#alan heller

[vignellicenter]

Remembering Alan Heller 

When Alan Heller launched his company Heller Inc., his first product was a stacking dishware set designed by Massimo Vignelli, which Alan saw at a museum and sought out Massimo to get it back in production. This launched a nearly 40-year collaboration in graphics, products, showrooms, and furniture.

Alan visited the Vignelli Center on a few occasions. In 2016, we invited him [AGAIN, once was not enough] to speak in our Design Conversations lecture series.  You can watch the recording: https://youtu.be/DergmzHJax8  

On that visit, he also spent many hours in the archives combing through the 100s of Heller artifacts saved by the Vignellis. Alan was very pleased that we were preserving so much of Heller’s history. And, if you knew Alan, you know that he could tell a great story, with lots of humor, and probably a few expletives. 

 Although it won’t be the last time that we highlight Heller work from the archives, enjoy a few Vignelli-designed artifacts, including: the first stacking dishware set in 1971 (named Max for Massimo’s nickname), the infamous Heller rainbow dishware, Lella’s glass bakeware, and some recent graphics and showrooms. Take this brief tour of the collaboration between this design power couple and a design visionary who made “Good Design at Affordable Prices.”

Rest in Peace Alan Heller. You will be missed but your impact on design will never be forgotten. 

See more Heller artifacts from the archives: https://artsandculture.google.com/search?q=vignelli%20heller 

 Alan Heller’s own design work, Ergo Ergo, is part of the Product Timecapsule in our Special Collections: https://www.rit.edu/vignellicenter/product-timecapsule/heller-ergoergo

[dd20century]

Product Manufacturer and Designer Alan Heller Dies

Product designer Alan Heller died last month in New York City according to his obituary in the New York Times. He elevated plastic ware from basic functionality to elegant, highly designer objects. His ethic was that products that are used everyday can be as beautiful as they are useful.

Alan Heller and Masimo and Lella Vignelli, Hellerware (1971). Image source.

The original design for Hellerware, as it became known, was Masimo and Lella Vignelli’s. The ware was originally manufactured in Milan, Italy and won the Compasso d’Oro Award for Good Design in 1964. Heller was so taken with the design he approached the Vignellis and asked permission to produce them for the U.S. Market. 

Heller made some adaptations to the Vignellis’s original design, like enlarging the coffee mugs and their handles. Heller also introduced the ware in bright rainbow colors during the mid-1970s. 

In addition to the iconic Hellerware, Heller helped designers Phillipe Stark and Mario Bellini execute and produce their designs in plastic for the market place.

Read Heller’s obituary in the New York Times.

Read a tribute to Alan Heller and Hellerware on remodelista.com.

[informedinnovationinc]

Alan Heller, Who Made Plastic Housewares Beautiful, Dies at 81

For designers like Mario Bellini and Massimo and Lella Vignelli, Mr. Heller produced domestic objects that became models of modern design.

A huge loss to the design community... Alan was one of the greatest enablers of great design. This is a beautiful retrospective of his contributions to our profession, and an essential introduction if his name is new to you.

www.informedinnovationinc.com