“Pintori is considered the source of all the initiatives contributing to the Olivetti image: design coordination, graphics, typography, advertising image, sales-outlet design, and furnishing,”
(H. Waibl)
Giovanni Pintori is an Italian born designer and fine artist, most well known for his advertising work with Olivetti typewriters. He was born in Sardinia in 1912 to a dairy farmer. However, after pursuing art during his early education he was able to obtain a scholarship to the ISIA in Monza. Here Pintori studied under influential designers Marcello Nizzoli and Edoardo Persico.
It was post-graduation that brought Pintori to Olivetti, and after just three years with the company he was promoted to head of the Development and Advertising department. He designed countless ads that were suited to billboards, papers, advertisements in magazines, each one gaining Olivetti an impressive international reputation for the innovative and exciting ads. During the 1950’s alone he would be recognized for his work with solo exhibitions, awards, and honorary diplomas. as listed by storymarks.it;
“In 1950 he won his first of a series of awards: the Palma d’Oro of Italian Federation of Advertising..
In 1952, the MoMA in New York organized the exhibition Olivetti: Design in Industry, in which his work is widely represented.
In 1953 he joined the ACI (Alliance Graphique International).
In 1955, with an exhibition at the Louvre, a room dedicated to his work for Olivetti.
Also in 1955 received the Certificate of Excellence of Graphic Arts of AIG (the Association of American graphic designer) and the following year, the Gold Medal and Diploma in First Line Award Graphics and Fiera Milano.
In 1957 he was awarded the diploma of the XI Triennale Grand Prize in the same year he exhibited in London with the AGI.”
Pintori was best known for his use of color, geometry, and unexpected combinations of designs. His imagination and creativity set him apart from his contemporaries in huge way, as he truly was revolutionizing the idea of corporate identity.
Pintori was able to create an exciting, dynamic brand identity for something that was perfectly suited to graphic design; type. More specifically typewriters, but his work was best known for his innovative use of type and integration into the image. Personally, I’ve heard and seen examples of the phrase “Type should work with the design, not just stand on top of it,” and no body of work better exemplifies this for me than Pintori’s. He worked with a bland object and made it exciting, desirable, and modern, and his designs fit all of the same attributes.
http://www.archiviograficaitaliana.com/designers/2/giovannipintori
http://www.storymarks.it/giovanni-pintori-un-genio-italiano/