- Montréal, Québec, Canada
- +1-514-987-3000 #2684
Alessandro Colizzi
Politecnico di Milano, Department of Design, Faculty Member
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Université du Québec à Montréal, École De Design, Faculty Member add
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Alessandro Colizzi is associate professor at Milan’s Politecnico, Department of Design, where he teaches graphic desi... moreAlessandro Colizzi is associate professor at Milan’s Politecnico, Department of Design, where he teaches graphic design history, typography, and type design. He was professor at the Ecole de design of UQAM (Montreal) from 2005 to 2019, and visiting professor at the Design Academy Eindhoven (2014/15). He holds a PhD from the University of Leiden, an MA in Type Design from The Hague’s Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, a postgraduate diploma from the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique, and an MLitt in English Literature from the University of Rome La Sapienza. His research interests are focused on graphic design history, typography, and information design. He regularly publishes in design periodicals and academic journals, and occasionally translates design-related works from English, Dutch, and French, bringing full circle his two-sided education. Graphic designer by training, he has a solid work experience as a designer with a specialisation in typography. He is a member of the Association Typographique Internationale, International Society of Typographic Designers, A/I/S Design (Italian association of design historians), and AIAP (Italian graphic designers’ association). edit
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Prof. Gerard Unger, Universiteit Leiden, The Netherlands, Prof. Alessandro Portelli, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Italyedit
Research Interests:
This study examines Bruno Munari’s work as a graphic designer from the late 1920s to mid-1940s, with the aim of understanding the emergence and characteristics of the modernist trend in Italian graphic design. Taking shape in Milan, an... more
This study examines Bruno Munari’s work as a graphic designer from the late 1920s to mid-1940s, with the aim of understanding the emergence and characteristics of the modernist trend in Italian graphic design. Taking shape in Milan, an original ‘design culture’ eclectically brought together two quite different strains of Modernity: a local tradition represented by the Futurist avant-garde, and a European tradition associated with Constructivism. Munari (1907–1998) worked simultaneously as painter and as advertising designer. Concentrating on Munari’s stylistic development, the study seeks to explore the interaction between the Futurist visual vocabulary and conceptions coming from architecture, photography, abstract painting, and functionalist typography that trickled in from central and northern Europe. The discussion positions the designer in his time and place, concentrating as much on the artefacts as on the broader cultural framework. Secondly, the study attempts to assess Munari’s reputation against a body of exemplary work, based on firsthand documentation. It is the first extensive, detailed record of Munari’s graphic design output, and as such provides a substantial base for a full understanding of his œuvre.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In 1965 Milan’s design elite was invited to team up with the Studio Artistico in a quest for new typefaces of quality. The idea was to start a dialogue between typography and design. All conditions were met except that it just did not... more
In 1965 Milan’s design elite was invited to team up with the Studio Artistico in a quest for new typefaces of quality. The idea was to start a dialogue between typography and design. All conditions were met except that it just did not happen.
Research Interests:
This study examines Bruno Munari’s work as a graphic designer from the late 1920s to mid-1940s, with the aim of understanding the emergence and characteristics of the modernist trend in Italian graphic design. Taking shape in Milan, an... more
This study examines Bruno Munari’s work as a graphic designer from the late 1920s to mid-1940s, with the aim of understanding the emergence and characteristics of the modernist trend in Italian graphic design. Taking shape in Milan, an original ‘design culture’ eclectically brought together two quite different strains of Modernity: a local tradition represented by the Futurist avant-garde, and a European tradition associated with Constructivism. Munari (1907–1998) worked simultaneously as painter and as advertising designer. Concentrating on Munari’s stylistic development, the study seeks to explore the interaction between the Futurist visual vocabulary and conceptions coming from architecture, photography, abstract painting, and functionalist typography that trickled in from central and northern Europe. The discussion positions the designer in his time and place, concentrating as much on the artefacts as on the broader cultural framework. Secondly, the study attempts to assess Munari’s reputation against a body of exemplary work, based on firsthand documentation. It is the first extensive, detailed record of Munari’s graphic design output, and as such provides a substantial base for a full understanding of his œuvre.
Research Interests:
Abstract: This article addresses lettering and signpainting as an important element of visual culture. Following the model of scholarly studies grounded in typographic and architectural history, the article focuses on a set of Amsterdam... more
Abstract: This article addresses lettering and signpainting as an important element of visual culture. Following the model of scholarly studies grounded in typographic and architectural history, the article focuses on a set of Amsterdam shop signs painted in a style identified ...