Design Is One

Kathy Brew and Roberto Guerra's documentary showcases Lella and Massimo Vignelli, a husband-and-wife team whose firm was responsible for some of the most enduring informational graphics in modern design—including the signage and maps for New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority and logos for American Airlines, Ford, Knoll, and Bloomingdale's. The simple but elegant style that informs their work with fonts (especially Helvetica, which has virtually become Massimo's signature) is also found in their other creations, which include furniture, clothing, jewelry, dishes, silverware, books, and buildings such as St. Peter's Church in Manhattan. That approach also characterizes Brew and Guerra's Design Is One, which is more concerned with aesthetics than conventional biographical detail (the emphasis here is on the Vignellis as successful professionals, making little reference to their childhood or careers prior to arriving in the U.S.). The Vignellis' approaches perfectly complement each other, with Massimo's imagination and Lella's pragmatism combining to achieve a uniquely harmonious final result that manages to be both striking and utilitarian. Interviews with the Vignellis (along with friends, clients, and commentators) alternate with well-chosen examples of their output over the years, culminating in the dedication of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology—to which the Vignellis donated the complete archive of their work. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)