Giovanni Pintori (1912 – 1999) Italian Graphic Design

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Olivetti Lexikon 1954
Olivetti Lexikon 1954

Italian graphic designer Giovanni Pintori (1912–1999) is best known for his advertising work with Olivetti. In particular, his posters for the Lettera 22 and the Olivetti logo are renowned for their use of geometric shapes and minimalist design.

Early Life and education

He was the fifth child out of six born to a dairy worker father and a homemaker mother on July 14, 1912, in Tresnuraghes, Sardinia. Pintori worked as a typist in 1927 while residing in Sardinia until 1930. He frequently visited a gallery by photographer Piero Pirari while working as a typewriter operator. Pintori started attending the Higher Institute for Artistic Industries (ISIA) in 1930 after Pirari advised him to apply for a scholarship there. Along with Salvatore Fancello and Costantino Nivola, Pintori was awarded the scholarship. Elio Palazzo, the ISIA’s director and a professor of descriptive geometry, was Pintori’s professor during his time there. His other notable professors were Giuseppe Pagano, Edoardo Persico, and Marcello Nizzoli. Pintori began working on a project at ISIA for the Aosta Valley town planning scheme, and it was through this project he met Olivetti’s Renato Zveteremich. He created an exhibition for the VIIth Milan Triennial in 1940 in partnership with the poet and engineer Leonardo Sinisgalli, which won the Grand Prize for exhibition design.

Work with Olivetti

Pintori joined the Italian typewriter manufacturer Olivetti, established in 1908, after graduating in 1936. Before starting as the art director in 1950, he worked in the advertising division. From 1951 to 1969, Pintori was in charge of creating Olivetti’s advertisements, posters, and calendars. For each year’s calendar, he chose a group of twelve paintings. Henri Rousseau was honoured in the first calendar, and Nanban art was the subject of the final one. Following the “Olivetti: Design in Industry” exhibition held in the Museum of Modern Art in October–November 1952, Pintori won recognition on a global scale. This exhibit was referred to as “Industry’s new approach to art” by The New York Times.

Olivetti poster 1949 by Giovanni Pintori MoMA
Olivetti poster 1949 by Giovanni Pintori MoMA

Giovanni Pintori was the recipient of many awards while working at Olivetti:

  • The Gold Medal for advertising by the Federazione Italiana pubblicità (1950);
  • The Certificate of Excellence in the Graphic Arts by the American Institute for Graphic Arts (1955);
  • The Gold Medal by the Milan Trade Fair and the First Prize Diploma by Linea Grafica (1956);
  • The Grand Prize at the XIth Triennial in Milan (1957);
  • The Typographic Excellence Award from the New York Directors Club (1962);
  • The Certificate of Merit from the New York Art Directors Club (1964).

Later Work

Due to disagreements with the company’s new management, Pintori left Olivetti in 1967, seven years after Adriano Olivetti’s passing.

He held a solo exhibition in 1967 at Tokyo’s Design Committee Gallery. Pintori opened his studio after leaving Olivetti and started working as a freelance designer out of Milan. He kept working as a freelancer for Olivetti while also doing work for many other businesses in the Milan area. He created covers for books and magazines, such as Successo and I racconti (Stories) by Bigiaretti. He also worked on the 1980 advertising campaign for Merzario S.p.A., his final advertising project before he passed away. Among his clients were Ambrosetti, SIRTI, Ufficio Moderno, and Gabbianelli.

Up until the conclusion of the Merzario campaign, he worked in design. After that, he would only paint. However, many of Pintori’s later paintings are little known because he kept his work private. His paintings have appeared in some of his design projects for advertising agencies throughout his career. However, he stopped using graphic design in his work and instead incorporated many images of perpetual motion. Only one public exhibition of Pintori’s artwork occurred in Milan in 1981. He would stay in Milan until his 87th birthday on November 15, 1999, when he passed away.

Style

Pintori’s minimalistic aesthetic is most well-known for its use of colour and geometric shapes. Instead of creating a replica of an object, many of his designs focused on simplified versions of existing objects. Pintori created his sign language, using symbols like a bird, flower, ship, letter, and number.

Giovanni Pintori “succeed in fostering the perception of lightness and transportability through images of pure suggestion, from the flight of a bird to a sailing ship composed of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks – and subsequently suggesting swift ocean crossings, or the association of the typewriter with the lightness of a feather,” as noted by M. Sironi. As a result, he could depict products in his advertising with solid imagery and straightforward colouring. Regarding his design method, Pintori said: “I do not attempt to speak on behalf of the machines. Instead, I have tried to make them speak for themselves through the graphic presentation of their elements, their operations and their use.”

Sources

Barnicoat, J. (1972). A concise history of posters: 1870-1970. H.N. Abrams. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000john_n3r0/page/118/mode/2up?q=%22Giovanni+Pintori%22.

