The Informed Illustrator: A Resurgence Of Expressionistic Illustration

Circa 1918. Poster by Lucien Bernhard
for the German government during WWI.

The poster says “This is the way

to peace—the enemy wants it

that way.”

Expressionism began in Germany in the early 20^th century. Expressionistic art presents the world from a subjective perspective. A part of that perspective involves distorting pictorial subjects and references to elicit an emotional effect and to evoke moods or ideas in a viewer. Expressionism emphasizes meaning through an experience that is suggested through the use of artistic media rather than a documentary or realistic approach to physical reality.

Although stylistic in nature, expressionistic illustration seeks to impart not just a depiction but also a mood or an attitude about a subject. First used for political propaganda messaging in pre-war Germany, expressionistic advertising bears a stigma that has kept modern day advertisers from utilizing illustrations that associate with an expressionistic style and look. However, recently it is appearing in advertising campaigns. Expressionism is again being used to communicate propaganda of a sort.

Circa 2013. Agency: BBR Saatchi &
Saatchi, Israel. Illustrator: Naor Itzhak.
Client: Aviv for Holocaust Survivors

Like abstractionism, the unique inventiveness of expressionistic illustrations and their bold artistic style grab the attention of mass audiences to impart promotional messages. Be it for the use of a style or for conceptual content, the traditional expressionism of the war years and the abstract expressionist movement of the post-war years both play a part in influencing this new contemporary trend in illustration.

Expressionistic illustrations, due to their austere appearance and emotive qualities have the ability to transcend differences of language and culture and are often used when message content must be dissemin-
ated to audiences that speak a different language. Pictured below are contemporary examples of expressionistic illustration used in advertising campaigns.