Massimo Vignelli’s typographic legacy is an inspiration to all

I don’t think that type should be expressive at all. I can write the word ‘dog’ with any typeface and it doesn’t have to look like a dog. But there are people that [think that] when they write ‘dog’ it should bark.” His words were true, his designs are timeless.  Massimo Vignelli is regarded one of the greatest designers of the last century and even today, almost one year after his death he is a constant inspiration to the creative community. The Italian design legend was best known for designing an iconic-yet-controversial version of the New York City subway map in the 1970s, yet he brought modernism in design unlike any other. He believed in design that was “visually powerful, intellectually elegant, and above all timeless” -a slogan to New York design studio, Vignelli Associates, which he founded in 1971 with his wife, Lella. “If you can design one thing, you can design everything,” Vignelli used to say and that was his mantra. After all he believed that a designer’s life “is a life of fight: fight against the ugliness.” 

Timeless/Massimo Vignelli is the new exhibition, created by Husmee Estudio Graphique, as a tribute to one of the most influential figures ever. Bringing together tribute poster designs by 33 international studios (think - Spin, Magpie, Mark Studio, Mash Creative, Toko and Hey, to name but a few), alongside original material from Massimo Vignelli that has been kindly donated by Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshiki Waterhouse, associates of Vignelli for the last 15 years, and all of which belong to their own private archive. We talked to Alain Villastrigo and Ernesto Arnáez of the Basque graphic design studio about this bright coloured and bold typographic exhibition that is optimistic and informative on the legend that Massimo Vignelli was, and still, is.

“Massimo Vignelli is a reference for our work in the Husmee studio. It’s been almost one year since he passed away and we decided to pay tribute to him. We edit a cultural publication called like the studio, Husmee, and initially the project was directed to this publication, but as we progressed, we thought of the possibility of creating an exhibition project and we said... why not?”

“The life of a designer is a life of fight: fight against the ugliness”   

“The basis of our work is to communicate, in the most straightforward way possible, an idea or a group of ideas. We have three starting points for solving a problem: shape, typography and color. Massimo Vignelli is a standard of clarity, order and serenity. I believe he has been a reference for us even before we started studying design. Design is not just a job but a way of understanding life.”

“On the one hand, Vignelli Associates will present a poster in the exhibition, developed by Beatriz Cifuentes (Vice-President of Design) and Yoshiki Waterhouse. Beatriz and Yoshiki have also kindly given original material from their own private archive, such as identity guidelines, original drafts, graphic supporting material, catalogues, magazines, invitations, stationery, even a watch. We will also display furniture designed by Massimo for the design firms Knoll, Heller, Poltrona Frau. There is not unpublished work.”

“According to the people who knew him personally, he always had an immediate and simple explanation. In addition, he used to solved everything by shaping something on paper. Solving a communication issue with design in such an easy and direct way is simply perfect.”

“The great thing about the Timeless exhibition is that designers have performed their proposals with different intentions, but with only one purpose: paying tribute. Some proposals are more communicative and informative. Some others, more conceptual or direct. The final result, aesthetics, can be more powerful in some of them, but may also have less conceptual weight. Each one has its own interpretation and beauty.”

“San Sebastian is the European Capital of Culture 2016 and it is also our city. We want our city to know this great master of design. However, there are possibilities to move the exhibition to other cities and this is interesting.”

“Massimo Vignelli was always true to his style and followed it despite fashion and aesthetic changes. That is why his work is timeless.”

“The exhibition includes original artworks from Vignelli, handwritten drafts that Massimo developed for brands like Ducati and Poltrona Frau. Having the opportunity to see these very personal artworks is very special.”

“Typography is very important to a good, informative design, the likes that he admired the most. It is the basis of information design. A good typography means more than 50% of a good composition. A single word, written with the right typography, is enough for transmiting a great message.”

“The selection was carried out by the Husmee studio. We were looking forward to the participation of a group of Spanish studios, such as Javier Mariscal, Mario Eskenazi, Alberto Corazón, Hey, Atlas, Husmee and others. Additionally, there is also a selection of studios from the Basque Country. Afterwards, we selected the international studios (Spin, Toko, Magpie, Hubert&Fisher, BVD, Mash Creative, Mark Studio to name a few). All the studios were delighted at being part of this tribute and this makes us feel proud of our profession. It’s been a pleasure developing this project with all of them. We made the selection in order to show the design from all over the world. We are also very lucky to count on the participation of some people who were close friends with Massimo Vignelli himself, such as Alberto Corazón.”

“If we had to choose one quote if his it would be this: The life of a designer is a life of fight. Fight against the ugliness. Just like a doctor fights against disease. For us, the visual disease is what we have around, and what we try to do is cure it somehow, with design. This quote reflects perfectly our profession and its aim. We understand that ugliness not only from its aesthetic point of view but also from the social one. It is important to understand design as a way to improve the connection between items and people, making everything simpler, and why not, less ugly.”

“Time does not go by when it comes to Massimo Vignelli's designs”

“The project has been organized in the Husmee studio in close collaboration with Vignelli Associates. Since the very beginning we got in touch with Vignelli Associates regarding the legal permits for the exhibition. We developed a close cooperation and found an incredible attitude and predisposition from them. It’s been great working with them and, like we mentioned before, thanks to Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshiki Waterhouse we will be able to see original artworks from the designer in the exhibition. Moreover, on April 17, as part of the exhibition, we will be presenting several talks with the participation of Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshiki Waterhouse from Vignelli Associates, as well as Alberto Corazón.”

“Massimo Vignelli was always true to his style and followed it despite fashion and aesthetic changes. That is why his work is timeless. He has achieved something great: time does not go by when it comes to his designs.”

‘Timeless: Massimo Vignelli’ continues until 18 April 2015 at Cultural Centre Okendo K. E., Avenida de Navarra 7, San Sebastián, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.