3 Books by Lella Vignelli
December 29, 2016
Three books highlighting the work of pioneering Italian-born designer Lella Vignelli (d. December 22, 2016), who with her husband, Massimo Vignelli (a Designers & Books book list contributor), founded Vignelli Associates.
.jpg)
Lella and Massimo Vignelli: Two Lives, One Vision is a portrait of two important 20th-century designers whose careers intertwined since the 1950s. The Vignellis promote a modernist philosophy of designing for a better society: resourceful use of space and materials, clear communication, lasting quality, and logical functionality.
Through a mix of archival research and personal interviews with Lella, Massimo, and their many colleagues and clients, Jan Conradi documents the Vignellis’ nuanced approach to “cleaning up” an often chaotic and messy society by adhering to a minimalist and structured design method.
The Vignellis’ lifetime commitment to a world of design is marked by vibrant client relationships and unwavering attention to detail. With wit, grace, focus, and finesse, the Vignellis’ sustained pattern of working and living has influenced, and continues to inspire, generations of designers worldwide.
From the Publisher. The Italian architect and designer Lella Vignelli has turned her hand to every kind of project, from furniture, interiors, showrooms, and exhibitions to product design, silverware, and clothing. In the beginning of the 1960s she established the Vignelli Office of Design and Architecture in Milan together with her husband, Massimo Vignelli. In the end of the decade the pair settled in New York and launched one of the world’s biggest design firms at the time, Unimark International. Lella Vignelli received the AIGA Gold Medal in 1983. Hall of Femmes: Lella Vignelli includes an introductory essay by Martha Scotford, Professor of Graphic Design and author of Cipe Pineles: a Life of Design. It is richly illustrated, much of it never before published.
From the Publisher: Lella and Massimo Vignelli prove that design should be semantically correct, syntactically consistent, and pragmatically understandable, but also visually powerful, intellectually elegant, and timeless. The book shows that real meanings must be researched and consistent throughout a design, and that the final result must be understandable.
Design as a complete, or perfect statement is paramount in this designer's philosophy. Featuring design for corporate identity, packaging, post design, interior design, architectural graphics, book and magazine design, furniture design, and product design, many with instant global recognition.
Announcements
Now is Better by Stefan Sagmeister
Now is Better
By Stefan Sagmeister
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: October 2023
Combining art, design, history, and quantitative analysis, transforms data sets into stunning artworks that underscore his positive view of human progress, inspiring us to think about the future with much-needed hope.
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022
Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.
.png)
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People
By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022
Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.
Milton Glaser: POP by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Milton Glaser: POP
By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023
This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.
.png)
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022
Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition) by Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Die Fläche: Design and Lettering of the Vienna Secession, 1902–1911 (Facsimile Edition)
By Diane V. Silverthorne, Dan Reynolds, and Megan Brandow-Faller
Publisher: Letterform Archives Books
Published: October 2023
This facsimile edition of Die Fläche, recreates every page of the formative design periodical in full color and at original size, accompanied by essays that contextualize the work, highlighting contributions by pathbreaking women, innovative lettering artists, and key practitioners of the new “surface art,” including Rudolf von Larisch, Alfred Roller, and Wiener Werkstätte founders Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann.
Popular NowWeekMonth
- The Book We Need Now: New from Stefan Sagmeister
- Quote of the Day: Witold Rybczynski & Paradise Planned
- Summer Reading for Design Lovers: The Story of Architecture
- One Book and Why: Design School Dean Frederick Steiner Recommends . . .
- One Book and Why: Graphic Designer Stefan Sagmeister Recommends . . .
Recent Articles
