Vignelli Center for Design Studies

05/27/2020

We’ve been digitizing the 35mm slides from the Unimark International records. Here are some graphics for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are two options: star vs plant. We don’t know much about this project. Which Unimark designers worked on this? What year was it made? Was it ever implemented? Was it for a special project for the USDA? If you know about this project, we would love to hear from you! In the meantime, enjoy these vintage images cloaked in mystery.

We are away from the archives due to Covid-19, but we are happy to help you with your research virtually!

#Unimark #DesignArchives #USDA #35mmSlides #GraphicDesign #design #archives #1960s #1970s #food #packaging #ShoppingBags #modernism #FederalDesign

05/19/2020

RIT College of Art and Design

With the release of the RIT Metaproject 10 book, we wanted to give a special thanks to this year's judges: R. Roger Remington (Director) and Jennifer Whitlock (Archivist) of project partner Vignelli Center for Design Studies and Ella von Holtum, Assistant Archivist in RIT Libraries! They chose student designs for the Vignelli Ethos Award (Nate Verso) and Archival Award (Yuke Liu). The latter will be added to the RIT Archives Metaproject Collection.

View the Metaproject 10 book: https://bddy.me/2AtSjxW

📸: Elizabeth Lamark

05/19/2020

Photograph by Beatriz Cifuentes

Here's to first 10 years of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies, and many more! View this slideshow honoring Massimo and Lella Vignelli, their campus visits and the center's 10th anniversary: https://bddy.me/3fYSkKw

Photo by Beatriz Cifuentes

05/15/2020

In the 1960s and 1970s, designers at Unimark International created a number of packaging and product lines for Gillette and its subsidiaries like Colton. One of those projects was My Islands Cologne.

The stacking bottles were developed by Lella Vignelli. When stacked, they appear to be one bottle. They were packaged in hexagonal silver tube-like boxes with Bodoni typeface running along the sides. Scents included Barbados, Skye, Majorca, Corfu, and Morea.

Enjoy these digitized vintage 35mm slides from the Unimark International records from the archives. The bottles and packaging are also on display in our galleries which are temporarily closed due to Covid-19. Once we are open again, the very brave can visit the archives and smell this 50+ year old cologne for themselves. Do you think cologne ages like wine?

#LellaVignelli #Vignelli #Unimark #DesignArchives #Gillette #Colton #1960s #WomenInDesign #archives #design #packaging #cologne #IslandThemes #GalleryGuide #PreservationPuzzles

05/15/2020

Graduate class prepares promotional plan for Vignelli archive

The Vignelli Center for Design Studies was the client for the Cross Media Workflow course this spring. Led by Senior Lecturer Christine Heusner, this course is required for students in Rochester Institute of Technology's MS in Media Arts and Technology and MS in Print Media programs. They were tasked with creating projects to promote the archives collections in a variety of media, both print and digital.

The students designed Vignelli Archives trading cards, created videos featuring the story behind the artifacts, made a social media plan, and much more.

Jennifer Whitlock, Archivist for the Vignelli Center, guided the students through the process and provided them with thousands of digitized images and information about the artifacts.
"Working with artifacts from the archives is not a simple task. Historical artifacts need careful attention to detail while maintaining their context. And designing projects featuring these Vignelli Center artifacts, especially when they are the archives of world renown designers, takes careful consideration and refinement. The students were very conscientious (and patient) about learning the history of the designs and also applying the Vignelli design principles to their projects. It was so rewarding to see them bring the artifacts to life in new and exciting ways. Their creativity and hard work in developing projects, both in print and digital, was inspiring."

Mingyue Zhang and Xingguizi Li, two of the students from the class, describe the experience. Read more about their course here!

RIT College of Art and Design

Students in the Cross Media Workflow course collaborated with the Vignelli Center for Design Studies to produce an innovative and sustainable cross-media project.

05/04/2020

It’s Manuals Monday! Every Monday we feature an excerpt from a graphics standards manual from the archives.

Today’s manual is for the Italian car manufacturer, Lancia, by Vignelli Associates, 1978. The manual has 4 volumes, but here is just a taste from volume four.

Introduction text:
The scope of this manual is to relate the LANCIA identity program to the signage needs of the Organization. In order to facilitate the implementation of the program, no dimensional or structural changes have been made. Within these limits, all primary elements of the identification program such as logotype, symbol, chromotype, and typography, have been applied. This document offers to the members of the Organization the possibility of planning the signage along the elaborated criteria of the whole program for a clear identification of the LANCIA organization.

