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Massimo Vignelli

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Massimo Vignelli
Massimo Vignelli and Lella at the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection with a specimen of his typeface, Our Bodoni.
Born(1931-01-10)January 10, 1931
Milan, Italy
DiedMay 27, 2014(2014-05-27) (aged 83)
New York City, New York, United States
NationalityItalian
EducationPolitecnico di Milano
Occupation(s)Graphic Designer, Industrial Designer, Architect
Organization(s)Vignelli Associates, Unimark International
SpouseLella Vignelli

Massimo Vignelli (January 10, 1931 – May 27, 2014) was a designer who did work in a number of areas ranging from package design to houseware design to furniture design to public signage to showroom design through Vignelli Associates, which he co-founded with his wife, Lella.[1][2] He said, "If you can design one thing, you can design everything," and this is reflected in his broad range of work.[3]

Vignelli worked firmly within the Modernist tradition, and focused on simplicity through the use of basic geometric forms in all his work.

Life

As a teenager, he became enthralled with design and befriended many of the great architects of his day. (He sometimes says his youth was spent as an "architecture groupie.") He went on to study architecture at the Politecnico di Milano and later at the Università di Architettura, Venice.

From 1957 to 1960, Vignelli visited America on a fellowship, and returned to New York in 1966 to start the New York branch of a new company, Unimark International, which quickly became, in scope and personnel, one of the largest design firms in the world. The firm went on to design many of the world's most recognizable corporate identities, including that of American Airlines (which forced him to incorporate the eagle, Massimo was always quick to point out). Vignelli designed the iconic signage for the New York City Subway system during this period,[4] and the intriguing but controversial 1970s-80s map of the system.[5] Contrary to news reports and lore,[who?] Vignelli did not design the Washington, DC Metro Map, which was designed by Lance Wyman and Bill Cannan.[6] Vignelli designed the simple signage and wayfinding system for the DC Metro and was the one to suggest that it be named "Metro" like many other capital city subways. Its original name was a mishmash of various states and transportation groups.[citation needed]

In 1971, Massimo resigned from Unimark, in part because the design vision which he supported became diluted as the company diversified and increasingly stressed marketing, rather than design.[7] Soon after, Massimo and Lella Vignelli founded Vignelli Associates.[8][9]

Vignelli was involved with filmmaker Gary Hustwit in the documentary Helvetica, about the typeface of the same name.[10] Vignelli also recently updated his 1972 New York City subway map.[11]

Vignelli died on May 27, 2014 in New York City.[12][13][14]

Work

Massimo Vignelli worked in a wide variety of areas, including interior design, environmental design, package design, graphic design, furniture design, and product design. His clients at Vignelli Associates included high-profile companies such as IBM, Knoll, Bloomingdale's and American Airlines.

Vignelli participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007, as well as publishing the book, Vignelli: From A to Z, which contains a series of essays describing the principles and concepts behind "all good design".[15] It is alphabetically organized by topic, roughly approximating a similar course he taught at Harvard's School of Design and Architecture.

In January 2009, Vignelli released The Vignelli Canon as a free e-book; an expanded version was printed in September 2010,[16] but the original remains available for download on the Vignelli Associates website.[17] In the introduction Vignelli wrote, "I thought that it might be useful to pass some of my professional knowledge around, with the hope of improving [young designers'] design skills. Creativity needs the support of knowledge to be able to perform at its best."[17]

Vignelli worked with the National Park Service and the design staff at the Harpers Ferry Center in creation of the "Unigrid System." The system has been used since 1977 in creation of park brochures in all national parks locations.[18]

Vignelli Center for Design Studies

Lella and Massimo standing in front of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies during construction.

Massimo and Lella Vignelli agreed to donate the entire archive of their design work in 2008 to Rochester Institute of Technology, near Rochester, New York. The archive is housed in a new building designed by Lella and Massimo Vignelli, The Vignelli Center For Design Studies. The building, which opened in September 2010, includes among its many offerings exhibition spaces, classrooms, and offices.

“The Vignelli Center for Design Studies will house our comprehensive archive of graphic design, furniture and objects,” said Vignelli. “Under the direction of R. Roger Remington, the Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design at RIT, the center will foster studies related to Modernist design with programs and exhibitions on our work as well as other related subjects. The first one of its kind and size, The Vignelli Center will position RIT on the international forefront of design studies. Lella and I are delighted to see our dream taking shape.”[19]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Lella & Massimo Vignelli". Heller Online Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25.
  2. ^ "Lella Vignelli". Designnet.org. {{cite web}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)
  3. ^ "Vignelli Associates". Vignelli.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  4. ^ Pagan Kennedy (December 7, 2012). "Who Made That Subway Signage?". The New York Times Sunday Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  5. ^ Alice Rawsthorn (August 5, 2012). "The Subway Map That Rattled New Yorkers". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  6. ^ "Washington METRO / Washington, DC". Bill Cannan & Company.
  7. ^ Conradi, Jan (2010). Unimark International: The Design of Business and the Business of Design. Lars Müller Publishers. ISBN 978-3-03778-184-5
  8. ^ "Massimo Vignelli". Art-directory.info. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  9. ^ , Graphis Portfolios http://www.graphis.com/profiles/individual/?id=28 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Helvetica". Helveticafilm.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  11. ^ Grynbaum, Michael (15 September 2011). "Aid for Baffled Weekend Subway Riders". New York Times. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  12. ^ Montgomery, Angus (2006-04-20). "Massimo Vignelli dies aged 83 | News". Design Week. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  13. ^ Williams, Keith. "Massimo Vignelli, who once designed the New York City subway map and created the Bloomingdale's "brown bag," died at 83 - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  14. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/business/massimo-vignelli-a-modernist-graphic-designer-dies-at-83.html
  15. ^ "Books - 2007-07-01 04:00:00". Interior Design. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  16. ^ The Vignelli Canon. "The Vignelli Canon (9783037782255): Massimo Vignelli: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  17. ^ a b Vignelli, Massimo (January 2009). The Vignelli Canon (PDF).
  18. ^ "Brochures History". National Park Service.
  19. ^ "RIT Holds Groundbreaking for Vignelli Center for Design Studies on Oct 7". Rochester Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 2012-02-28.
  20. ^ "Art Directors Club / Hall of Fame". Adcglobal.org. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  21. ^ "Massimo and Lella Vignelli". AIGA. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  22. ^ "Massimo Vignelli". Interior Design. 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  23. ^ "Lella Vignelli". Interior Design. 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  24. ^ , Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum http://cooperhewitt.org/NDA/WINNERS/2003/LIFETIMEACHIEVEMENT/VIGNELLI/1.shtml {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link‍]
  25. ^ "American Academy of Arts and Letters - 2005 Architecture Awards Press Release". Artsandletters.org. Retrieved 2012-08-04.

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