With Munari the Form of the Book Followed its Function

Tiago Santos

doi:10.14195/2182-8830_5-1_25

Abstract

Review of Giorgio Maffei, Munari’s Books, New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2015. 288 pp. ISBN 978-1-616-89386-6. Munari’s Books by Giogio Maffei, like its subtitles states, is “the definitive collection of book designs by Bruno Munari”, being “the first English-English monograph” about him. Bruno Munari was an Italian designer who lived between 1907 and 1998, and made a huge contribution to an understanding of the materialities of the book and its interdisciplinary functionality as we know it nowadays. He considered books the “best medium to communicate his visual ideas (…) and convey his creative spirit” and by his practices he created new perspectives about the possibilities inherent in bibliographic structures as forms of visual and haptic communication.

Highlights

Giorgio Maffei, Munari’s Books, New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2015
Munari’s Books by Giogio Maffei, like its subtitles states, is “the definitive collection of book designs by Bruno Munari”, being “the first English-English monograph” about him
Munari was what Massimo Vignelli, another legendary designer, called himself, i.e., an information architect who is able to design a book by developing a “language all human beings can understand, as such this is the transformation of a seed into plant, flower, and fruit” (22)

Summary

Introduction

Giorgio Maffei, Munari’s Books, New York, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2015. Munari’s Books by Giogio Maffei, like its subtitles states, is “the definitive collection of book designs by Bruno Munari”, being “the first English-English monograph” about him. Bruno Munari was an Italian designer who lived between 1907 and 1998, and made a huge contribution to an understanding of the materialities of the book and its interdisciplinary functionality as we know it nowadays.

Results

Conclusion