The Vignelli Canon — a working design discipline

Massimo Vignelli (1931–2014), Italian designer mentored by the Castiglioni brothers and Mies van der Rohe ("God is in the details"). With his wife and partner Lella, he designed "from the spoon to the city": the 1972 New York City Subway diagram and signage standards, the American Airlines identity (used ~45 years), Knoll, Bloomingdale's, Heller dinnerware, the National Park Service Unigrid system, and the Grandi Stazioni Italian railway station signage.

His thesis: Design is one discipline, above any style. Creativity needs the support of knowledge. The rules below are a bag of tools, not a cage.

PART ONE — THE INTANGIBLES (decide these before you draw anything)