Paul Klee, Padagogisches Skizzenbuch (Bauhausbucher 2) - complete book
The pattern
This still is filed under Typographic cover frame.
Define
A stable type frame (masthead, rules, folio) that stays put so the image inside can change every issue.
Mechanism
Fixed architecture. Recognition lives in the frame. News lives in the picture. The two jobs stay separate.
Verdict
We publish on a fixed schedule and need instant recognition plus a new image every time.
Why it works
The corner device is a navigation system disguised as an ornament: the tally bars tell you which part you are in, the circled numerals tell you which paragraphs are on this page, so the book can be opened anywhere and still be located. Moholy-Nagy sets the drawn figure and the typeset sentence at the same weight, which quietly makes the drawing a unit of argument rather than an illustration of one - the eye moves through both at one rhythm. Numbering every paragraph enforces one idea per unit and makes the whole thing referenceable in a classroom. Emphasis is rationed: bold sans appears once per section, on the sentence that closes it, so it still lands.
Steal this when
You are teaching a system in small increments and readers will enter in the middle - number every unit, fix a running locator in the same corner of every page, and let the diagram make the claim while the sentence beside it only names it. Also when you want a technical manual to feel fast: rank the diagram equal to the text and leave the page half empty.