Leonardo Sonnoli

When and how did your passion for Design come about?
In a conscious way, I suppose it started when I was about 19 or 20. There we no Faculties of Design and I was interested then in everything having something to do involved with design (photography-architecture-fashion) or art. So, I started off by studying Humanities with a focus on the History of Art but after a year I had the privilege of being accepted by ISIA in Urbino, the only state school for graphic design of university status at the time.

What do you think is more important for creativity today: innovation or functionality?
Design is influenced by both, be they technological design or reproduction innovations or, in some specific cases, the function of a project. So-called creativity is a term that can be used in a great many fields, not only for design. So it is difficult to give a clear cut answer. Nevertheless, what feeds evolution is knowledge of the past.

How far does the choice of material influence a design project? Has it ever happened that a specific material was the starting point for project a creative?
Generally, however vague, one always has an idea of how a project should be developed in terms of shapes and materials. As things progress, they are perfected and then one begins to look for the right material but already in a precise sphere. It may at times happen that the discovery of a new material suggests unexpected solutions.

Has the Design world changed with the current economic situation?
Yes, I think it has.
Production has always focused on printing costs. While now more savings are made on design quality: for example, publishers ask for the project and not page layout or even only the cover. This culminates in less care and attention for products.

What would you recommend to new designers as regards their training, so continually focused on tackling the challenge of new media and new languages?
Get to know the past really well, especially the past of one's own culture, and learn everything it has to teach. This is the way one can exploit new technological opportunities by giving them one's soul.


Trieste (Italy), 1962 – graduated at the High Institute of Industrial Arts of Urbino and is a partner of Tassinari/Vetta studio settled in Trieste. 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. Amongst his works, the visual identity for the 50th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, the design for archaeological exhibitions at the Colosseo in Rome, a typographic installation at Palazzo Grassi in Venice, the visual identity of the Cardi Black Box contemporary art gallery, the collaboration with the New York Times and the Il Sole 24 Ore, the visual identity of the Napoli Teatro Festival Italia since 2008, the art direction of the Electa Art Publishing House. Since 2000 Sonnoli is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and President of the Italian Chapter (2003). He is teaching at the Faculty of Design and Arts of the IUAV University of Venice and at the ISIA in Urbino, living and working between Rimini and Trieste.