SERGIO POLANO

This volume inaugurates a new series aimed not just at a traditional readership of architects but also at people working in the field of graphics and students at the new faculties of design. Presented in this book is an annotated selection of the many texts written by the distinguished architecture and design historian Sergio Polano over the last ten years. Some of the essays—of both historical and often popular nature—are well known, having been published several times, while others have been delivered as lectures, and still others are previously unpublished. In the first part the author summarizes the main problems faced by a designer working in the field of graphics. This is followed by a series of clear and concise chapters examining the work of the principal graphic designers of the twentieth century, from Peter Behrens to Tibor Kalman, from El Lissitzky to Max Huber, and from Alexander Rodchenko to Ed Fella. The images and apparatus criticus selected and compiled by Pierpaolo Vetta supplement and illustrate the subjects covered by the texts.

This book is the first comprehensive study dedicated exclusively to the work of Achille Castiglioni, one of the great twentieth-century designers. At work since the 1930s—and still one of the undisputed masters of contemporary design—he has created objects that have become international icons: the Arco, Frisbi and Parentesi lamps, the San Luca armchair, and the Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci tables. His strikingly innovative creations reveal just how much design can reflect an era, defining trends and cultural values. With a rich array of photographs, this book covers the whole range of Castiglioni’s work, from architecture to product design, from museum planning to the creation of exhibition spaces.