vignelli center for design studies opens

the iconic work of international designers massimo and lella vignelli is now permanently archived at the vignelli center for design studies, which opened earlier this month on the campus of rochester institute of technology (RIT), USA. the vignelli’s created the new york city subway signage, the handkerchief chair, the paper clip table, the stendig calendar, the interior of st. peter’s lutheran church in new york city, the corporate identity programs for xerox, american airlines, packaging programs for bloomingdales and saks fifth avenue, to name just a few.

all images by a. sue weisler

an archive of the vignellis design work over their 40-year career, along with an extensive collection of original source materials, will serve as an international resource and be accessible for study. in addition to the archive storage areas, the nearly 19,000 square foot vignelli center also houses offices and the benetton gallery, which will feature, ‘design is one,’ an exhibit comprised of select pieces from the vignelli collection. ‘it is our dream that the center will foster studies related to modernist masters, exhibitions on their work and other related subjects. the center elevates rit and positions the university on the international forefront of design studies. lella and i are delighted to see our dream take shape.’ – massimo vignelli, co-founder of vignelli associates

the vignelli collection

the center will serve as a hub for design education, scholarship and research, expanding the scope of the programs offered through RIT’s school of design. the school offers degree programs in graphic design, industrial design, interior design, new media design and imaging and computer graphics design. the university also has international exchange programs with anhalt university of applied sciences in dessau, germany, and in copenhagen, denmark. the vignelli collection complements RIT’s 35 collections of modernist american graphic design pioneers such as lester beall, will burtin, cipe pineles, william golden and alvin lustig, among others. the university began acquiring these collections in the mid 1980s.

massimo and lella vignelli cutting the ribbon officially opening the building