Lella Vignelli

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Lella Vignelli
National Design Award
National Arts Club Gold Medal
AIGA
Gold Medal
Honorary Doctorate, Parsons School of Design
Honorary Doctorate, Corcoran School of Art

Lella Vignelli (born Elena Valle; August 13, 1934 – December 22, 2016) was an Italian architect, designer, and businesswomen. She collaborated closely throughout much of her life with her husband Massimo Vignelli, with whom she founded Vignelli Associates in 1971.[1]

She was known for the "spare, elegant style" of her architectural and industrial design work, as well as her management skills and entrepreneurial expertise.[2]

Early life and education

Lella Vignelli was born in

MIT School of Architecture. In 1962, she became a registered architect in Milan.[6]

Work and career

In the mid-1950s, Lella Vignelli's professional concentration was interior, furniture, and product design.[7] She was also involved in the formation of the ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale), an Italian professional design organization.[7]

In 1959, she joined architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago as a junior interior designer. The following year the Vignellis established the Massimo and Lella Vignelli Office of Design and Architecture in Milan. Lella specialized in interior architecture, furniture, exhibition, and product design.[8][9]

She was one of the founders of the corporate design consultancy Unimark International, along with Massimo, Bob Noorda, and Ralph Eckerstrom.[10][11] At Unimark, Lella Vignelli served as the head of the interior design department in Milan beginning in 1965, and later in New York.[12]

Some of the Vignellis' notable designs from this period are their brand identity commissions for clients such as

Heller).[13][7] The Vignelli Stacking Dinnerware was still in production in 2023, nearly 60 years after it was first introduced.[14][15][16][17][18]

In 1971, the Vignellis established Vignelli Associates and opened offices in New York, Paris, and Milan.[19][12] As Vignelli Associates, their work included corporate identity design alongside publication, exhibition, furniture, product, jewellery, and clothing design.[7][20] Lella focussed on the three-dimensional design work of the practice, and also served as Executive Vice President and later Chief Executive Officer.[12]

The firm's commissions included corporate identity programmes for Bloomingdale's department store in 1972, Lancia automobiles in 1978, and Ducati motorcycles in 1992, as well as the signage system for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997.[7] Vignelli Associates was commissioned to design the graphic identity, signage systems, and subway map for the New York City Subway in 1972. The design was based on "abstract simplicity"[21] with all of the subway lines indicated using straight, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines arranged at either 45 or 90 degree angles. Each subway line is indicated using a unique color, while the stops are designated with a simple black dot. This color-scheme is repeated on the corresponding colored circular icons on the signage throughout the subway system, platforms, and trains.[22][21] That map was met with some criticism for being difficult to understand, although it has been described as "a cult phenomenon for generations of graphic designers".[23]

In 1978, the Vignellis founded Vignelli Designs, a separate company which focused on product and furniture design, and for which Lella served as president.[12] Their furniture designs included the Handkerchief chair for Knoll (1985); the Serenissimo table (1985) for Italian manufacturer Acerbis; and the Magic coffee table (1990) for Acerbis's lower-priced Morphos label.[24][7] Other Vignelli designs have included retail layouts for Artemide, jewelry for Cleto Munari, and glassware for Venini and Steuben Glass Works.[7]

LelIa Vignelli also collaborated closely with the architect Denise Scott Brown, and was a frequent speaker and juror for national and international design organizations.[25] She was a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the International Furnishings and Designer Association (IFDA), and the Decorators Club of New York.

Recognition and legacy

Lella and Massimo Vignelli in front of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Lella and Massimo Vignelli were described as "iconic, impossibly exotic characters" in New York.[21] In 1982, they were both awarded the AIGA Gold Medal for their achievements and contributions to design. The AIGA described their design output together as "prodigious in quantity, far-ranging in media and scope and consistent in excellence."[26]

Collections holding examples of Vignelli's work include those of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, The Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.[27][28][29]

Lella Vignelli died in her home in Manhattan on December 22, 2016, at age 82 from dementia.[2][30][31]

Vignelli Center for Design Studies

Vignelli Center for Design Studies, Rochester Institute of Technology

In 2008 Massimo and Lella Vignelli agreed to donate the entire archive of their design work to the Rochester Institute of Technology, near Rochester, New York. The archive, which contains c. 500,000 items including "sketches, prototypes, models, technical plans, correspondence, contracts, mechanicals, photographs, material samples, videos, and digital files" is held in a new building, designed by the Vignellis, called The Vignelli Center for Design Studies, which opened in September 2010.[32] As well as display, storage, and conservation facilities for the archives, the Vignelli Center includes exhibition spaces, meeting rooms, classrooms, and offices.[33][34][11]

Awards

Lella and Massimo's work has been recognized by a range of international awards and prizes.

Corporate identity programs

Product design

Packaging

Transportation graphics

Quotations

If you can't find it, design it.

— Lella and Massimo Vignelli[22]

If you do it right, it will last forever. It's as simple as that.

— Lella Vignelli[22]

I learned an enormous amount from Massimo about how to be a good designer. But I learned how to be a successful designer from Lella.

