A graphic designer and art director, Massimo Pitis works in many areas of visual communication, including exhibition and book design and corporate and brand identity.
He arrived in Milan in 1991 after working in Bologna (BBDO) and New York (Armando Milani). He began a collaboration with Mirko Pajé, artistic director of Mediaset, focusing on graphic displays for major events for the Palazzo Grassi (Milan), including the Carnival of Venice. In 1995 he estrablished the Vitamina studio with Aldo and Giorgio Vitamina Buascalferri (MTV, Heineken, Sugar, Blu). He then became creative director for Landor Associates Italia (Banca IMI, Snaidero, Zegna).
Since 2000, he has collaborated with the Milan-based architecture firm Migliore + Servetto (Wallpaper, Elle, New York Times Magazine) and Mirko Zardini, Director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, on various projects (Milan Triennale, Venice Architecture Biennale). In 2007, he created Studio Pitis, his own design agency and consultancy, dedicated in particular to editorial projects and visual identities (Matteo Thun, CCA Montreal, Corraini, Skira, Five Continents, Esperia, Morellato, John Frieda). In 2009, he represented Italy at the Gwangju Design Biennale (South Korea). In 2012 he created Lazy Dog Press (www.lazydog.eu) with Riccardo Bello, Luca Barcellona, and Debbie Bibo, an independent publisher, of which he is also art director.
Between 2000 and 2001, Pitis directed art-directed 15 issues of the graphic design magazine Lettera, a supplement to the architectural magazine Abitare. In 2001, he was awarded first prize by the Italian Art Directors Club, in the area of Corporate Identity, for his project “Blu” (mobile phone company).
Since 1999 he has been a member of the Association of Italian Graphic Designers (IAA), for which he served as president from 2005 to 2007. He has also served on many international juries for awards in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Spain, among other countries.
In addition to his work as a graphic designer, Pitis teaches at the Polytechnic University of Milan and the FDI, and is currently Professor of Visual Communication at the IUAV in San Marino.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
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Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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