Giovanni Pintori was an Italian designer born in 1912, Sardinia. He won a scholarship that allowed him to study at the Instituto Speriore per le Industrie Artistiche (the Higher Institute for Artistic Industries) in Monza from 1930 to 1936 and upon graduation joined the publicity department at Olivetti.
Olivetti was founded in 1908 and specialised in the production and design of typewriters. The Italian company came into contact with Pintori whilst promoting a collaborative town-planning project, that Pintori was part of. This project introduced Pintori to Renato Zveteremich, who was the director of Olivetti’s publicity department at the time.
Giovanni began his work with Olivetti in March 1938, and his work was showcased in various exhibitions and had a clear distinctive style that amplified the Olivetti brand image. His output for Olivetti was not just limited to advertising but included brochures, a new corporate identity and the design of exhibitions. His design defined the company’s visual image, and the iconic geometric designs are still as powerful and engaging today as they were in the 1950s.
By 1950 he was head of the graphic art department and in the same year, he was awarded the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennale. The designs were Pintori were also showcased in The Museum of Modern Arts exhibition, Olivetti: Design Industry in 1952.
Some of the notable designs he created below were scanned from various back issues of Graphis, Giovanni Pintori, Moleskine Books, 2015 and Rassegna 6, Il Campo della Grafica Italiana, 1981.
“Giovanni Pintori maintains that ‘a page or a poster must be rich in significance and that its meaning must derive from the inherent qualities of the object or of the function to be publicized.’ These requirements can be met with conviction, lucidity, and taste, but another ingredient is needed to put the breath of life into print or a three-dimensional display — the personality and the vision of the artist.”— Museum of Modern Art