Publications

  • Celant, Germano; Constantine, Mildred; McFadden, David Revere; Rykwert, Joseph (1990). design: Vignelli (essays) (1st. ed.). New York: Rizzoli.
    OCLC 20854336
    .
  • Vignelli, Lella; Vignelli, Massimo (2004). Design is One. Mulgrave, Victoria: Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd. .
  • Vignelli, Massimo (2007). Vignelli from A to Z. (1st. ed.). Mulgrave, Victoria: Images Publishing Group Pty Ltd. .
  • Vignelli, Massimo (2010). The Vignelli Canon. Baden: Lars Müller. .
  • Bouabana, Samira; Tillman Sperandio, Angela (2013). Lella Vignelli. Stockholm: Hall of Femmes. .
  • Conradi, Jan (2014). Lella and Massimo Vignelli: two lives, one vision. Rochester, New York: RIT Press. .
  • Vignelli, Massimo (2014). Designed by: Lella Vignelli[46]
  • Hustwit, Gary (2019). Vignelli (1st. ed.). Film First. .


References

  1. ^ "A legendary husband-and-wife design team fought to get her equal credit for 40 years". Quartz. 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  3. ^ Colombo, Alessandro (2022-12-14). "Nani Valle e Giorgio Bellavitis, che coppia!". Giornale dell'Architettura (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  4. ^ "Lella Vignelli: A Look at a Design Legend | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum". www.cooperhewitt.org. 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  5. ^ "Morta a New York la designer friulana Lella Vignelli, sorella di Gino Valle". UdineToday (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  6. ^ "Lella Vignelli". RIT Libraries. Rochester Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  7. ^ .
  8. ^ Musillo, Alessia (2021-03-22). "The Story of Love Between Massimo and Lella Vignelli Was a Steep Slope of Success and Happiness". ELLE Decor (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  9. .
  10. .
  11. ^ a b Conradi, Jan (18 September 2010). "Looking Back, Thinking Forward: A Narrative of the Vignellis". Design Observer. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d "Vignelli Legacy, Vignelli Center, RIT". www.rit.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  13. ^ "Remembering Massimo Vignelli". www.knoll.com. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  14. ^ a b "Massimo Vignelli, Lella Vignelli. Stacking Dinnerware. 1964 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  15. ^ "Stacking Dinnerware (Set of 32 pieces)". Art Institute of Chicago. 1971. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  16. ^ "The Plastics Collection". Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  17. ^ "dish | British Museum, Vignelli Office for Design and Architecture,1964". The British Museum. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  18. ^ Williamson, Caroline (2023-01-17). "MoMA Design Store Resurrects Hellerware Rainbow Dinnerware". Design Milk. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  19. .
  20. ^ Museum, The Jewish (2020-05-19). "Greater Goods: Lella Vignelli Judaica". Medium. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  21. ^ a b c Lovine, Julie V. (October 21, 2007). "The Vignellis: In an instant, their pared-down designs—for the subway, Bloomingdale's, American Airlines—conjure a particular moment in the city's history". New York. New York City. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  22. ^ a b c d e Colman, David (October 29, 2007). "Design Revolutionaries: Fabien Baron, Mario Buatta, Santiago Calatrava, Joe D'urso, Jack Lenor Larsen, Martha Stewart, Massimo and Lella Vignelli, Eva Zeisel and twenty-five other New Yorkers who designed the world we live in". New York. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  23. ^ a b "Designer Biographies, Massimo Vignelli". Domus Magazine. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  24. ^ "Massimo Vignelli, Lella Vignelli, David Law. Knoll Handkerchief Chair (1985)". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  25. ^ Butler, C. et al, eds. 2010. Modern Women: Women Artists at the Museum of Modern Arts. MoMA.
  26. ^ "1982 AIGA Medalist: Massimo and Lella Vignelli". AIGA | the professional association for design. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  27. ^ "Lella Vignelli". The Centre Pompidou. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  28. ^ "Lella Vignelli". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  29. ^ "Carafe | V&A Explore The Collections". Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. 1991. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  30. ^ Aouf, Rima Sabina (December 23, 2016). "Pioneering designer Lella Vignelli dies aged 82". Dezeen.
  31. AIGA
    website.
  32. ^ "Vignelli Archives August 2021 | Vignelli Center | RIT". www.rit.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  33. ^ "About | Vignelli Center | RIT". www.rit.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  34. New York Times. New York City
    .
  35. ^ a b Musillo, Alessia (2021-03-22). "The Story of Love Between Massimo and Lella Vignelli Was a Steep Slope of Success and Happiness". ELLE Decor (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  36. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  37. ^ a b c Musillo, Di Alessia (2021-02-27). "La storia d'amore fra Massimo e Lella Vignelli è stata un cammino ripido e felice, ricco di successi". ELLE Decor (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  38. ^ a b c "Vignellis to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at AD 20/21". Business of Home. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  39. ^ a b "Lella Vignelli: 1988 Hall of Fame Inductee". Interior Design. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  40. ^ "2003 National Design Award Winners | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum". www.cooperhewitt.org. 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  41. ^ Hingmire, Eisha (2021-09-09). "Lella Vignelli: Ideology and Philosophy". RTF | Rethinking The Future. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  42. ^ "Awards – American Academy of Arts and Letters". artsandletters.org. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  43. ^ "Massimo and Lella Vignelli". The Architectural League of New York. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  44. ^ "Massimo Vignelli: Creator of Timeless Design and Fearless Critic of "Junk"". PRINT Magazine. 2014-05-28. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  45. ^ "Handkerchief Chair, Vignelli Designs 1983". www.knoll.com. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  46. ^ PrintMag (2014-04-07). "Lella Vignelli's Masterpieces". PRINT Magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-04.

External links