Deconstruct: Analysis and Un-designing

This exercise asked students to deconstruct and analyze a Vignelli product from the center’s permanent archive. They compiled documents related to the product and analyzed those documents to find the design logic. Students used orthographic views to precisely draw and deconstruct all sides of each design. Grid overlays, regulating lines, and dimensions were helpful in determining proportioning systems, repeated increments, and geometry.

Themes considered:

Organizing grids
Proportional logic
Underlying Geometry
Relationship of part to whole
How form facilitates the function
Use of material and fabrication techniques to support design values and manufacturing processes

Instructor: Marissa Tirone, Principal Lecturer

"Good design is a matter of discipline. It starts by looking at the problem and collecting all the available information about it. If you understand the problem, you have the solution. It’s really more about logic than imagination."
—Massimo Vignelli