Herbert Bayer’s World Geo-Graphic Atlas of 1953: A Modern Atlas, Then and Now

Abstract

ABSTRACT Herbert Bayer (1900–1985) created the World Geo-Graphic Atlas (published in 1953) – an influential atlas that followed modernist design principles associated with the Bauhaus. This paper focuses on the modernist exhibition design concepts he refined in his work on this seminal atlas of the twentieth century. The Atlas stands out in its successful expansion of the predominant map-centric atlas framework that is augmented by modernist approaches to visualization. The central concept used in the Atlas, the extended field of vision from exhibit design and architecture, was central to its organization and presentation. The Atlas integrates topographic maps, concise textual narration, tables, pictograms, thematic maps, geovisualization, artwork that uses modernist graphic techniques, and approaches to support flexible reader engagement. This exemplary atlas – both then and now – communicates a broad diversity of geographic knowledge of regions and countries from around the world through graphical means.