#unigrid

Is it just us or does this Aarnio chair make you want to float down a river under the summer sun? [It really does float!] 

Finnish designer Eero Aarnio created the Gyro chair (aka the Pastil or Rock n Roll chair) in 1967. This poster was designed by Massimo Vignelli for Stendig while he worked at the New York Unimark International office circa 1968. The photo was taken by James Berberian. 

Does this poster look familiar? That signature black band across the top, with tightly kerned white san serif text, was also on the 1966 Stendig poster-size calendar by Vignelli. This technique also makes an appearance on Vignelli’s Unigrid publications designed in 1976. Both are still in use today. 

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Parks

Happy election day!

A big day here in the USA: presidential election day! 

We’re highlighting this poster of the Statue of Liberty for the National Park Service. This poster is part of our updated poster display in our galleries. For those of you who can’t make it in person, here’s a closer look!

Massimo Vignelli designed this poster for the National Park Service in 1986 for a special Statue of Liberty celebration on the 100th anniversary of its dedication.

The poster follows the same Unigrid format which was designed by Vignelli in 1977 for NPS publications and is still is use today. The photo was taken by Peter Turner, an alum of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. The Unigrid won the Presidential Design Award in 1985.

Text on poster: “A gift of the French people, this colossal statue at the portal to the New World embodies man’s ceaseless quest for freedom and dignity.

In its century of vigil, it has greeted millions of the oppressed and the venturous and is known around the world as the very symbol of America.”

Read more about this poster and zoom in the digital archives on Google Arts & Culture: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/liberty-libert%C3%A9-vignelli-massimo/rwG3OPRS7BVJDA

National Park Service Statute of Liberty poster, 1986 Massimo and Lella Vignelli papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

National Park Service Statute of Liberty mechanical mockup on board 13 7/16" x 10 3/8"(image) on 19 7/16″ x 16 1/2″ board Portfolio N1, Massimo and Lella Vignelli papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

National Park Service Unigrid brochure, 1985 Box 148, Massimo and Lella Vignelli papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

Liberté Liberty

Massimo Vignelli designed this poster for the National Park Service in 1986 for a special Statue of Liberty celebration on the 100th anniversary of its dedication.

The poster follows the same Unigrid format which was designed by Vignelli in 1977 for NPS publications and is still is use today. The photo was taken by Peter Turner, an alum of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences . 

Text on poster: “A gift of the French people, this colossal statue at the portal to the New World embodies man’s ceaseless quest for freedom and dignity.

In its century of vigil, it has greeted millions of the oppressed and the venturous and is known around the world as the very symbol of America.”

See a mockup for it here:  http://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/post/157236159977/vignelli-valentine-pink-hot

Day three: Happy 7th anniversary to us!

Our dedication ceremony was held on September 16th, 2010. We’re celebrating the number seven all week. Each day we will feature seven artifacts from the archives from one of the seven decades of the Vignellis’ career!

Today we move to the 1970s! In 1971, the Vignellis left Unimark International and started their own firm Vignelli Associates. It was very, very hard to choose which projects to feature. Selecting seven projects per decade each day could go on all year long! 

Stay tuned! Tomorrow we move on to the 1980s. 

Day one the 1950s: http://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/post/165414947927/vignelli-sevendecades-1950s

Day two the 1960s:  http://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/post/165448932227/vignelli-sevendecades-1960s

Heller rainbow stacking mugs and packaging, 1972 Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

NYCTA Subway Guide, 1972 Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

Poltronova Brass Bed, 1971 Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

Knoll Au Louvre exhibition catalog, 1971 Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

Saint Peter’s Church, 1977 Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

Barney’s packaging, 1977 Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers Vignelli Center for Design Studies Rochester, New York

Happy election day!

A big day here in the US! We elect our next president today. It seemed only appropriate (and maybe a little patriotic) to feature the National Park Service brochure for the White House.

“To design a graphic program for the government implies a great deal of responsibility. The numbers are enormous and the impact, good or bad, is tremendous. The United States National Parks Service administers 350 national parks, with 300 million visitors per year." Design: Vignelli, p. 43.

See the original Unigrid brochure: http://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/post/83430115952/nps-week-unigrid

It’s National Park Week!

"The first thing we decided to do was to standardize the size of folders into a system of folded posters that could be placed in kiosks or hung in school hallways or classrooms. Then we created a very flexible grid with an identification band at the top ith the name of the park, and selected a limited range of typefaces and sizes….

The result has been a very consistent level of quality, a strong visual identity, and, above all, an incredible financial saving due to the standardization of all the elements." Design: Vignelli, p. 43