Riccardo Falcinelli on Graphic Design, Publishing, and the Display Society
Riccardo Falcinelli, a graphic designer and design theorist from Rome, explores the intersections of visual design, commerce, and the evolution of digital displays. He has created book designs for notable publishers such as Einaudi, Laterza, Zanichelli, Random House, and Disney, and teaches the Psychology of Perception at ISIA Rome. His publications include "Critica portatile al Visual Design" (2014) and "Cromorama" (2017). Falcinelli differentiates between trade book design and corporate publications, sharing insights from his 2010 project for Newton Compton, where he produced 800 mass-market paperback covers in two years. He highlights the importance of "tone" in design and reflects on digital displays, referencing Émile Zola's "Au Bonheur des Dames," while urging emerging designers to cultivate cultural awareness and reconsider biases against commercial book covers.
Key facts
- Riccardo Falcinelli is a graphic designer and design theorist based in Rome.
- He has designed books for Einaudi, Laterza, Zanichelli, Random House, and Disney.
- He teaches Psychology of Perception at ISIA Rome.
- He authored 'Critica portatile al Visual Design' (2014) and 'Cromorama' (2017), both published by Einaudi.
- In 2010, he designed 800 covers for Newton Compton's mass-market paperbacks.
- The Newton Compton covers used a 16:9 image crop to evoke cinema and TV series.
- His own book cover for 'Critica portatile al Visual Design' uses a tetrapak motif to signify the book as a commodity.
- He notes that thriller covers shifted from black/red to white/light blue after Scandinavian crime authors became popular.
- He cites Émile Zola's 'Au Bonheur des Dames' to illustrate the 19th-century origins of display culture.
- The term 'iconogenia' was coined by Giovanni Anceschi and Paola Pallottino.
- He admires French graphic designer Robert Massin for his rule-breaking approach.
- He criticizes the bias against commercial book covers in the design community.
Entities
Artists
- Riccardo Falcinelli
- Giovanni Anceschi
- Paola Pallottino
- Robert Massin
- Tamara de Lempicka
- Bruno Munari
- Jean Nouvel
- Rem Koolhaas
- Francesco Valtolina
- Leonardo Sonnoli
- Lorenzo Bruni
- Pontormo
- Alfred Hitchcock
- John Berger
- Mark Cousins
- Ernst Gombrich
- Rudolf Arnheim
- Steve Jobs
- François-Ambroise Didot
- Gianni Basso
- Michelangelo Frammartino
- Federico Campagna
- Elisabetta Sgarbi
- Daniel Libeskind
- Roberto Cuoghi
- Antonio Marras
- Romeo Castellucci
- Michelangelo Pistoletto
- Hanif Kureishi
- Carlo Ratti
- Victor Stoichita
- Andrea Cortellessa
- Giulia Ammannati
- Francesco Vezzoli
- Ginevra Bompiani
- William Kentridge
- Barbara Jatta
- Marino Niola
- Anselm Kiefer
- Melania Mazzucco
- Enrico Alleva
- Ludovico Pratesi
Institutions
- Einaudi
- Laterza
- Zanichelli
- Random House
- Disney
- ISIA Roma
- Newton Compton
- Minimum fax
- Gallimard
- Galerie Lafayette
- Kunsthal Rotterdam
- GK Sekkei
- BASE / Progetti per l’arte di Firenze
- Museo Pecci
- Artribune
- Stampa Alternativa & Graffiti
- Einaudi Stile Libero
- Centro Arti Visive Pescheria di Pesaro
- Fondazione Guastalla per l'arte contemporanea
- Giovani Collezionisti
- Università IULM di Milano
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Firenze
- Milano
- Bergamo
- Tokyo
- Rotterdam
- Switzerland
- Milan
- England
- Torino