Biographical profile
Omar Vulpinari is an expert in brand communication, design thinking, and service design with over 30 years of international experience.
He collaborates with important organizations such as: Benetton Group, Samsung, Sky, United Nations, Teachers Without Borders, Max Mara, Statista GmbH, AUSL Romagna, ART-ER Attractività Ricerca Territorio of the Emilia-Romagna Region from which he received the ART-ER Ready For The Future Award 2019.
Professor of Advertising and Communication Design at the University of the Republic of San Marino. He has also taught Design Thinking and Service Design at the University of Bologna and the Bologna Business School, Course Leader of the Master's in Service Design Innovation at the University of the Arts London – London College of Communication, and Professor of Design Thinking Methods at the University of Ferrara.
From 1998 to 2013, he led teams of artists and designers as Head of the Visual Communication Department at Fabrica, the Benetton group's communications research center directed by Oliviero Toscani.
At Fabrica, she led international campaigns on social issues such as preventing violence and childhood injuries, road safety, organ and blood donation, climate change-related diseases, anti-tobacco and alcohol campaigns, disability awareness, stigma reduction around AIDS and mental illness, and human rights protection. The projects were commissioned by UNWHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDCP, UNICRI, The World Bank, Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, the International Council of Nurses, Teachers Without Borders, the Japanese Ministry of Welfare, AVIS, and INAIL.
At the same time, he has directed commercial and cultural projects for: United Colors of Benetton, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Porsche, Fox International, Alessi, Piaggio, Vespa, Nikon, Juventus FC, Banca Sella, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the Municipality of Venice, The New Yorker, D&AD, Domus, Electa, Internazionale, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica.
From 2010 to 2012, it received three Good Design Awards for the UNWHO Climate Change Hurts, Decade of Road Safety, and Disabling Barriers campaigns. In 2008, the UNWHO-UNICEF Global Child Injury Prevention campaign was awarded the Graphis Platinum G Advertising Award.
Numerous works have been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou Paris, La Triennale Milan, Red October Moscow, Shanghai Art Museum, Shiodomeitalia Creative Centre Tokyo, Ginza Graphic Gallery Tokyo, DDD Gallery Osaka, ZeroOne Design Centre Seoul, MAK Vienna, MACRO Rome, Chaumont International Design Festival.
In 2007 Taschen devoted a section to his independent work in the volume Contemporary Graphic Design.
From 2007 to 2012 he was vice president of ICOGRADA (now Ico-D), editorial director of Iridescent – The ICOGRADA Journal of Design Research and co-editor of the research publication The ICOGRADA Design Education Manifesto 2011 dedicated to the future of communication design education.
He was also a regional ambassador for the Index: Design to Improve Life Awards and a nominee for the Sir Misha Black Medal and Award for Innovation in Design Education.
From 1986 to 1997 he was art director at Fuorischema/Dolcini Associati in Pesaro, a pioneering public service communications studio in Italy.
Main publications
Books
- Audrey G. Bennett, Omar Vulpinari, Icograda Design Education Manifesto 2011, Icograda, Montreal, 2011
- Downloadable PDF from http://www.icograda.org/news/year/2011_news/articles2246.htm
- Max Bruinsma (supervising editor), Omar Vulpinari (editorial director), Iridescent Volume 1. 2009-2011, The Icograda Journal of Design Research, Icograda, Montreal, 2011
- Downloadable PDF from http://www.icograda.org/news/year/2011_news/articles2247.htm
- Anthon Beeke, Nick Bell, Ken Cato, Shigeo Fukuda, Fernando Gutiérrez, Werner Jeker, Uwe Loesch, Stefan Sagmeister, Serge Serov, Omar Vulpinari, Area: 100 Graphic Designers, Phaidon, London, 2004
- Elisabetta Prando, Renzo di Renzo, Omar Vulpinari, Fabrica 10: From Chaos to Order and Back, Electa, Milan, 2004
- Elisabetta Prando, Renzo di Renzo, Omar Vulpinari, Fabrica Files 13-18, Electa, Milan, 2004
- Elisabetta Prando, Renzo di Renzo, Omar Vulpinari, Fabrica Files 07-12, Electa, Milan, 2003
- Elisabetta Prando, Renzo di Renzo, Omar Vulpinari, Fabrica Files 01-06, Electa, Milan, 2003
blog
- Peter Bilak, Jessica Helfand, Richard Hollis, Emily King, Linda Kudrnovská, Colin Davies and Monika Parrinder, Omar Vulpinari, Why write about Graphic Design?, in "Graphic Project", year 10, n. 21, summer 2012, pp. 42-43
- Omar Vulpinari, There is no single way to define social communication, Omar Vulpinari (Editor) Fabrica's Social Communication, Municipality of Treviso, Treviso, 2012, pp. 2
- Reposted online http://aiapzine.aiap.it/news.php?ID=13838&draftPreview=1
- Omar Vulpinari, It's a baby, Steven Heller (Editor), I Heart Design: Remarkable Graphic Design Selected by Designers, Illustrators, and Critics, Rockport, Beverly, 2011, pp. 150-151
- Omar Vulpinari, Understanding the World in an In-Between World, Steven Devleminck, Inge Gobert, Johan Van Looveren (Editors), Shaping Voices, Oogachtend, Leuven, Belgium, 2010,