What is Bruno Munari's Design as Art about?
Design as Art (Arte come mestiere, 1966) is a short collection of essays by the Milanese artist and designer Bruno Munari about the designed things we live with: lamps, chairs, road signs, posters, typefaces, children's books, cars. His argument is that design should be beautiful, useful and available to everyone. It is short, practical and good-humoured, and still reads like a conversation with the most curious person at the table.
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Bruno Munari (1907-1998) was one of those Italians who refuse to stay in one box. He made paintings and sculptures, mobiles he called useless machines, toys and games, graphic design, industrial objects and dozens of inventive children's books with cut-outs and textured pages, according to Wikipedia's profile of Munari. Penguin's description of the book even notes that Picasso compared him to Leonardo. Design as Art is the book where he explains, in plain language, how he thinks.
What it's about
The Italian title, Arte come mestiere, means something like "art as a trade" or "art as craft", and that gives the game away. Munari wanted to close the gap between the artist in the gallery and the people who design the things we actually use. Treccani describes how the ideas he set out in this 1966 book, and in later ones, found their confirmation in his industrial design work.
Penguin's page for the book sums up the argument: good design should be beautiful, functional and accessible, and the book ranges across visual, graphic and industrial design. The subjects are everyday ones, including lamps, road signs, typography, posters, children's books, advertising, cars and chairs.
The main ideas, in our words
Design is for everyone. Art locked in a gallery reaches few people; a well-designed lamp or signpost improves the day of thousands. Munari treats that as a higher calling, not a lower one.
Beauty and use belong together. The book refuses the idea that a thing must choose between being lovely and being practical. The best objects are both.
Look harder at ordinary things. Much of the pleasure is watching him notice: why one road sign works and another doesn't, why a typeface feels friendly, what makes a children's book invite touch.
Play is serious. Munari spent decades designing games and books for children, and it shows in how seriously he takes curiosity and imagination.
Why it's still fresh
The book is short and conversational, so it never feels like a textbook. It predates most of the jargon that now surrounds design, which makes it clearer than many newer books. And the tone, as we read it, is dry and a little mischievous, never pompous about the trade.
It also suits people who don't work in design at all. If you've ever wondered why one café menu is a pleasure to read and another isn't, or why a well-made chair feels right, this is your book. Read it before a trip to Milan and the city's shop windows, signage and furniture will look different.
Who it suits
- Anyone curious about why everyday objects look the way they do.
- Designers, architects and students who want a classic that's actually enjoyable.
- Parents and teachers interested in creativity, alongside Gianni Rodari's The Grammar of Fantasy, a kindred spirit from the same years.
FAQ
Do you need to know about design to enjoy it?
No. It was written for a general reader, and the chapters on ordinary things like signs and lamps need no background at all.
Is it a long read?
No. It is a short book, easy to finish over a weekend or to dip into a chapter at a time.
What else by Munari is worth seeing?
His children's books, which use cut-outs and textured pages to teach about touch, movement and colour, and his "illegible books", experiments in books as objects. Look out for them in design museum shops and good children's bookshops.
Is it in English?
Yes. Penguin publishes it in English in its Modern Classics series. If you read Italian, look for Arte come mestiere.
Sources
Written by the Zestasy editors. General information for curious adults, not medical, nutrition or training advice.