An Exhibition in Washington DC Honors the Vignelli Design Legacy

Massimo and Lella Vignelli. 2018. Photo courtesy of Fred R. Conrad via iitaly.org.

The late Massimo and Lella Vignelli are known to have designed the New York City and Washington D.C. subway maps and logos of companies like Bloomingdales and American Airlines. To display their iconic designs, The Embassy of Italy in Washington, the Italian Cultural Institute, and the Rochester Institute of Technology together have created an exhibition on the duo’s work from March 16 until April 28, 2018. The Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington hopes this show will become a traveling exhibition and reach other Italian Cultural Institutes across the United States.

The idea came about when the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington had conversations with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where the Vignelli Center for Designs Studies is located. This Center was created when the Vignelli pair donated their achieves to RIT in 2010. Chair of the design department of RIT, Professor R. Roger Remington, thought of an event called the Vignelli Legacy to emphasize the importance the pair had on the history of Italian and global design.

Massimo and Lella moved to the United States in the 1960’s to start Unimark International, later Vignelli Associates. They worked on a variety of projects that challenged the status quo of industrial graphics in the United States. Massimo wrote a book called Vignelli Canon to provide design techniques. In the text, Vignelli stresses the importance of asking questions when designing something. Specifically, “What is this serving?” and “What does it want to say?”. Their main design principle is to add only what is necessary to communicate the message they want.

Massimo Vignelli. NYC Subway Map. Photo courtesy of iitaly.org.

Massimo often got credit for his and Lella’s work, as they worked in a male dominated industry. However, Lella was a mastermind behind their businesses. She handled their budgets and accounts, and was also a great designer. She has designed for Poltrona Frau, Poltronova and jewelry for San Lorenzo. Together, they are one of the last century’s greatest design teams.