Booth-Clibborn, E., & Baroni, D. (1980). The language of graphics. H.N. Abrams. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://archive.org/details/languageofgraphi0000boot/page/150/mode/2up?q=%22Giovanni+Pintori%22.

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

Pintori, G. (2015). Giovanni Pintori. Moleskine. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://amzn.to/3Chf4Tq.

Wikipedia contributors. (2021, July 19). Giovanni Pintori. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:58, September 28, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giovanni_Pintori&oldid=1034418716

Wrede, S., & Oldenburg, R. E. (1988). The modern poster. Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://archive.org/details/modernposter0000muse/page/34/mode/2up?q=%22Giovanni+Pintori%22.

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    George James Sowden is a British designer. He was born in Leeds and active Italy. Between 1960-64 and 1966-68, he studied architecture, Gloucester College of Arts. Read More →


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  • Proust Armchair (1978) – Luxury Comes in All Forms

    Proust Armchair (1978) –  Luxury Comes in All Forms

    The Studio Alchimia in Milan was founded in 1976 and exhibited its first collection in 1979. Alessandro Mendini’s Proust armchair is one of the most unusual pieces from the Bau.Haus collection. It was made in a small number and individually painted to express the collective’s unease with mass production.Read More →


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  • Bruno Gregori (b.1954) Italian Furniture Designer

    Bruno Gregori (b.1954) Italian Furniture Designer

    He was one of the founders of Alchimia in 1976. He was particularly active in its graphics program Read More →


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  • Carlo Zen (1851 – 1918) Italian Cabinetmaker

    Carlo Zen (1851 – 1918) Italian Cabinetmaker

    From cl1880, Zen directed the most crucial furniture workshop in Milan. He was active in the stile floreale, continued after the 1902 Turin ‘Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte Decorativa Moderna’ to be known for his Art Nouveau and Symbolist motifs. He was not a designer himself but instead a factory owner and manager. From 1898, his firm…


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  • Daniela Puppa (b.1947) eclectic Italian architect and designer

    Daniela Puppa (b.1947) eclectic Italian architect and designer

    From 1977 to 1983, he worked as the chief editor of the design magazine Modo and as a consultant for the fashion magazine Donna. She designed interiors for Driade, Gianfranco Ferré, Montres and GFF Duty Free, Fontana Arte, Granciclismo sports machines, and Morassutti/Metropolis, as well as serving as an image and product consultant for the…


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  • Roberto Lucci (b.1942) Italian Furniture Designer

    Roberto Lucci (b.1942) Italian Furniture Designer

    He worked with Marco Zanuso for several years. In 1970, he and Paolo Orlandini collaborated independently for several clients, designing lamps and chairs produced by Artemide and Martinelli Luce.Read More →


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  • Franco Albini (1905-1977) Italian Architect and Designer

    Franco Albini (1905-1977) Italian Architect and Designer

    Franco Albini’s design work encompassed a wide variety of disciplines, including furniture, interior, and product design, architecture, planning, and museum design. Read More →


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  • Laura Griziotti (b.1942) Italian Architect & Designer

    Laura Griziotti (b.1942) Italian Architect & Designer

    She began her professional career in 1967; became a member of ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale); 1967—74, she collaborated with architect and designer Cini Boeri. In 1974, she set up her studio in Milan; participated in the planning of the 1971 industrial design exhibition of ADI at the Design Centre, Brussels.Read More →


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  • Aldo Cibic (b.1955) self-taught Italian architect and designer

    Aldo Cibic (b.1955) self-taught Italian architect and designer

    Aldo Cibic is a self-taught architect, designer, researcher, environmentalist and humanist. He was born in Vicenza and professionally active in Milan.Read More →


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  • Vittorio Introini (b.1935) Italian designer and architect

    Vittorio Introini (b.1935) Italian designer and architect

    Vitorio Introini (b.1935) is an Italian architect. town planner, industrial designer and teacher. Education He studied architecture at the PolitecnicoRead More →


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  • Nani Prina Italian Architect and Graphic Designer

    Nani Prina Italian Architect and Graphic Designer

    Nani Prina is an Italian architect and industrial and graphic designer. He was born and professionally active in Milan. HeRead More →


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  • Osvaldo Borsani (1911 – 1985) Italian furniture designer and architect

    Osvaldo Borsani (1911 – 1985) Italian furniture designer and architect

    Osvaldo Borsani was born in Varedo Switzerland at the crossroads of craft and modern manufacturing. The son of a cabinetmaker, he trained as an architect in Milan in the 1930s, when the city was a centre of technological advancement and flourishing artistry, with the economic momentum to push both at speed.Read More →


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  • “The Structures Tremble” Table 1979 by Ettore Sottsass

