Salone del Mobile.Milano collaborates with illustrator Emiliano Ponzi to celebrate 60 years

Leading contemporary illustrator Emiliano Ponzi recently designed six posters celebrating the heritage and history of sixty years of the Salone del Mobile fair. Ponzi was entrusted with the task of creating images for the communication campaign of the 60th edition of the trade fair. As part of the campaign, Ponzi illustrated six distinct posters, each for one decade of the fair’s history. “I wanted to show design as an instrument of redemption for an entire sector, acting as an interpreter for the men and women who have contributed to making Milan an opportunity for cultural exchange,” says Emiliano Ponzi about the inspiration behind his designs.

The posters serve as an attempt to visually represent the heritage and history of one of the most famous and important trade fairs. Ponzi’s posters concretise not only the essence of the long-running trade fair, but also capture the context, background and social entities that influenced the evolution of trends, designs and lifestyles over the years. Featuring some of the most defining moments from each decade, the posters effectively demonstrate all the reasons why Salone del Milano is much more than just a trade fair.

For the first poster, Ponzi has depicted a scene from the interiors of a typical Milan household, comprising a lady with a cat sitting on a chair that reads 60 in bold red. The second poster focuses on the working-class population of the city during the 70s and the third one portrays Ramazzotti Amaro, the famous Italian digestif that first came into being in the 1980s and went on to become the symbol of Milan. For the poster dedicated to the 1990s, Ponzi derived inspiration from the La Scala Theatre, while also depicting its relationship with the Salone fair. The last two posters depict the first two decades of the 21st century, featuring the new Fiera Milan spaces in Rho and representing the concept of sustainability respectively.

Crafted in Ponzi’s defining style, the posters celebrate the Salone fair in a narrative format, pricking at the right emotions, while also serving as strongly aesthetic pieces of art. “We have entrusted the creative side of the communication for the 60th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano to the masterly touch of Emiliano Ponzi, an internationally renowned illustrator, because we believe that his design-like style and the evocative power of his works, in which a feeling of both elegy and memory can be discerned, were those most suited to celebrating the anniversary of the trade fair,” says Salone del Mobile President, Maria Porro.

Another unique aspect of the 60th edition of the Salone fair is the medium chosen for communication for the latest edition of the fair. Salone del Mobile has partnered with a Milan-based creative studio, Alkanoids, to create an app called ARIA, which brings Ponzi’s illustrations to life. This can also be seen as an extension of last year’s digital event, Supersalone, which was a first in the trade fair’s history.

Emiliano Ponzi is an Italian illustrator who divides his time between Milan and New York. One of the most prominent contemporary illustrators, Ponzi illustrates with the intention to communicate, engage and tell stories that are distinct and personal. His illustrations are defined by scrupulous handiwork and metaphysical environments.

We are excited to announce our very own STIR press booth at Salone del Mobile - Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO. Click here to read all that's STIRring at Milan Design Week on the best of exhibits, moods, studios, events and conversations to look forward to.