The Vignelli Canon

Two weeks ago or so I finished to read The Vignelli Canon, a short book that states the basic procedures for a successful design from Massimo Vignelli's perspective. I eventually bought it because it was impossible to get it in the library, but I do not regret it at all, since I foresee I will be glancing at it quite often in the future.

Despite it does not get into much detail, I found this book very useful and interesting, especially when explaining intangible concepts like timelessness, ambiguity but also on how the simple use of grids can empower a design. These are just a couple of examples, but this simple guide can solve many problems a graphic design might encounter. It helped me to understand what elements are involved in a design and identify them with names and concepts.

I feel very identified with Vignelli's point of view despite I do not agree at a 100%... but maybe a 98%. I cannot completely agree about how he call other's work 'contamination' because it is design made from other principles, but I totally agree that with the revolution of technologies there is a jungle where it used to be a cared garden. Jungles are great in many ways, but human nature makes us want a garden for our homes. As he says, it is human nature to give order to what we consider chaos.

I strongly believe this is a valuable piece of work, both very easy to read and very useful. A tool to be consulted at any time with a timeless and generic approach, applicable to almost any style. And I love the design of the book.