Un Sedicesimo 17

Un Sedicesimo 17 is both a literary homage and an experiment in graphics. The year 1966 marked the publication of Nanni Balestrini’s novel Tristano (Tristan) “no plot and no characters”, which used a combination of techniques to make up a random text that differed from book to book. In this Sedicesimo – deliberately entitled Isotta (Isolde) – the “text” is not made up of letters, words and sentences but the signs used for checking print quality. The abstract signs are formed here by randomly crossing and mixing the inks during printing, thus becoming the most important features in a graphic design created by chance and error, with each copy of Un Sedicesimo being unlike the others.

Leonardo Sonnoli (Trieste, Italy 1962) has been art director of the Dolcini Associati studio and is now a partner of the Tassinari/Vetta studio with offices in Trieste and Rimini.
He mainly deals with the design of visual identity for private and public companies, particularly in the cultural field. Major projects include: visual identity desing for the 50th Venice Biennale; exhibition design for a series of archaeological shows at the Colosseo in Rome; collaboration with the New York Times and art direction of Electa Art Publishing House.
Since 2000 he is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and President of the Italian Chapter. In 2008 he was awarded the Rodchenko Award. He lectures at the IUAV University of Venice and at the ISIA in Urbino. He lives and works between Rimini and Trieste.