Last night the Missus and I dropped by AD20/21, the Art & Design of the 20th & 21st Centuries exhibition currently at the South End’s Cyclorama, where celebrated designers Massimo and Lella Vignelli received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

At which Massimo delivered a talk/slide show detailing his (and his wife’s) illustrious career. He began his presentation with this:

And he proceeded to provide exactly that (for examples, see here), along with these observations:

• Designers should create what clients (and people) need, not what they want

• Bad design is “poisoning” America

• Marketers are the enemy of good design

• The one thing he still hopes to do: “Redesign the Vatican. [He makes a cross with two fingers.] I’d say, ‘Your Excellency, the logo is okay, but everything else has to go.'”

His designs, on the other hand, are here to stay.