    “The Structures Tremble” Table 1979 by Ettore Sottsass

    Studio Alchymia was founded in 1976 in Milan as a think tank for designers who rebelled against modernism’s functionalist approach. Their products were intended as prototypes or unique exhibits. A perfect example of Alchymia’s philosophy is The Structures Tremble designed by Ettore Sottsass. Read More →


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  • Mario Bellini (b.1935) Italy’s most versatile designer

    Mario Bellini (b.1935) Italy’s most versatile designer

    Mario Bellini is one of Italy’s most versatile designers. Trained as an architect, he is known for his furniture and industrial design work. The new forms he developed for contemporary technology and furniture objects inspired designers internationally.Read More →


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  • Cristina Coral – Award-Winning Italian Photographer

    Cristina Coral – Award-Winning Italian Photographer

    She has lived her childhood in an artistic environment. She loves to explore the complex relationship between subject and environment. She has collaborated with a variety of magazines and brands.Read More →


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  • Rinaldo Petrini ( b. 1931) Italian teacher and designer

    Rinaldo Petrini ( b. 1931) Italian teacher and designer

    1954, LDV Polytechnic, Alessandria, United Arab Emirates, diploma in architecture. 1968 – Master of Science, University of Tennessee. Doctor es Lettres, Paris, LaSorbonne, 1974. Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Paris, 1973–1974. Postgraduate architectural restoration, Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Paris, 1973–1974.Read More →


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  • Pierluigi Cerri (b.1939) Italian Architect/Graphic/Exhibition Designer

    Pierluigi Cerri (b.1939) Italian Architect/Graphic/Exhibition Designer

    He was active as an exhibition designer, designed 1978 ‘Peter Behrens und die AEG’ exhibition, Berlin; 1978 ‘Carrozzeria Italiana’ exhibition, Turin and Rome; 1981 ‘Identité Italienne,’ Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; 1983 ‘Alexander Calder’ exhibition, Turin; 1984 ‘Italian Design,’ Stuttgart and Tokyo; 1984 ‘Venti Progetti per il futuro del Lingotto,’ Turin; 1986 ‘Futurismo e Futurismi,’ Venice.…


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  • Pier Luigi Nervi (1891 – 1971) – Italian Architect

    Pier Luigi Nervi (1891 – 1971) – Italian Architect

    After experience with a concrete contractor, he set up his firm in Bologna in 1923. His first structure was a 1927 cinema in Naples: His first important work was the 1930-32 Communal Stadium in Florence, widely published as an early example of Modern architecture. Read More →


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  • Federico Carandini – Italian Industrial and furniture designer

    Federico Carandini – Italian Industrial and furniture designer

    Carandini is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the modern furniture industry. He is skilled in Strategy, Branding, Line Development, Design Management, Concept Development and Production Management. Strong arts and design professional with a BFA with university honours focused in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University.Read More →


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  • Carlo Guiliano (1831 – 1895) Italian Goldsmith and Jeweller

    Carlo Guiliano (1831 – 1895) Italian Goldsmith and Jeweller

    Carlo Guiliano was an Italian jeweller and goldsmith who was born in Naples and worked in London. In 1860, Guiliano settled in London and worked for Harry Emanuel. He collaborated with Castellani Italian Jewellers on at least one piece of jewellery. In the archaeological or Etruscan style, he was a talented jeweller. He developed his…


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  • Andrea Branzi (b.1938) Italian furniture designer

    Andrea Branzi (b.1938) Italian furniture designer

    His theoretical furniture is well-known. He formed Archizoom Associati, an avant-garde group in Florence, in 1966 (with Paolo Deganello and others) that brought the irony of 1960s Anti-Design to furniture design.Read More →


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  • Elio Martinelli (1922 – 2004) Italian Lighting Designer

    Elio Martinelli (1922 – 2004) Italian Lighting Designer

    He and others founded a lighting company in 1942. In 1956, he founded the lighting firm Martinelli Luce in Lucca, designing plastics and metal and producing a perspex hanging lamp published in La Rivista dell’ Arredamento.Read More →


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  • Carlo Bugatti (1855-1940) Italian designer and furniture maker

    Carlo Bugatti (1855-1940) Italian designer and furniture maker

    Carlo Bugatti was a leading figure in Italy’s design and decorative arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Bugatti is perhaps best known for his exotic, handmade furniture designs. Many of the 19th century’s progressive developments, notably the British Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau, influenced his work. Read More →


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  • Vittorio Gregotti (1927- 2020 ) Italian architect, designer, design historian

    Vittorio Gregotti (1927- 2020 ) Italian architect, designer, design historian

    Vittorio Gregotti (1927- 2020) was an important Italian architect, designer, design historian, theorist and critic, Gregotti was the editor of several leading Italian design journals. He graduated in architecture from Milan Polytechnic in 1952. He spent his lifetime working in the field as a practitioner, academic, and writer.Read More →


