Merz No. 8/9: Nasci - Kurt Schwitters and El Lissitzky

A 1924 magazine cover designed by Kurt Schwitters and El Lissitzky. This layout for Merz No. 8/9 features bold Constructivist typography and geometric bars in blue and red.

This cover for the double issue of Merz magazine (numbers 8 and 9) is a collaboration between Kurt Schwitters and El Lissitzky. Published in Hanover in 1924, the issue carries the title Nasci, derived from the Latin word for nature. The design reflects the intersection of Dadaist thought and Constructivist formal logic. Schwitters founded the Merz periodical as a platform for his one-man art movement, which sought to find connections between all things. The layout organises text using heavy horizontal bars in blue. These bars separate lines of red and blue sans-serif type. The word MERZ appears at the top, integrated with the issue numbers 8 and 9. The central text provides a definition of nature as a force that develops and moves through its own power. This text is taken from the Kleiner Brokhaus encyclopaedia. The use of a dictionary definition as a central design element was a common strategy in avant-garde publications of the period. El Lissitzky managed the typography for this issue. He applied principles from his PROUN series to the printed page. The result is a composition where letters and bars function as architectural components. The vertical text on the left side contains publication details for the Merzverlag in Hanover. The design avoids traditional margins and instead fills the page with a balanced arrangement of geometric forms. The original printing used letterpress on off-white paper. This print captures the precise alignment and saturated inks of the 1924 original. The colour palette is limited to primary-adjacent tones of blue and red, which was a hallmark of the international Constructivist style. This issue of Merz remains a significant example of how graphic design became a primary medium for modern art in the early 20th century.