Who is Lella Vignelli

Lella Vignelli was born Udine, Italy in 1931. She earned a degree from the School of Architecture, University of Venice. In 1958, she received a tuition fellowship at the School of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Afterwards, she joined Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill in Chicago as part of the interiors department. She returned to Italy and in 1962, became a registered architect in Milan.

She met Massimo at an architect's convention and married him in 1957. Although she was not a co-founder of Unimark International, she did join the company in 1965 as head of the interiors department. With Massimo, she later formed Vignelli Associates in 1971 and Vignelli Designs in 1978. She is the currently the CEO of Vignelli Associates and President of Vignelli Designs.

Massimo and Lella Vignelli are known for working as a team with Massimo focusing on 2D and Lella designing the 3D -- He's the visionary: "I talk of feelings, possibilities, what a design could be." She's the realist: "I think of feasibility, planning, what a design can be."

Awards:

• 2005, Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, NY.
• 2004, the Visionary Award from the Museum of Art and Design, New York.
• 2003, the National Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Museum of Design at Cooper-Hewitt, New York.
• 1995, Brooklyn Museum Design Award for Lifetime Achievement.
• 1992, Interior Product Designers Fellowship of Excellence.
• 1991, National Arts Club Gold Medal for Design.
• 1988, Interior Design Hall of Fame.
• 1983, AlGA Gold Medal.
• 1973, American Institute of Architects (AlA) Industrial Arts Medal.

Official Biography

Image from Publicolor.

Vignelli Designs was founded in 1978 by Lella and Massimo Vignelli primarily to focus on furniture and product design. A list of clients can be found on the Vignelli Associates website.