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Guerrieri 1 Megan Guerrieri Publication Production II Research Paper Dr.

. Chase March 12, 2014 Massimo Vignelli We believe in improving the visual quality of our environment and in the commitment to achieve the goal; in design dignity and its influence on people; and in timelessness and change, in consistency and contradiction, and in classicism and friendliness. We love to affect design and affects others by design. We love to create and transform until projects, objects, and ideas become things. (Massimo, 1997) Massimo Vignelli is a graphic designer who embodies his own quote. As an Italian designer, Vignelli values crisp, clean, and refined designs that clearly communicate with people and give off a modern feel as well. Living his motto that you have to be able to design everything from, a spoon to a city, (Massimo, 2010) Vignelli and his wife have given us amazing designs and they continue to inspire young graphic designers across the world. Vignelli was born in Milan, Italy on January 10, 1931. When he was 16, he started working at Castiglioni Architects in Milan where he was introduced to the, everything from a spoon to a city, idea by Adolf Loos, a modernist architect. (Massimo, 2010) At first, Vignelli started his education in architecture in 1948 when he started studying at Milans Brera Academy of Art and then the Polytechnic Institute of Milan. He moved from Milan to Venice in 1953 to study at the University of Venice School of Architecture for four years. It was during his time here that he decided to move from architecture to graphic design.

Guerrieri 2 While in Venice, he worked at the Venini glass workshop where he realized that, for him, architecture was too lasting a thing. [W]hatever you design is never as good as the final product, because when you see it, you want to go back and do better. Thats why I decided to do things I could see fast, like graphics, furniture and sliver, because buildings took too long. (Massimo, 2010) After completing his time at the Venice School of Architecture in 1957, he married Lella Elena Valle, who was also studying architecture and design, and started a partnership that would bring the world great design and style. In 1960, Massimo and Lella founded the Lella and Massimo Vignelli Office of Design and Architecture in Milan. With this company, Massimo designed modernist furniture using different and creative types of finishes and material. Massimo and Lella then joined together with other designers to create the company Unimark International in 1964 Massimo as a graphic designer and Lella as the head of the interior department and moved to New York City in 1966 to head the firms office there. It was during his time with Unimark International that Massimo created many brand identities, including American Airlines. Vignelli designed the logo, the jet plane signage, boarding passes, and many other designs for the company. Even though Unimark International only lasted a little over ten years, it gave the world lasting brand identities that are still being used to this day. It was through their work at Unimark International that people came to know what to expect from the Vignellis. For example, with the design for American Airlines, Vignelli used one of his favorite fonts, Helvetica, and kept it simple with two colors, red and blue. Vignelli said that he kept it simple because the image, effectively conveys the image of a no-nonsense carrier dedicated to the business traveler. (Massimo, 2010)

Guerrieri 3 After leaving Unimark when the company became more interested in marketing than design (Conradi, 2010), Massimo and Lella opened their own firm, Vignelli Associates, in New York City where they continue to work to this day. In 2008, the Vignellis donated their entire archive of work to the Rochester Institute of Technology to be housed in the Vignelli Center for Design Studies, which they designed themselves. In the film, Helvetica, Vignelli pretty much summed up how he felt about type and graphic design and how it should be laid out and executed. There are people that think that type should be expressive. They have a different point of view from mine. (Hustwit, 2007) With his firmly held views, its easy to see how Vignellis design strategies produced some great and some not so great designs. One of Vignellis most controversial works was his map of the New York City Subway System he completed in 1972. Before his map of the subway system, Vignelli worked with fellow Unimark founder Bob Noorda to create the signage that was posted at all subway stops, which also turned out to be, as Massimo said, the biggest mess in the world. (Massimo, 2010) The black bar at the top of the design, meant to indicate the metal casing that would be around the signs, was instead taken as a design element and included them on every sign. When designing the map, Vignelli decided to base it off of Londons Underground Train map at the time, thinking that if it worked so well there, it should work flawlessly in New York City. New Yorkers, however started complaining about the signage almost immediately after it was unveiled. Their main complaint was that the map failed to describe the citys geography by, for example, misrepresenting the size of Central Park. Tourists were getting off the subway at the bottom of Central Park to stroll to the top . . . expecting a 30-minute walk. (Massimo, 2010) Ultimately, Vignellis subway map was replaced in 1978.

