Touch Down Unit
Product catalogue of a workstation designed
by Studio Klass for Molteni&C and UniFor.
Touch Down Unit
Product catalogue of a workstation designed by Studio Klass for Molteni&C and UniFor.
munari design touch down unit molteni unifor studio klass
Touch Down Unit
Catalogue, 26×19.5 cm
60 pages
Ph. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
munari design touch down unit studio klass molteni&c uniforPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit studio klass unifor molteniPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
griglia tipografica modulare
The layout was entirely arranged
on a complex structural grid
that has been purposely designed
for the catalogue.
2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
An Absolute Premiere

Touch Down Unit is a product catalogue that was designed for Molteni&C and UniFor, two Italian companies working respectively in the field of high-end home furniture and in the development of workspaces designed in collaboration with some of the most important architects in the world.

The catalogue was the first ever to be jointly published by the two companies belonging to Molteni Group, one of the leading and most respected international furniture groups, established in 1934 and also including Dada, Citterio, and the brand Armani/Dada.
molteni group molteni&c unifor2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit studio klass molteni unifor2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit studio klass unifor2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit studio klass unifor2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
TDU

The catalogue illustrates the homonymous workstation designed by the two founders of Studio Klass, Marco Maturo and Alessio Roscini, who also operate as art directors of UniFor since 2020.

Characterised by an extreme flexibility, thanks to its multiple configurations, Touch Down Unit was originally conceived as a mobile workstation for high-end office environments.

Enriched by a palette of elegant finishes and noble materials, such as Canaletto walnut and hide leather, the workstation also proved to be an original and effective solution to the smart working conditions imposed by the COVID pandemic.
touch down unit studio klass molteni uniforPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni&c unifor studio klass
Detail of the transparent
coating that wraps the back
of the catalogue.
Ph. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
molteni molteni&c uniforPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
 Graphic rigour, compositional accuracy,
and measured elegance characterise
a catalogue that has been designed in
a tailored way.
 Graphic rigour, compositional accuracy, and measured elegance characterise a catalogue that has been designed in a tailored way.
The Cover

The cover of the catalogue enhances the monochrome tone of the grey paper, that was left almost plain in order to recall the shades and materials of the workstation.

The main characterisation consists of a light transparent coating that wraps the back of the catalogue, forming the three initial letters of Touch Down Unit (TDU).

Printed directly on the uncoated paper, the transparent ink has been carefully partitioned in order to highlight the creasing and the spine. In this way, a visual and tactile contrast was generated between the rough softness of the paper and the luminous plasticity of the glossy coating.

The three letters appear and disappear as the light passes over the paper, transforming typography into an almost impalpable sculpture of light.
touch down unit molteni&c unifor studio klass
The introduction to the catalogue,
hidden under the cover flaps.
Ph. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit unifor molteni studio klass
The opening sequence of the cover
showing the texts that appear
under the flaps on the first and last
page of the catalogue.
2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
munari design touch down unit molteni&c unifor studio klassPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
munari design touch down unit studio klass molteni&c unifor
The text passing over the binding
have been meticulously positioned
in order to achieve a perfect visual continuity between the pages.
Ph. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
A Hidden Text

While opening the catalogue a text coming from the inside of the cover flows on the title page. The introduction is hidden inside the cover flaps, extending over the binding. The same layout solution has been adopted on the last page and the inside of the back cover.

In this way, the reader is invited to experiment an unexpected interaction with the catalogue by unfolding the flaps, evoking the variety of configuration movements that is typical to Touch Down Unit workstation.

The layout of the texts over the binding involved an extremely high technical complexity both in the design and printing process, resolved by spacing the letters with absolute precision, so that the lines and the letters result in a perfect visual continuity.

Through this solution, the cover is no longer a simple external protection to the catalogue but an integral part, inviting to both read it and interact with it.
touch down unit molteni molteni&c studio klass2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni molteni&c studio klass2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni molteni&c studio klass2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni unifor studio klass2020 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni molteni&c unifor2021 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni molteni&c studio klass2021 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni molteni&c studio klass2021 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit molteni unifor studio klass2021 © Nicola-Matteo Munari
The Layout

Contents in the catalogue have been arranged according to a three orders sequence, recalling the three different contexts of use of the workstation—office, home, public spaces.

A complex structural grid has been purposely designed in order to produce a layout characterised by both asymmetry and articulation, thus evocating the product’s flexibility.

The outcome is an articulated and elegant layout, whose proportions have been carefully calibrated on the contrasts full/empty, large/small, horizontal/vertical.
touch down unit molteni unifor studio klassPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit studio klass molteni&c uniforPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit studio klass unifor molteniPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
touch down unit studio klass unifor molteniPh. © Nicola-Matteo Munari
Accuracy and Elegance

From the solution developed for the cover to the layout of the colour swatches, from the variety of papers to the print finishing, from the articulated structural grid to the compositional proportions of the layout, each element of the catalogue has been enhanced down to the smallest detail through a calibrated design choice.

Graphic rigour, compositional accuracy, and measured elegance characterise a catalogue that has been designed in a tailored way, representing both the two companies in a balanced way and the dynamic flexibility of Touch Down Unit workstation.

—Nicola-Matteo Munari

Client
Molteni&C | UniFor

Design+Layout
Nicola-Matteo Munari

Assistant
Daniela Arabia

Art Direction
Studio Klass

Photo
Delfino Sisto Legnani
Studio Amos Fricke

Post-Production
RGBerlin

CGI
Bloomrealities

Print
Grafiche Antiga

Project Date
2020–21