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  • Bruno Gecchelin (b.1939) Italian Architect-Designer

    Bruno Gecchelin (b.1939) Italian Architect-Designer

    Beginning his professional career in 1962, he worked for many major firms; designed lighting for O-Luce, furniture for Busnelli and Frau, refrigerators and gas stoves for Indesit, glassware for Venini, items for Skipper and Fratelli Guzzini, 1989 Atelier 75 range of four kitchen utensils, and 1987—88 Shuttle range of track lighting. Read More →


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  • Ignazio Gardella (1905 – 1999) Italian Architect-Designer

    Ignazio Gardella (1905 – 1999) Italian Architect-Designer

    Ignazio Gardella began working on architectural projects in Alessandria in 1929, including the Dispensario Antitubercolare (1929-1930), which is regarded as an example of Italian Rationalism, and the Laboratorio Provinciale di Igiene. He was laying the groundwork for his future career as an architect.Read More →


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  • Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture

    Mezzadro Chair – a nod to Italian Agriculture

    Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni were not the first twentieth-century designers to consider the tractor seat in relation to sophisticated furniture production: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe used it for the Conchoidal chairs he conceived during the early 1940s. Read More →


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  • Lino Sabattani (1925 – 2016) Italian Metal Smith

    Lino Sabattani (1925 – 2016) Italian Metal Smith

    Sabbatini worked as a silversmith from a very early age.  He learned metalworking techniques and became interested in shapes derived from natural materials.  The Boule teapot and example of his early work was designed for T. Wolff in Germany.Read More →


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  • Patrizia Ranzo Italian architect and designer

    Patrizia Ranzo Italian architect and designer

    Patrizia Ranzo is an Italian architect and designer. She was born and active in Naples. She studied architecture in Naples to 1981. Read More →


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  • Cini Boeri Italian Furniture & Industrial Designer

    Cini Boeri Italian Furniture & Industrial Designer

    She worked as an interior and furniture designer in the studio of Marco Zanuso, Milan, 1952—63. In 1963, she set up her studio, specializing in civil and interior architecture and industrial design. She was associated with ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale). In 1979, she formed Cini Boeri Associati, Milan. Read More →


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  • Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer

    Paolo Venini (1895 – 1959) Italian Glassware Designer

    Murano glassware was historically decorated with opulent rubies and gold and fanciful forms in vibrant colours. He hired freelance designers like Martinuzzi and Fulvio Bianconi regularly. Gio Ponti from 1927, Carlo Scarpa from 1932, Eugene Berman from 1951, Ken Scott from 1951, Franco Albini from 1954, and Massimo Vignelli from 1956 were the designers he…


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  • Massimo Vignelli designer of subway maps to corporate logos

    Massimo Vignelli designer of subway maps to corporate logos

    Massimo Vignelli and his wife Leila, an architect, were considered a husband and wife team credited with introducing restrained, European fashion and taste in America in the 1970s.Read More →


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  • Adalberto Dal Lago (b.1937) – Italian Architect and designer

    Adalberto Dal Lago (b.1937) – Italian Architect and designer

    Adalberto Dal Lago is an Italian architect and designer: born and active Milan. He was an assistant, Facolta di Architettura, Politecnico di Milano from 1964-70 and subsequently chair of interior design and then of the elements of composition. He published books on design and Modern architecture. The European Council commissioned him and architect Marco Zanus…


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  • Patricia Urquiola is a Spanish architect and designer

    Patricia Urquiola is a Spanish architect and designer

    Patricia Urquiola is a Spanish architect based in Milan. She distinguishes herself by her original designs of items and furniture for the finest and most significant international companies. She created the Maia series, one of her most typical works for Kettal, the designer of some of the most emblematic pieces of today’s selection. AD Design…


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  • Piero Polato (b.1936) Italian Industrial Designer

    Piero Polato (b.1936) Italian Industrial Designer

    At ISIA, Urbano, Polato taught metallurgy. He wrote books about design education. Saiet, Avancart, Pellizzari, RAI, Televisione Svizzera Italiana, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Franco Rosso International, Fratelli Coppola, Furla, Mursia Editore, Robots, Zucchi, Il Bustese, and Muncherner Ruck were among his clientele. He was an ADI member (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale).Read More →


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  • Carlo Mollino (1905 – 1973) Italian architect and designer

    Carlo Mollino (1905 – 1973) Italian architect and designer

    Today, Carlo Mollino seems just as important as when he was alive. The designer left his mark on the world of industrial design of the 20th century through one of a kind objects, incorporating new techniques and materials produced rather than batch productions in the form of collector’s items.Read More →


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