Pirelli innovation in research and visual experimentation
The poster designers of the 1920s and 1930s became the protagonists of one of the most vibrant periods in the history of visual communication. The works created by Mario Bertoglio, with oversized Pirelli Stella Bianca tyres appearing alongside beautifully elegant, powerful cars on mountain roads, were some of the clearest images in product communication at the time.
Mario Bertoglio, advertisement for Superflex Stella Bianca Pirelli tyres, 1931-1935"Now we’ll understand something. Let’s go and look inside" ("Adess ghe capissaremm on qualcoss: andemm a guardagh denter"), as engineer Luigi Emanueli, for many years head of Pirelli’s Research and Development, used to say.
In all its simplicity, the idea of "looking inside" in order "to understand" sums up the whole concept of science as a form of research, study, commitment, and the systematic overcoming of obstacles. And to "do science" one needs to have knowledge and the urge to innovate that the company has acquired over the course of its long history.
The first female employee joined Pirelli when production began. The number of women workers doubled in the First World War, when young women joined the company to deal with the constant expansion of production and the lower numbers of men working in the factory.
Female labour became a key component also in the reconstruction of Italy after the Second World War. Just as it is today, in the factories of the third millennium based on the Industry 4.0 model with technologically advanced production processes and a great focus on social and environmental sustainability.
In the 1940s and 1950s, high-speed duels were also fought on two wheels. While the rider-engineer Piero Taruffi was committed to breaking every track record, there were basically just two contending motorcycle manufacturers: Guzzi and Gilera.
Raffaele Alberti, Gianni Leoni and Bruno Ruffo raced on Guzzi, while Gilera bikes had another set of three champions: Nello Pagani, Carlo Bandirola and Umberto Masetti. All with one common denominator: the Pirelli brand.
For Pirelli, motorcar, motorbike, and cycling races have always played a key role as test benches and research labs out in the field for the development of tyres. The launch of Formula 1 in 1950 opened a new chapter in motor racing and for experimenting on the circuits for use on the road.
Pirelli’s historic partnership with Alfa Romeo and Maserati had started in the years of the pre-war Grand Prix races and it continued into the 1950s, but now a new marque appeared in the racing world: Ferrari.
From the early post-war period to the 1960s, the greatest Italian and international graphic artists worked with the brand, helping create a recognisable “Pirelli style” in visual communication. During this period, many works featured linear compositions with elements and colours reduced to a minimum.
High-performance tyres, such as the Stelvio, became the absolute protagonists together with the slogan “safety in speed”. The Stelvio Corsa tyre is now one of the models in the Pirelli Collezione range, created to meet the needs of the collector car market.
Published from 1948 to 1972 and distributed on newsstands, Pirelli. Rivista d’informazione e di tecnica was launched with the aim of bringing together scientific and technical culture with humanistic culture. Contributors to the magazine included internationally renowned names such as Dino Buzzati, Umberto Eco, Eugenio Montale, Salvatore Quasimodo, and Giuseppe Ungaretti, masters of photography such as Ugo Mulas, Fulvio Roiter, and Enzo Sellerio, and artists such as Renato Guttuso, Riccardo Manzi o, and Alessandro Mendini.
Fatti e Notizie came out in 1950 and, a few years later, local house organs were published in the various countries where Pirelli operated, until they were replaced in 1993 by a single periodical in English, for employees around the world: Pirelli World.