Born in 1926 in Milan, Lombardy. In 1943 he was arrested as a Partisan and deported to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Once liberated from the Allies, he returned to Milan and joined his former fellow inmate Lodovico di Belgiojoso, a founding member of BBPR architectural firm. In 1950 he married British architect Mary Crittal, who also collaborated with BBPR. He moved to London where took evening classes in typography at Central School of Arts and Crafts. He started working as an art editor and designer, contributing to the first exhibitions dedicated to Italian design. After a short experience in Paris, he was hired by Penguin Books in 1960 and became its art director in 1962. He gradually redesigned the entire identity of Penguin Books, thus giving a fundamental contribution to the history of British graphic design. In 1971 he left his appointment at Penguin and returned to Italy where he worked as editorial and design consultant. President of AGI from 1967 to 1969, he gave classes in numerous schools including Bath Academy, Chelsea College of Art, London College of Print, and Yale University. He died in Sarzana, Liguria in 2006.