4 ideas
Fine art withdrew into galleries and private collections, which cut it off from ordinary people. The designer puts aesthetic judgment into mass-produced objects that everyone handles every day, such as lamps, chairs, posters and cutlery. Munari argues this makes the designer the modern artist, because art returns to daily life through use rather than through contemplation of unique works.
Munari reads an orange as if it were an industrial product: the peel is a container with protective padding inside, and the segments are separable, individually wrapped portions. He notes that its colour is suited to the object and that its modest surface decoration is justified rather than excessive.
Examine whether every part of an object follows from its function, its material and how it is made. Parts should not be shaped by an imposed appearance. Incoherence appears when a material is disguised as another material, or when ornament contradicts the object's structure or use.
Munari wants visual messages that different viewers can read in the same way instead of leaving meaning to each viewer's private interpretation. He treats this clarity as something achieved through learned, shared conventions of signs and images.