Guerrieri 4 Massimo has both supported his sign as well as understood why it did not work in the first place. Since the trains run underground, theres no relationship to actually geography. But everyone knows Central Park is rectangular and that water is blue. And so if you put them as something different, you instantly lose credibility. (Massimo, 2010) One cannot deny, however, that what Vignelli came up with was a beautiful map comprised of color and simplistic design. He has since revised his design and the maps can be purchased as art. Through Vignelli Associates, which changed to Vignelli Designs in 1978, Massimo and Lella have created some of the most iconic brand identities, making them very successful. Brands like Bloomingdales, Ford Motor Company, J.C. Penney, United Colors of Benetton, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Xerox Corporation, and IBM all owe their brand identity design to Massimo, Lella, and Vignelli Designs. Despite their success in the graphic design field, Massimo and Lella frequently return to the world of architecture and interior design. Together, they designed the pews, fabrics, and furnishings for St. Peters Lutheran Church in New York City. The Vignellis also designed showrooms for Artemide, Knoll-Gavina, a furniture company, Olivetti, an office-machine manufacturer, and Steelcase and Poltrona Frau, a high-end furnishing corporation. Nowadays, the Vignellis live in the Upper East Side of New York in an apartment with 20-foot ceilings that, [are just] about the right size for my ego, Massimo joked. (Massimo, 2010) Their home was featured in the New York Times for its use of design. With the success of their business, the Vignellis only take design opportunities where they are given free rein over the design. (Massimo, 2010) The couple often holds events and lectures based on their knowledge of design and architecture and a designers role in art and life. Massimo has also written design books and

Guerrieri 5 even offered a free e-book, The Vignelli Canon, in 2008. (Massimo, 2010) With the addition of their work to the Rochester Institute of Technology, it will continue to inspire young designers for years to come. In closing, here are two quotes from Massimo Vignelli that explain his take on design and why it is so important to our culture and communication. Design is one: Subjects change, materials change, processes change, but the creative and investigative mind proceeds relentlessly . . . towards the relative solution of given problems. (Abercrombie, 2005) The world is constantly changing, design along with it, so it is up to young designers, with the help of past graphics, to determine the new modernism of tomorrow. We [designers] have a lifetime commitment to reduce the amount of vulgarity in the world. Designers who do not have this sense of responsibility, who are egocentric or indulgent in what they do, they should be deprived of their professional rights. They damage society. They damage the environment. (Massimo, 2010) Massimo Vignelli is a designer set in his modernist ways. With his crisp and clear designs he communicates things to people effectively and efficiently and will continue to be a huge influence on design for years to come.

Guerrieri 6 References Abercrombie, S. (2005). Lella and massimo vignelli: Design is one. Interior Design, 76(1), 244. Conradi, Jan (2010). Unimark international: The design of business and the business of design. Lars Mller Publishers. ISBN 978-3-03778-184-5 Hustwit, Gary (Director). (2007). Helvetica [Motion picture]. United Kingom: Veer. Massimo Vignelli. (1997). In Contemporary Designers. Gale. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.navigatorsru.passhe.edu/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=& query=&prodId=BIC1&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayG roupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups =&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId =&documentId=GALE%7CK1630000611&source=Bookmark&u=sshe_sru&jsid=5595e fbc5992b7a856b60b6c8d239462 Massimo and Lella Vignelli. (2010). In Newsmakers (Vol. 1). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.navigatorsru.passhe.edu/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=& query=&prodId=BIC1&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayG roupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups =&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId =&documentId=GALE%7CK1618005049&source=Bookmark&u=sshe_sru&jsid=35bc3 8c79dbd002a354064b57b641a1e

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