Last week, SCAD Atlanta and AIGA were honored to host master designer Massimo Vignelli for a series of events, including a lecture detailing his lifetime of achievements, a book signing and question and answer sessions with students. Vignelli, a native of Milan, began his illustrious career as an architect, but soon began to dabble in the design of typography, print, furniture and fashion. He founded the design firm, Vignelli and Associates, with his wife, Lella — a formidable designer in her own right. The two opened branches of their firm across the United States and designed works characteristic of the American experience, such as the New York City subway signage and maps, the Bloomingdale’s department store typography and packaging, the American Airways logo and the print materials for the National Parks Service.
While detailing his career, Vignelli offered SCAD students invaluable advice to becoming successful designers. He emphasized education, stating that “being uneducated is being educationally vulgar.” Vignelli meant that education in your craft shows respect to yourself, your client, and your chosen profession; also, continual education is key to successful and long-lasting design. Along with the importance of education, Massimo Vignelli emphasized three aspects of self that are integral to design. He observed that “passion, dedication and culture will make your work stand out.” These three characteristics motivate and inspire artists in their work.
Through education, passion, dedication and culture, Massimo Vignelli developed a graphic design career with a multitude of works that are still used today. The final key to his longevity and creativity is understanding. Vignelli asserted, “I see graphic design as the organization of information that is semantically correct, syntactically consistent and pragmatically understandable. I like it to be visually powerful, intellectually elegant and, above all, timeless.” He stressed the importance of context, as well as semantics and syntax, in creating designs. By utilizing all of these concepts, any graphic designer can forge a successful and lasting career.
Massimo Vignelli’s lecture and question and answer sessions were not only informative regarding his career and impact on graphic design, but also shed helpful light on how students can forge careers of their own.