Massimo Vignelli

It was very exciting to hear such an accomplished designer talk about his work.  The vast range of the different pieces he has designed impressed me as well; its rare to see someone that is so versatile.  Aside from this, he made some excellent points during his lecture.  I found it very interesting when he was articulating the difference between design and art.  He said that art does not need a client, whereas design without a client is dead.  The main distinction he made between the two was that design is done for a purpose, whereas art is not necessarily done for any particular purpose.  It was also really cool to see how many companies he has branded.  Hearing about how a company such as Bloomingdales received their corporate identity was cool, and has given me something new to think about whenever I see a Bloomingdales bag.  Vignelli also made a clear distinction between scale and size; scale being more important than size.  He gave the example of having a large face on something, and cutting off the top and bottom of the face.  He also added that this is an exciting time for design and that it would be smart to get involved with the web.  His lecture provided me with new things to think about in reference to design, and it was great hearing someone who has been so successful speak.