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Laura Ottina

@ottinalaura

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Graphic designer, researcher, writer
Professor at @ied_firenze and @fidi_florence.inst.of.design
Co-founder at https://whyfestival.com/it/

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Anita Klinz, Pioneering Italian Publication Designer

Perfect summer reading and research for Designers, Educators, and Researchers:

“Women Graphic Designers: Rebalancing the Canon” is a book of compelling stories that illuminate human perseverance, tenacity, and creativity, written by a stellar cohort of international design academics, practitioners, and historians. Each of the 42 stories weaves the disparate threads of a hidden history of women in graphic design through rigorous research, unpublished and published first- and second-person encounters, and, when available, interviews with the subjects, family members, or close associates. Each story unfolds in chronological order, through biographical and autobiographical events, revealing the invisible and making it visible.

Anita Klinz (1923–2013) was an Italian graphic designer and art director widely regarded as the first female art director in Italy. Born Anna Maria Klinz in Abbazia (now Opatija, Croatia), then part of Italian Istria, she studied graphic arts in Prague before relocating to Milan after the Second World War. After working in advertising and editorial design, she joined the publishing house Mondadori in 1951, where she quickly rose to a leadership role in graphic design. At a time when few women held senior creative positions, Klinz helped shape the visual identity of Italian publishing through her innovative approach to book covers, magazine layouts, and editorial branding.

Over the following decades, Klinz transformed the appearance of numerous Mondadori publications, including the influential “Urania” and “Gialli Mondadori” series, and later became a key creative force at Il Saggiatore, the publishing house founded by Alberto Mondadori. Known for her refined typography, strong visual concepts, and close collaborations with illustrators such as Ferenc Pintér and Karel Thole, she played a central role in defining the look of postwar Italian editorial design. Although her contributions were long overlooked, recent scholarship and exhibitions have reestablished Klinz as a pioneering figure whose work helped shape modern Italian visual culture and opened new opportunities for women.

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Anita Klinz, Pioneering Italian Publication Designer

Perfect summer reading and research for Designers, Educators, and Researchers:

“Women Graphic Designers: Rebalancing the Canon” is a book of compelling stories that illuminate human perseverance, tenacity, and creativity, written by a stellar cohort of international design academics, practitioners, and historians. Each of the 42 stories weaves the disparate threads of a hidden history of women in graphic design through rigorous research, unpublished and published first- and second-person encounters, and, when available, interviews with the subjects, family members, or close associates. Each story unfolds in chronological order, through biographical and autobiographical events, revealing the invisible and making it visible.

Anita Klinz (1923–2013) was an Italian graphic designer and art director widely regarded as the first female art director in Italy. Born Anna Maria Klinz in Abbazia (now Opatija, Croatia), then part of Italian Istria, she studied graphic arts in Prague before relocating to Milan after the Second World War. After working in advertising and editorial design, she joined the publishing house Mondadori in 1951, where she quickly rose to a leadership role in graphic design. At a time when few women held senior creative positions, Klinz helped shape the visual identity of Italian publishing through her innovative approach to book covers, magazine layouts, and editorial branding.

Over the following decades, Klinz transformed the appearance of numerous Mondadori publications, including the influential “Urania” and “Gialli Mondadori” series, and later became a key creative force at Il Saggiatore, the publishing house founded by Alberto Mondadori. Known for her refined typography, strong visual concepts, and close collaborations with illustrators such as Ferenc Pintér and Karel Thole, she played a central role in defining the look of postwar Italian editorial design. Although her contributions were long overlooked, recent scholarship and exhibitions have reestablished Klinz as a pioneering figure whose work helped shape modern Italian visual culture and opened new opportunities for women.

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Una bella prospettiva

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Il 27 settembre 2025 è scomparso un maestro della grafica italiana: Andrea Rauch. Designer e illustratore, ha progettato spazi espositivi, disegnato immagini per libri e soprattutto ha realizzato oltre 700 poster, molti dei quali presenti nelle collezioni museali di New York, Parigi e Zurigo. Lo ricorda per noi Stefano Rovai, che di Andrea Rauch è stato compagno di lavoro – insieme fondarono e guidarono lo studio Graphiti – di viaggio e di pensiero.

