magazines

With the housing reform policies that emerged in Eastern Europe during the 1950s, a number of magazines were launched with the objective of disseminating the principles of a new, modern, and rational way of life to the general public. The inhabitants of the recently constructed mass-produced flats were taught how to furnish their homes in a practical, space-saving, and aesthetically pleasing way. Some magazines, such as the Estonian Kunst ja Kodu and the Hungarian Ezermester, even provided patterns and instructions for DIY projects. The magazines served as pivotal conduits for disseminating concepts and ideas related to design. In the 1950s and 60s in particular, they had an important informational value as they frequently featured international debates, trends, and products while also reporting on seminars, exhibitions, and trade fairs in both East and West.
Another distinctive feature was their interdisciplinary focus: besides design, many of these magazines also reported on contemporary art, thereby expanding their readership beyond professional design circles. Perused by visual artists throughout the Eastern bloc, the Polish-language Projekt was renowned for its reports on more radical developments and interdisciplinary undertakings. The Slovenian magazine Sinteza covered visual arts, architecture, and design. Furthermore, several design magazines played a significant role in reappraising design history, for example in regards to the Bauhaus in form+zweck and the Soviet avant-garde in Technicheskaya Estetika and Dekorativnoe Iskusstvo SSSR.
The printed magazines themselves served as a field of experimentation for artists, graphic designers, and photographers. The covers created for them were often artistically sophisticated, including those by the renowned Polish School of Poster Art for Projekt, by Edvard Ravnikar for Arhitekt, and by Andres Tolts for Kunst ja Kodu. Meanwhile, East Germany’s form+zweck featured photo spreads and exceptional object photography, for example by the theatre photographer Maria Steinfeldt.