Emme Edizioni is an Italian children’s publishing house founded in Milan in 1966 by Rosellina Archinto. The name derives from the initial “M” of Marconi, the founder’s maiden name. The company focused on children’s books and contributed significantly to the evolution of that genre in Italy. It was sold in 1986, but the trademark remains in use today as a brand of its parent company. [1] [2]
Design and History
The Emme Edizioni logogram was designed in 1967 by Salvatore Gregorietti, working at Unimark International, the design firm he joined in 1965 alongside Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda. [3] [4]
Gregorietti rendered the word “emme”, the Italian pronunciation of the letter M, using the same modular shape for both the letter E and the letter M. The compactness of the mark generates a united symbol, while its rotational symmetry allows it to be read in multiple directions. [3]
Gregorietti went on to design numerous book series for Emme Edizioni, including “Il Puntoemme” in 1969 and “I Pomeriggi” in 1974, establishing him as one of Italy’s most prolific designers of book series for the publisher. [5] [6]
Following the sale of the publishing house in 1986, the Emme Edizioni trademark was acquired by the Edizioni EL group of Trieste, which also operates the Einaudi Ragazzi brand. Today, Emme Edizioni primarily serves early childhood readers with illustrated picture books by notable authors and an extensive early-reading program. [1] [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The logogram is a visual pun on the publisher’s name. “Emme” is how Italians pronounce the letter M, and Gregorietti constructed both the E and the M from the same modular geometric shape. This shared construction visually ties the two letters together, creating a single, unified mark that reads as the publisher’s name while remaining abstract enough to be viewed from multiple orientations. [3]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
