Graphic Design Concepts
28 Graphic Design Concepts
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Massimo Vignelli was born 1931 in Milan, Italy. Vignelli studied architecture in Milan and Venice; he has done designs for publication, furniture, packaging design, transportation and more. Hierarchy is an important part of Vignelli’s design; it concentrates on the message that is more important. His wife Lella and he co-founded the company Vignelli Associates in 1971. Vignelli’s style is more modernist - he uses geometric forms to design his works. Massimo founded the company Unimark and Knoll. He follows the grid system in all his designs. When Mr. Vignelli uses rules he uses hierarchy to help clarify the different parts in typography. When he wants to separate an important word or phrase he uses a 2pt bold rule, 1 pt light rule is used to separate “items within each part of the form.” He believes that no matter what typography someone uses it should always hang from ther rule even if the size is small or large. For instance, when it comes to headlines he likes to use a large font size with a 2pt bold rule to have the right amount space with other elements that are on a design. Any important message is like people who talk loud; therefore you would make the font size large and bold. Any white space in typography is white space in architecture for him; he made a rule to stick to one or two sizes. Massimo’s Knoll book design consisted of many texts and images; to distinguish what is more important on the page he used hierarchy to clairfy where your eyes should first look. A company letterhead should have a proper hierarchy and clearness. The Vignelli Canon book by Massimo states how every section in a letterhead has a place on a grid. There are two ways of writing a letterhead on a grid, either using central axes or a horizontal grid. “The overall look of the letterhead is accomplished when the letter is typed with the message, every component has its proper place, with the proper hierarchy and clarity.” The image of a response letter to Jessica from Massimo is an example of how her name and addresss appear on top, then the signature last. Everything is lined up and has a certain place to be; Jessica’s name is on top because it is important. The letter is being addressed to her.
Massimo’s Response Back to Jes-