CSS_Village

CSS_Village is a modular system of acoustic boxes manufactured by Citterio, a historical Italian company working in the field of office furniture since 1958.

Allowing for multiple configuration options, the system defines an ordered spatial layout based on glass partitions and fabric covered panels, providing privacy, wide view, and maximum flexibility in the organisation of work spaces.

The boxes stand out for their architectural attitude, particularly in the textured contrast between the wood and metal elements forming an elegant visual partition.

The Catalogue

The catalogue has been designed in order to officially present the modular system and illustrates its technical, aesthetic, and functional features, beyond the multiple layouts provided in the configuration and reconfiguration of space.

An entire chapter has been dedicated to the rich palette of finishes for the structure and the panels, reproducing all the samples in a 1:1 scale, so that is possible to see the texture of both the fabrics and materials in its actual size.

Finally, the volume was sewn and bounded in a way that allows to open it completely flat, giving the reader a full and complete view of the page-spread.

The Layout

The pages are characterised by a great visual simplicity based on a graphically ordered layout and the contrast between full-page photographs and text pages.

The entire layout was structured through the use of a typographic modular grid system, that was purposely designed for the catalogue, made up of a maximum of 4 columns and 8 rows.

The structural accuracy of the grid allowed to use four different type sizes, exactly subdividing the page up to a maximum of 16 lines of text for headings, 24 lines for introductions, 32 lines for standard texts, and 56 lines for the captions.

The Cover

The cover—chosen among the numerous solutions that were designed—enhances the geometric elegance and the visual tension characterising the intersection between the vertical aluminium structure and the horizontal elements in oak wood.

The image envelops the entire cover from front to back, giving breath to the photograph and visual strength to the shape of the structure, reproduced in almost 1:1 scale.

The black hot-foil finishing used for all graphic and typographic elements shown on the cover allowed to characterise it not only visually, but also from a tactile point of view.

The Simplicity of the Contemporary

The catalogue designed for the presentation of CSS_Village is characterised by a visually simple and graphically ordered layout that makes reading pleasant and the understanding of contents immediate.

The layout, which expresses maximum clarity, also reveals an evident attitude for the contemporary—a result of a thorough preliminary research carried out in the field of editorial and typographic design.

—Nicola-Matteo Munari