Collections

The Vignelli Center for Design Studies is committed to preserving the history of design through collecting the archives of designers, historians, educators, collectors, filmmakers, and others who document design’s past.

With a collection of over 500,000 artifacts, the Vignelli Center is home to entire professional archives of the renown designers Massimo and Lella Vignelli, including two floors of galleries highlighting the Vignellis work which is open to the public. In addition to the Vignelli archives, the Vignelli Center has 1000s of artifacts by numerous additional designers and all the collections are available for research, education, and creative inspiration.

Massimo and Lella Vignelli worked across all fields of design and their archives include examples of industrial and product design, graphics and publication design, corporate identity programs, architectural graphics, exhibitions, interiors, and furniture design. These collections also feature unique materials related to the Vignellis’ design process, such as sketches, prototypes, models, technical plans, correspondence, contracts, mechanicals, photographs, material samples, videos, and digital files.

We are now a partner on Google Arts and Culture!

You can search or browse individual artifacts, sort by color, view the artifacts on a timeline, and explore stories about the designs.

Visit our blog, archive: Vignelli, to see artifacts from the Massimo and Lella Vignelli papers as they are unpacked and processed.

Also follow us on social media to see even more artifacts:

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Although we are still processing and inventorying the collections, the archives are open for research.

Due to safety concerns related to Covid-19, visits to the archives may be unavailable. All group tours and class visits will be conducted virtually. Individual research appointments are available on a limited basis.

Please contact Jennifer Whitlock, Archivist, at jlwfad@rit.edu to discuss your interests and to schedule a virtual visit or research appointment.

General inquiries about the Center should be directed to josh.owen@rit.edu.