The Stendig Calendar
As we near the end of 2014, I begin my annual ritual of ordering calendars for the upcoming year. Although I’ve been a virtual planner and organizer for decades (from the first Palm Pilot to my current iPad Mini), I also hang several paper and dry erase calendars at home and work. Nothing beats the visual of a hardcopy calendar for project, event and workflow planning. The Stendig Calendar has tempted me in the past but I hesitate because I would never dream of writing on it or pulling it off the wall for a meeting as I often do with wall calendars. The Stendig is a classic and deserves to be treated with respect.
Designed in 1966 by Massimo Vignelli, it is the only calendar in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection and is still produced today. It’s boldly oversized, 3 ft X 4 ft. The pages alternate between black on white and the reverse. The font, the varying character sizes and the contrast between empty and filled space make it a powerful example of modern graphic design. It is the perfect wall hanging in a modern home, a design conscious office or for the font obsessed.
