Earlier this month, Massimo Vignelli and his son asked the world to send well-wishes and thank you notes to the "very ill" designer. Sadly, the New York Times reports that Vignelli passed away today in his Manhattan home at the age of 83.
Vignelli is best-known for his 1972 redesign of the New York City subway map (below), but he was also responsible for the branding of several companies including Bloomingdale's, IBM, American Airlines, Gillette, and Xerox, as well as brochures for the National Park Service and shopping bags for Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys.
The Times says of the designer, "He preached clarity and coherence and practiced it with intense discipline in everything he turned out, whether kitchenware, public signage, books or home interiors."
In addition to the letters that he and his family received this past month, friends and fans of Vignelli's work used the hashtag #DearMassimo to share kind words:
#dearmassimo ThankYou for our #last kiss. I loved seeing you last week, smiling, laughing and… http://t.co/7S9HNqMIbd
#Dearmassimo Thank u for your mentoring..You told me I could do it, so I did it! @vignelli Remembering the Canon... http://t.co/mzit1PhIGo
16 years ago, #dearmassimo inspired me to fight against the ugliness. Thank you, and RIP Massimo @vignelli pic.twitter.com/vNWHGyjY9i
[via New York Times]
