Eight icons of design have joined forces with Orange22 Design Lab to launch the firm's Blank Canvas Project. All of the super high-profile designers have created new editions of Orange22's indoor-outdoor, eco-friendly Botanist furniture. Botanist matches each designer's royalty to a foundation or charity of their choice. The Lines series by Massimo and Lella Vignelli features basic straight lines directing the way to life. Together, they have been the recipients of many awards and recognitions throughout the US and aboard. They have also been featured on two feature-length television programs that have been televised worldwide.

What was your inspiration?
We decided to take the three basic ways of setting type as a reference (for us only), that are: flash left (for the long bench) Centered (for the middle one) and justified (for the table) so we played the usual interaction between design fields.... We were not interested in flowery patterns, so the lines were natural for us. That was our inspiration....

Why is it important for you to give back?
For the last 25 years, RIT has been collecting archives of the best modernist graphic designers of the last century and they really use this material for teaching, so the students learn, about History, Theory and Criticism, directly from the archive material. Really a rare opportunity, that no other Institutions share. RIT is expanding their collecting policy to include some product design and our Archive will be the first to cover the whole field of Design. Worldwide, it is quite rare to find an Archive Center for Design Studies that is well organized, always open to the students and scholars. The Vignelli Center for Design Studies at the RIT will be an alive place, to support the education of the designers of the next generations.