Those who knew him described him as a happy man, ironic and elegant, with an irresistible northern charm, capable even – which doesn't hurt – of combining rigour and fun. A quality, which combined with his inventiveness and his talent, entitled him to work with the best clientele, such as Pirelli in the '50's, and from then on, with almost all of the major Italian businessmen who decided to entrust their image to him.

Needless to say, the loss of Bob Noorda takes with it an important part in the history of Italian design. He is responsible (in part, along with his studio Unimark International founded in 1965 with Massimo Vignelli) for the signing system of the Milan's underground (1962), innovative enough to also be used in New York and Sao Paulo, as well as in London and Naples; the co-ordinated image of Feltrinelli; the logo for Mondadori; the pictogram designed for Agip; the corporate image of Dreher beer; and the Lombardy Region's emblem (designed with Pino Tovaglia and Roberto Sambonet), the “rosa camuna” inspired by the region's prehistory, the rock carvings in Val Camonica.