He is involved with the visual identity of private and public companies, with the communication of cultural events, book design, signal systems and exhibitions graphic . Sonnoli is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (2000-), being elected as its Italy President (2003).
He is teaching Typography at the Iuav University of Venice and Editorial design at the ISIA of Urbino, living and working between Rimini and Trieste.
A Potato is not An Egg
The lecture titled “A potato is not an egg” is presented in the parallel section C(ommunicate), under the topic of “Visual Culture: pluralistic perspectives and contexts. It would present and explain a point of view on the design practice that consider as central perspectives the knowledge of the history of design and art, both international and, mainly, connected with the local culture of the designer.
The presentation start from a little anecdote of my professional life. When first employed, before the Mac, i was cutting few eggs in paper for an illustration. The studio principal, looked at my eggs not perfectly shaped, asked me :”What is this”. “It’s an egg” was my answer. He replied “This is not an egg. This is a potato!”. I immediately resign, even if in the following time I became a very close friend and a partner of him. But from that moment I realized that was more interesting to work, play, with type, with letters, because more abstract signs, more suitable to my bad skills as illustrator. I began a research of who and what, before me in the history, managed letters to communicate visually and verbally at the same time.
The presentation is divided in 9 chapters of relative different use of type.
For each chapter I introduce a theme through few books coming from my bookshelves. These books has been teaching me to look at the letters and the printed words in a different way. After explained the reason why the books are important I show some examples of my works related to the books. It’s a cause-effect presentation, like a game. But the main thesis is that all existing now is a consequence of what happened in the past. Therefore the cultural heritage play a fundamental role in developing art and design. The perspective is to look back to go on, like driving looking at the rear-view mirror to proceed safely.