🗞️ Grafica Magazine è in vendita sul nostro sito e nei bookshop selezionati.
Per abbonarti:
🔸 abbonamento annuale (paghi 4 numeri +
sconto 50% spedizioni)
🔸 abbonamento continuativo (paghi ogni trimestre + disdici quando vuoi)
#graficamagazine #grafica #magazine #design
#graphics

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The year that packed more than I could have ever imagined. New beginnings, new places, faces that became a support system and rituals of spontaneous lunches and spritz.
Travels that I could only dream of, classrooms that were inspiring and collaborative and supportive, a new city to call home. all the manifestations that were done sitting in cafes and bars, the plans made, the milestones achieved, watched and even missed. The summer that lasted forever, and the subsequent semester that ended faster than we blinked.
The longest LDR with European travels in between, too many video calls, and airport goodbyes.
To the friendships bonded over schiacciate, vino and gorgeous sunsets, just staring into the abyss overlooking the Arno, not enough potlucks and picnics, but one too many grocery runs.
I could go on and on, safe to say, 2025 was a year I couldn't have imagined in my wildest imaginations. Grateful for small wins, big things and everything in between! 🧿💛🥹

#2025 #yearreview #memories

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I blinked and now I have a master’s degree 👀

Going back to school was never in my plans, but I’m glad I did it and met these wonderful *incredibly talented* friends 🩷

Auguri to us🍾…and plz hire us we r rlly good thx ✌🏻😙

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Culmination of a roller coaster of a year, expanding horizons, meeting inspiring people and cherry on the top of having @magnumtank experience the city that's become home! ❤️

#graduation #italiangraduation #laurelleaf #newchapterinlife❤️

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The opening of the Fight For Kindness exhibition in Florence was unforgettable! 💥
Bringing the exhibition to the city where this project was born on World Kindness Day — made this moment truly meaningful.

A huge thank you to our incredible speakers @deboramanetti, @ottinalaura and @andrea.bonacchi.75 for an inspiring opening, and to the City of Florence for welcoming us into the beautiful Biblioteca delle Oblate, right in the heart of the city.

Our gratitude also goes to our amazing guests, hosts and ambassadors, all the participants and our sponsor @zetafonts for their dedication and support.
And to everyone who came to celebrate with us: thank you for filling this day with energy, generosity, and shared purpose! May this be just the beginning of many more moments where creativity sparks genuine connection and keep hope alive for a kinder, better world ✨

#FightForKindness #WorldKindnessDay #DesignForGood

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In celebration of the upcoming release of "Women Graphic Designers: Rebalancing the Canon" (Bloomsbury, October 2025), I will introduce each of the 42 remarkable chapters, each shedding light on a pioneering woman who, against all odds, forged her path with resilience and creativity.

Anita Klinz: The Art of Book Design, written by Laura Ottina

Anita Klinz (1925–2013) was born in Croatia and became one of the few women who played a significant role in graphic design in mid-century Italy. She arrived in Milan, a refugee at the end of the Second World War, and began her career in advertising. In 1951, she was hired by Mondadori, a major publishing house, to create their in-house design studio, becoming its first art director. Over the next two decades, she designed hundreds of book covers and series for Mondadori and its subsidiary Il Saggiatore, individually and in collaboration with various designers and illustrators. Her work has received international prizes in Germany and Britain.

Anita Klinz at work in the office of the Mondadori artistic department, n.d.Courtesy of Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation, Anita Klinz Archive

Anita Klinz, four book jackets from the sixteen-volume series I Maestri dell’Architettura Contemporanea (Masters of Contemporary Architecture), Il Saggiatore, 1960–64. Courtesy of Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation, Il Saggiatore Historical Library

Anita Klinz and Pater Gogel, four covers from the Enciclopedia dei Ragazzi, Mondadori, 1966. Courtesy of Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation, Mondadori Historical Library

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Peau d'âne 🦄

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A visual language that shaped decades of cultural communication.
MANIFESTI 78/25 is the first retrospective dedicated to Stefano Rovai, celebrating the intellectual elegance, graphic rigor, and semiotic sharpness of one of Italy’s masters of the poster.

In collaboration with @why.festival

ex Teatro dell’Oriuolo
Via dell’Oriuolo 31, Florence
June 26 – September 26, 2025
free entry 9am–6pm (closed on Saturdays and Sundays)
Closed August 4–17

#IEDFirenze #CampoAperto #StefanoRovai

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📣 Manca solo un giorno all’apertura della mostra retrospettiva dedicata a Stefano Rovai!

🗓 Giovedì 27 giugno alle 18:00
📍Ex Teatro dell’Oriolo, Firenze

Nel contesto del programma Campo Aperto – Sull’immaginare oltre i confini, in collaborazione con @ied_firenze, vi invitiamo a scoprire una selezione di manifesti che raccontano oltre 40 anni di comunicazione visiva e impegno civile di uno dei maestri della grafica fiorentina.

Un’occasione speciale per riscoprire l’impatto del design nella cultura, nel sociale e nella politica.
Non mancate!

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