Lella and Massimo Vignelli: Two Lives, One Vision

7. Students, Teaching, and Learning

113 Students, Teaching, and Learning The time for tirades has mostly passed to be replaced by the time for teaching. In The Vignelli Canon, Massimo writes, “Creativity needs the support of knowledge to be able to perform at its best… With great pleasure, I look back to all the moments when I learned something new in typography, either from a master or from fellow practitioners… that beautiful feeling of enrichment that comes from new new discoveries, new ways of doing the same thing better than before.”1 Massimo and Lella are sharing their knowledge with a new generation of designers and scholars. The world holds much for students to learn and now the Vignellis are focused on the students, on the learning, and on the future. Examining the work of their lifetime is one thing; considering Massimo and Lella when they were students themselves is just as illuminating. Lella was an excellent student who chose an appropriate path from the start and followed it consistently. Massimo struggled, but persevered, growing through a combination of formal education and individual initiative. Ultimately a traditional educational path was not right for him, but he became a learned man and he has never stopped encouraging others to learn. The Vignellis remember those times and it gives them empathy though not necessarily great patience—they are very clear about the consequences of choices. Being successful starts with being disciplined. “When you are a student, you have choices,” said Massimo. “Do you want to go skiing with your friends, or do you want to learn and be involved in design for changing society, improving quality of life? The only way to emerge from the crowd is through passion and enthusiasm. This hasn’t changed. The good students tend to congregate and stick together and become the promoters of the professions, but ninety-nine percent of students are there simply to get a job. We were there to be leaders of the profession. It is a choice.” “I know that teaching can elevate those without talent, but I think it may be better to educate those with talent so they can grow and produce something of significance. When I see a student with passion, I treasure them; take good 114 care of them.” said Massimo. He has been particularly generous in writing back to students who contact him directly, often sending long handwritten letters (or later, emails) to critique, inspire, and encourage. He unfailingly tells them to read, to study, to think about and analyze design history, theory, and criticism. He remembers that star-struck feeling of meeting his heroes. Now Lella and Massimo are the heroes, and the young people are often shy, a bit intimidated, but excited by any opportunity for conversation, for connection. It shows in their smiles, in their attentive listening, in their excitement. “Dear Mr. Vignelli,” introduces sincere letters arriving from students all over the world. They wanted his advice, they wanted his critique, they sometimes just wanted to say that he inspired them. An architecture student in Canada wrote to ask what books he should read, what practices he should follow. A design student in Wisconsin wrote to learn more about the early years of Vignelli practice. Through Massimo’s thoughtful responses, he has surely inspired them even more. A design student in Scotland developed a “Vignelli retreat” as a class project. She also furnished the space and wrote a long letter to describe it. “Perhaps you wouldn’t approve of me adapting your original ideas to complement my design, but I felt if you were to design this retreat, you would design everything from the cutlery to the bed linen, so it didn’t seem right to fill my design with unknown furniture,” she wrote.2 Massimo’s two-page response was both personal and insightful. “You should know Scotland holds a very dear place in my heart because I took my wife, Lella, for a honeymoon in Scotland to see all the great works of Adams and MacIntosh [sic],”3 he wrote. Then he discussed her project. “One of the things that impresses me most about your project is your ability to understand your clients, down to the last detail. This implies a tremendous sense of observation, even more so since you have never met them.” Massimo provided an in-depth critique of her solution, agreeing with many aspects and critically dissecting others, adding suggestions for improvement. He encouraged her to keep learning, keep in touch, and to come...