We also shared some excerpts from Volume One, Two and Three: https://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/search/lancia

Lancia Corporate Identity Program. Manual of Graphic Standards. Part Four: Signage, 1978
Box 313, Massimo and Lella Vignelli papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY

#vignelli #StandardsManual #Lancia #ManualsMonday #signage #GraphicDesign #1970s #blue

04/30/2020

Last Fall we updated the Vignelli Poster display in our galleries. The galleries are closed due to Covid-19, here’s a closer look at the posters on display!

Next up: The Knot Arte Povera at P.S.1 exhibition

Massimo Vignelli designed this poster for The Knot Arte Povera exhibition at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center (originally Institute for Art and Urban Resources Inc. and now MOMA PS1) in 1985.

See installation photos and the complete list of artists: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/4404

Because we are home to the Vignellis’ entire professional archives, we have many unique items such as hand drawn sketches, as well as the final pieces. Researchers often come to our archives if they want to learn the story and process behind the designs. In addition to the poster, we have the exhibition catalog and a mock up on cardboard drawn by Massimo Vignelli.

Arte Povera means “poor art” or “impoverished art” in Italian and was an avant garde movement in Europe started in the 1960s. The artists in this movement used common materials like dirt, rocks, paper, clothing and rope. The twine and corrugated cardboard that is pictured in the poster and literally surrounds the catalog cover are truly “arte povera.”
Read more about this influential art movement: https://www.theartstory.org/movement/arte-povera/

We are very sad to learn that art historian and curator Germano Celant, who organized this exhibition and coined the phrase “arte povera,” passed away yesterday due to Covid-19 reacted complications. Celant also wrote an essay about the Vignellis for their own 1990 catalog design: Vignelli.

Read more about his fascinating career: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/germano-celant-arte-povera-dead-1202685181/

The Knot Arte Povera at P.S.1 exhibition poster
23” x 33 1/2”
FF I, Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

The Knot Arte Povera at P.S.1 exhibition catalog
[cover is corrugated cardboard and is wrapped with twine]
8 1/4” x 12”
Box 160, Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

The Knot Arte Povera at P.S.1
pencil on corrugated cardboard with twine
8 1/8” x 12”
Box 546, Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

#vignelli #design #DesignArchives #DesignHistory #posters #GalleryGuide #ArtePovera #PS1 #ExhibitionCatalogs #sketches #mockups #GermanoCelant #archives

04/24/2020

Maison Blanche (French for White House) was a department store in New Orleans, Louisiana originally founded in 1897. Scroll through these digitized vintage 35mm slides to see their landmark Canal Street store as well as a few examples of packaging and advertising designed by Unimark International circa 1969-1970.

If you know anything about this project, we would love to hear from you! We are closed due to the Covid-19, but we are happy to answer your research questions virtually! And we’ll definitely research this project and try to identify the designers when we return to the archives.

#unimark #GraphicDesign #DesignArchives #design #corporateID #modernism #FilmsNotDead #MaisonBlanche #shoppping #packaging #advertising #signage #1960s #1970s

04/22/2020

Shillito’s was the first department store in Cincinnati, starting as a dry goods store in 1830.

Shillito's slogan "Truth Always - Facts Only" is one we abide to in the archives. It earned him a reputation as an honest business man and also a dedicated citizen of Cincinnati.
In the 1960s, Shillito’s started to open multiple branches in nearby malls, they also hired Unimark International to update their corporate identity.

Enjoy these vintage 35mm slides we digitized from the Unimark International records. Although we don’t know exactly which designers were responsible for these designs or really much else about this project, we will do some research once we return to the archives. If you know more about this project, we would love to hear from you!

We are away from the archives due to Covid-19, but we are happy to help you with your research virtually! Stay safe!

#unimark #shillitos #DesignArchives #GraphicDesign #design #archives #1960s #corporateID #shoppping #packaging #typography #NotHelvetica

04/17/2020

Last Fall we updated the Vignelli Poster display in our galleries. The galleries are closed due to Covid-19, here’s a closer look at the posters on display! Next up: Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) “Architecture in Japan”

In 1973, Massimo Vignelli agreed to do all the graphics and publications for the Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS). IAUS was an independent non-profit institute for the study of architecture. They provided an alternative to architecture eduction focusing on design practice as well as the theory and history of the field. IAUS offered a variety of educational courses, publications and programming such exhibitions, lectures, tours, etc.

This poster was designed by Michael Bierut while working at Vignelli Associates and is based off the layout of Massimo Vignelli’s earlier exhibition poster for “A New Wave of Austrian Architecture,” which is also on display in our galleries in a separate case with other publications for the IAUS.

