Massimo Vignelli
| Massimo Vignelli | |
|---|---|
Massimo Vignelli and Lella at the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection with a specimen of his typeface, Our Bodoni.
|
|
| Born |
January 10, 1931 Milan, Italy |
| Died | May 27, 2014 (aged 83) New York City, New York, United States |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Education | Politecnico di Milano |
| Occupation | Graphic Designer, Industrial Designer, Architect |
| Organization | Vignelli Associates, Unimark International |
| Spouse(s) | Lella Vignelli |
Massimo Vignelli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmassimo viɲˈɲɛlli]; January 10, 1931 – May 27, 2014) was an Italian designer who worked in a number of areas ranging from package design through houseware design and furniture design to public signage and showroom design. He was the co-founder of Vignelli Associates, with his wife, Lella. His ethos was, "If you can design one thing, you can design everything," and this was reflected in the broad range of his work.
Vignelli worked firmly within the Modernist tradition, and focused on simplicity through the use of basic geometric forms in all his work.
Vignelli studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano and later at the Università di Architettura, Venice.
From 1957 to 1960, he 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, and the 1970s–80s map of the system. Contrary to news reports, Vignelli did not design the Washington Metro Map, which was designed by Lance Wyman and Bill Cannan. Vignelli created the signage and wayfinding system for the DC Metro and suggested it be named "Metro" like many other capital city subways. Its original name was a mishmash of various states and transportation groups.
In 1971, Vignelli 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. Soon after, Massimo and Lella Vignelli founded Vignelli Associates.
...
Wikipedia