Cynthia Gutierrez
3-3 Poster: Function and Design
Massimo Vignelli
I chose to create posters in the style of Massimo Vignelli, the Italian designer. Poster Number 1 is styled as a homage to the Knoll International poster created in 1966. (Vignelli, 1966) The overlapping letters with the different color schemes, was used in the original poster, and was brought in to this poster. Three different typefaces are used on the poster, reminiscent of Mr. Vignelli’s style and preference. Bodini is used primarily, as well as Times New Roman. The repetition of Vignelli’s name is also a call-back to his design of the Bloomingdale’s branding. (Dunne, 2014)
Poster Number 2 is reminiscent of the New York Subway Map, which Mr. Vignelli redesigned in in 1972. (Dunne, 2014) When his design was released, Vignelli was criticized for depicting landmarks in a strange way on the subway map, like the “square-shaped rendering of Central Park”. (Dunne, 2014) I thought this was an interesting anecdote about his work and thought that including the grey square near the subway red, blue, and green lines, was a nice way to play homage to Mr. Vignelli. The MoMA address sits on the black sign, with the white stripe, which resembles the New York subway signs, to this day. I tried to stay clear of drawing an exact replica of the subway lines, so that the design is implicative and not a copy.
Works Cited
Dunne, C. (2014, May 27). R.I.P. Massimo Vignelli, One of The Greatest 20th Century Designers. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://www.fastcodesign.com/3030621/rip-massimo-vignelli-one-of-the-greatest-20th-century-designers
Vignelli, M. (1966). Knoll International Poster. Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://www.vignelli.com/home/poster/knoll.html
