Campo Grafico: The Italian Design Magazine That Defied Fascism

Campo Grafico, an Italian independent journal of printing, typography, and graphic design, published 66 issues in Milan from 1933 to 1939. Founded by over 20 original members under the direction of Attilio Rossi until February 1935, the magazine emerged as a reaction to nationalism and conservatism during Fascism and Futurism. It championed the New Typography as codified by Jan Tschichold, rejecting classical symmetry in favor of functionalism, grids, asymmetry, white space, photomontage, and offset printing. The magazine served as a platform for European avant-garde ideals, attacking antiquated design and the older Milanese publication Il Risorgimento Grafico (1902–1942). Its covers exemplified its editorial principles, experimenting with Futurism, photomontage, and collage. Last spring, on the eve of its 90th anniversary, the 66 covers were exhibited for the first time at the ADI Design Museum in the show Campo Grafico 1933/1939: nasce il visual design, curated by Gaetano Grizzanti, Mauro Chiabrando, Pablo Rossi, and Massimo Dradi. The catalog published by AIAP Edizioni is now available.