Plakatstil was an early poster style of art that began in the early 1900s and originated out of Germany It was started by Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

er Lucian Bernhard

Lucian Bernhard

Lucian Bernhard was a German graphic designer, type designer, professor, interior designer, and artist during the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 15, 1883, as Emil Kahn to a Jewish family, but changed in 1905 to his more commonly known pseudonym...

 in 1906. The traits of this style of art are usually bold, straight font with flat colors. Shapes and objects are simplified while the subject of the poster remains detailed. Plakatstil incorporated color combinations not seen in other art forms such as Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

. Plakatstil shied away from the complexity of Art Nouveau and helped emphasize a more modern outlook on poster art. Famous Plakatstil artists include Lucian Bernhard and graphic artist Ludwig Hohlwein

Ludwig Hohlwein

Ludwig Hohlwein was a German poster artist. He was trained and practiced as an architect until 1906 when he switched to poster design. Hohlwein's adaptations of photographic images was based on a deep and intuitive understanding of graphical principles...

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Das Plakat was a German art magazine that was published in 1910 from the Verein der Plakat Freunde (The Society for Friends of the Poster). The society and magazine were founded by dentist Hans Sachs. Lucian Bernhard was also director for the society.