Bureau
Bernhard Booklet + Italic (1932, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)
Bernhard Tango (1934, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)
Bernhard Tango Swash Capitals (1939, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives), known in Europe as Aigrette
Bernhard Modern series (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives)
Bernhard Modern Roman (1937)
Bernhard Modern Bold (1938)
Bernhard Modern Bold Italic (1938)
Bernhard Modern Condensed (1938)
Types Inspired by Bernhard
Berthold Block (1908, Berthold), drawn by Heinz Hoffmann, is widely said to have been inspired by the letter-forms on Bernhard"s posters of the time.
Concerto Rounded SG (2002, Spiece Graphics), designed by Jim Spiece in 2002, based on a 1920s concert program lettered by Bernhard.