Text from poster: “From May 26 to June 23, 1984, the Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies and the Pratt Institute, School of Architecture will co-sponsor a unique, four-week program exploring traditional and modern architecture in Japan. The long and venerated history of Japanese architecture will be surveyed primarily through a series of field trips, as well as slide-illustrated lectures by the program faculty; contemporary directions will be examined through on-site presentations and special guest lectures by leading Japanese architects and critics.”
Publications included not only the exhibition catalogs and also a series of books of writing by architects, the journal Oppositions, and other promotion brochures about programming and education at IAUS.

ICYMI, read the other posts about the updated poster display to have a virtual tour of the poster gallery:
https://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/search/gallery+guide

And more about the IAUS:
https://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/search/iaus

Stay tuned for more about the posters!

Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) “Architecture in Japan” poster, 1984
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) “A New Wave of Japanese Architecture” exhibition flyer and catalog, 1978
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) “New Wave of Austrian Architecture” poster and catalog, 1980
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) “Oppositions: A Journal for Ideas and Criticism in Architecture”
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

Adolf Loos “Spoken Into the Void: Collected Essays 1897-1900″
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

Institute of Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) “Educational Programs 1984-1985” booklet, 1984
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

#vignelli #iaus #InstituteForArchitectureAndUrbanStudies #posters #1980s #books #exhibitions #ExhibitionCatalogs #1970s #modernism #architecture #DesignArchives #DesignHistory #design #GraphicDesign #GalleryGuide

04/13/2020

It’s #ManualsMonday! Every (almost) Monday we feature an excerpt from a graphics standards manual from the archives.

Today's we're featuring Dealership Identification Program for boat maker Starcraft by Unimark International. Although we don’t know which designer worked on this project, we think it must have been someone from the Chicago office since Starcraft was headquartered in Goshen, Indiana.

Scroll through to see some vintage 35mm slides that we've digitized which feature examples of the dealership signage for Starcraft.

Although the archives are closed to visitors now due to Covid-19, we are still happy to try to answer your research questions remotely. Stay safe!

#unimark #GraphicDesign #DesignArchives #design #corporateID #modernism #FilmsNotDead #StandardsManual #Starcraft

04/06/2020

Ir's #ManualsMonday! Every (almost) Monday we feature an excerpt from a graphics standards manual from the archives.

Today's we're featuring Corporate Logotype and Trademark Standards manual for pharmaceutical company Parke-Davis. This logo and corporate identity was done by Harri Boller circa 1969 for Unimark International.

Scroll through to see some vintage 35mm slides that we've digitized which feature packaging examples and signage for Parke-Davis.

#unimark #GraphicDesign #DesignArchives #design #corporateID #1960s #ParkeDavis #modernism #FilmsNotDead #HarriBoller

04/03/2020

Designer to Designer

The first Friday of every month the National Archives throws an #ArchivesHashtagParty. This month the theme is #ArchivesPenPals.

The archives has many examples of the Massimo and Lella Vignellis’ correspondence with other designers. Here is a short note from designer and illustrator Milton Glaser who invited Massimo to talk to his class.

“Dear Massimo,

Thanks for coming to class. The students were thrilled as was I. Let’s continue the argument.″

Although we don’t have any other details about what transpired, we are very intrigued about what the argument was.

See other examples of correspondence from the archives: https://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/search/correspondence

Correspondence from Milton Glaser to Massimo Vignelli
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

#vignelli #MiltonGlaser #correspondence #archiveshashtagparty #archivespenpals #design #DesignArchives #DesignHistory #letterhead #designertodesigner

04/03/2020

Designer to Designer

The first Friday of every month the National Archives throws an #ArchivesHashtagParty. This month the theme is #ArchivesPenPals.

The archives has many examples of the Massimo and Lella Vignellis’ correspondence with other designers. Here is a fun letter from textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen who was also a customer for the Vignelli clothing line.

“Massimo,

Please know that your clothes have many assets but, also, grave faults. Number one, they make the rest of one’s wardrobe obsolete as no one who’s worn Vignelli wants to get into anything else – it’s less comfortable and we don’t feel the ease and poise of moving effortlessly in your clothes.

Secondly, your clothes are not only envied by men, but coveted by women.

Lastly, is their engineering. They’re so beautifully tailored as to create the embarrassment of being told “you’re wearing them inside out” - how dreadful!

Jack

10 February 1992″

See other examples of correspondence from the archives:
https://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/search/correspondence

Correspondence from Jack Lenor Larsen to Massimo Vignelli, 1992
Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York

#vignelli #JackLenorLarsen #correspondence #FashionDesign #1990s #design #DesignArchives #DesignHistory #letterhead #designertodesigner