. The style became very influential. Bernhard was influential in helping create the design style known as
Plakatstil (Poster Style), which used reductive imagery and flat-color as well as
Sachplakat ('object poster') which restricted the image to simply the object being advertised and the brand name. He was also known for his designs for Stiller shoes, Manoli cigarettes, and Priester matches. Though he studied briefly at the
Akademie in
Munich, he was largely self-taught. He moved to
Berlin in 1901 where he worked as a poster designer and art director for magazines. Around the beginning of World War 1, Bernhard, among other artists, contributed greatly to instilling support for the war effort in German civilians through propaganda. His posters, following Plakatstil, allowed for a clear and direct message to the audience that bolstered nationalism through depictions of the current enemy in a "them versus us" mentality. In 1920, he became a professor at the
Akademie der Künste until 1923, when he
emigrated to
New York City. In 1928, he opened the Contempora Studio with
Rockwell Kent,
Paul Poiret,
Bruno Paul, and
Erich Mendelsohn where he worked as a graphic artist and interior designer. In Germany, Bernhard's typefaces were initially favored by the
Nazi Party, but were later banned under the mistaken assumption that he was
Jewish (largely due to his Jewish-sounding birth name). Later in life, Bernhard worked primarily as a painter and sculptor until his death on May 29, 1972. ==Personal life==