In 1961, the first Salone del Mobile poster was commissioned to graphic designer Camillo Pizzigoni, the original illustrator of cult comic La Vispa Teresa. It depicted the shape of an eye in whose pupil one can glimpse the silhouettes of pieces of furniture. Right from its inaugural edition the Salone displayed its impressive graphic and communication strategy that will define its whole history.
A fundamental step along this path occurred in 1994 when Massimo Vignelli redesigned Cosmit’s graphic identity and the coordinated image of the Salone. The project, which included both signage and promotional materials, employed the Our Bodoni, the version of Bodoni designed by Tom Carnase for Vignelli in 1989. The previously used posters and brochures were thus replaced by a new inventive A4 folded brochure rich in information. The project was crowned with the Compasso d’Oro award in 1998.
Among the many, beautiful posters, one can’t help but recall the 1978 one by Alberto Longhi, the 2009 one by Guido Scarabattolo and the 2017 one by Lorenzo Marini. In 2022, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Salone, Emiliano Ponzi opted for a multi-episode narrative, with no less than six posters recounting the evolution of costumes and design in Milan from the 1960s to the present day.
Opening image: Poster of Salone del Mobile 2017, Lorenzo Marini’s Graphic Design. Courtesy Salone del Mobile.Milano