Lella & Massimo Vignelli

In 1931 he was born in Milan, he studied architecture in Milan and in Venice. In 1960, before establishing Vignelli Associates in 1971 and Vignelli Designs in 1978 in New York, he opened Studio Vignelli of Design and Architecture in Milan together with Lella Vignelli; in 1965 he was the co-founder as well as the Design Director of the Unimark International Corporation.His work includes Graphic and Corporate Identity Programs, Publishing Design, Systems of signs, Exhibitions, Furniture and Interiors, Product design for both American and European companies and institutions.His work has been published and showed all over the world and is part of Permanent Collections of several museums, such as: the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art NY, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of Design NY, Musee des Art Decoratives in Montreal, Die Neue Sammlung Museum in Munich, etc.He taught and lectured at the main universities both in America and all over the world. He taught for ten years at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.He was the chairman of the Alliance Graphique Internationale(AGI) and of the American Institute of Graphic Arts as well as Vice President of the Architectural League.Two documentaries on Vignarelli’s work have been broadcasted worldwide.From 1989 till 1993 a monographic exhibition went round Europe, from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, from Helsinki to Copenhagen, from London to Barcelona, Budapest, Monaco, Prague and Paris.Among the main awards Massimo Vignarelli won we mention:

• Gran Premio Triennale di Milano, 1964.Compasso d'Oro, (ADI) 1964 e 1998.
• Industrial Arts medal of the American Association of Architects, 1973.
• Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, 1982.
• Medaglia d' Oro dell' American Institute of Graphic Arts.Presidential Design Award, conferito dal Presidente Reagan nel1985.
• Interior Design Hall of Fame 1988.
• National Arts Club Gold Medal for Design, 1991.
• Interior Product Designers Fellowship of Excellence 1992.
• The Brooklyn Museum Lifetime Achievement Award 1995.
• The Russel Wright Award for Design Excellence, 2001.
• The Honorary Royal Designer for Industry Award, Londra, 1996.
• The National Design Lifetime Achievement Award, 2003.
• The Visionary Award del Museum of Art and Design, 2004.
• The Architectural Award dalla American Academy of Arts and Letters

He obtained the honorary degree in architecture at the Architecture University in Venice.He got the honorary degree at the following American universities:

• Parson School of Design, New York
• Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York.
• Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.
• The Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC.
• The Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA.
• Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY.