Vignelli and IKEA Observation

Enjoy a little design dork observation today…

Whether you realize it or not, you’ve likely seen or used something designed by Italian designer, Massimo Vignelli. Vignelli’s designs included everything from logos and packaging (including American Airlines’ logo and Bloomingdales’ shopping bags) to housewares and furniture to the New York City subway map. He and Lella, his wife and design partner, valued clarity and modernism in their designs.

In 1964, Vignelli designed plastic, stackable dinnerware for Heller that is still popular to this day. Sets were produced in white and bright colors. Heller Dinnerware, or Hellerware, as it came to be known, is still made using the same molds, so a set bought today will blend perfectly with pieces manufactured back in the 60s.

Vignelli’s design with this dinnerware must have been an inspiration to IKEA, who is using the same manufacturing processes to produce their storage tables. Like Hellerware, these tables by IKEA are also produced in white or in a bold, multicolored option.

Vignelli is famously quoted as saying, “If you do it right, it will last forever.” This proves to be true not just for Heller Dinnerware itself (which is known for its durability) but also for the legacy and inspiration that his thousands of designs will continue to leave.