Signature Poster

On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the birth of Massimo Vignelli (1931–2014)—the most famous Italian graphic designer at an international level—a group of designers supported by The Vignelli Center for Design Studies launched an open call to design posters for an exhibition celebrating Vignelli and his influence on the design.

The poster submitted has been called Vignelli’s Signature Poster because of the emphasis given to his personal signature. To me, Massimo Vignelli’s signature represents his ultimate graphics. It embodies Vignelli himself, his personality, and the essence of his design attitude. Also, it condenses his expressive exuberance, flamboyant vivacity, and graphic agility, all in one sign—a restless line that nervously goes up and down. Actually, a scribble. But what’s more graphical than a scribble?

The basic background colour is not the famous Super Warm Red—the orange-red that distinguishes many among the most representative projects by Vignelli, at the point of being called Vignelli Red—but black, the colour that characterises his most mature production. Black is the absolute colour, the colour that holds in itself all the others. From a chromatic point of view, black is lapidary. It is the ultimate colour for a designer that wanted to be timeless.

While the typeface is not Helvetica—that also identified Vignelli’s graphic production in a way that it became known as his most representative typeface—but Bodoni, which characterises his later work. Bodoni not only is a typeface of extraordinary elegance and rigorous architectural proportions. Despite the sharpness of its thin shapes, it has in itself the cultural depth of history. In this sense, Bodoni is a typeface of timeless value and beauty.

Timeless Perfection

Besides the black background poster—that is more representative of Vignelli’s graphic design in his most mature expression—variations featuring an exuberant Super Warm Red background were also designed as part of Vignelli’s Signature Poster series. One in vertical format and another in horizontal, featuring the signature of his first name only.

I think that as we mature we understand that it is not so important to make an impact but to be incisive. And that is how I like to remember and to celebrate Massimo Vignelli—with a few things, very few, but chosen with care, so that few becomes much more, acquiring value and meaning.

That’s why a monochrome background, Bodoni typeface, and his signature are enough to express the timeless perfection achieved by Vignelli at the peak of his career and the peak of his maturity as a designer.

Finally, his signature is a personal memory that is very dear to me, because it was Vignelli himself who sent it to me many years ago, so that I could use it within a project.

—Nicola-Matteo Munari