Olivetti Lexikon, Poster 1953
Olivetti Lexikon, Poster 1953

Olivetti is an Italian office machinery and furniture firm, located in Ivrea, Northern Italy.

For a large part of its history, Olivetti has followed the highest aesthetic standards in its business activities: architecture, interiors, advertising, graphics, corporate branding, as well as its manufactured products—office and computer equipment and office furniture. It has also played a leading role in funding major exhibits, has been the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and has established an enlightened corporate social welfare programme. 

Beginnings

The Olivetti office machinery company was founded in 1908 by Camillo Olivetti, who designed its first typewriter, the M1, produced by assembly-line methods. Early on, its works were housed in fortress-like brick factory buildings. Olivetti commissioned Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini to design a complex including factory, workers’ housing, and hospital. The accommodation was completed in 1939 and the factory in 1940. In 1940-41, its nursery school was replaced with a new building by Figini and Pollini. From 1938, Olivetti’s son Adriano was president of the firm and initiated the policy of using consultant designers. 

The interior of the town nursery, Olivetti
The interior of the town nursery, Olivetti

Notable Designers

Among the first wave of influential artists to work on the innovative face of Olivetti was the Swiss-born Bauhaus graduate Alexander (‘Xanti’) Schawinsky, who worked on the graphic and product design of Olivetti from 1933 to 1936. He was joined by Marcello Nizzoli, a graphic designer and exhibition designer. He became the company’s chief design consultant in 1936, the same year that artist and graphic designer Giovanni Pintori joined the company. Both Nizzoli and Pintori focused on architectural, product and advertisement design, which was also one in which the graphic design company Studio Boggeri played a significant role.

Early Products

Products of this time included the 1935 Studio 42 typewriter by Schawinsky, Figini, and Pollini, and the 1940 MC 4S Summa calculator by Marcello Nizzoli. The rounded, sculptural appearance of Nizzoli’s Lexicon 80 typewriter from 1948 was very much in keeping with the widespread contemporary interest in an organic form that could be seen in other well-known Italian designs such as Pininfarina’s Cisitalia Berlinetta from 1946 or Gio Ponti’s La Pavoni coffee machine from 1949. Several typewriters followed, including the Praxis 48 typewriter of 1964 (with Hans von Klier) and the bright red Valentine portable of 1969 (with Perry King, see King-Miranda Associati). 

Olivetti Lexicon typewriter
Olivetti Lexicon typewriter
Olivetti Summa 15 desk top calculator designed by Marcello Nizzoli
Olivetti Summa 15 desk top calculator designed by Marcello Nizzoli

Mario Bellini, another leading figure in Italian design, created many designs for Olivetti from the 1960s to the 1980s, including the striking orange Divisumma 18 calculator from 1972 with soft keyboard and the Praxis 35 typewriter from 1980. 

Radical designer Michele de Lucchi, who was named design consultant to Olivetti in 1979, became head of the design department in 1992, focusing on the design of electronic devices and computers, such as the 1993 Filos 33 notebook and the 1995 Echos 20 laptop. 

Office Furniture

Olivetti was also noted for its design of office furniture, prominent examples of which included the Arcos office furniture system developed by BBPR in 1960, the groundbreaking Synthesis 45 system of the 1970s by Ettore Sottsass and the Ephesos system of 1992 by Antonio Citterio. Olivetti followed its commitment to a cohesive and design-rich culture by ordering leading companies and designers to shape its interior through the commissioning of buildings by prominent designers. For example, the BBPR design studio designed the company’s offices in New York in 1954, the Olivetti showroom in Venice in 1957, and the Paris offices in Gae Aulenti in the next decade.

Valentine Portable Typewriter, 1969 Ettore Sottsass Jr., Designer Perry King, Collaborator
Valentine Portable Typewriter, 1969 Ettore Sottsass Jr., Designer Perry King, Collaborator

Recognition

In 1974, the American Institute of Architects recognised the effectiveness of the company’s corporate identity strategy. Olivetti was awarded the Industrial Arts Medal ‘for the history of excellence in the communication of its image by product design, corporate relations, architecturally distinguished manufacturing and merchandising facilities and the funding of various social, educational, leisure and cultural initiatives for its employees and the general public.’

Source

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

Oxford University Press. (2004). A Dictionary of Modern Design (1st ed.).

Interested in ‘Design History’ Read More

  • The Ornamo Book of Finnish Design

    The Ornamo Book of Finnish Design

    The 1962 Ornamo Book of Finnish Design showcases mid-century modernism in Finland, featuring sleek furniture and playful textiles, with light age browning on upper edges.Read More →

  • Pop Art – Hardcover – Coffee Table Book

    Pop Art – Hardcover – Coffee Table Book

    Pop Art emerged in the 1960s as a revolt against mainstream art and culture, focusing on materialism, celebrity, and media issues. It used mass-market sources and mechanized techniques, challenging the establishment and reducing artist roles.Read More →

  • Abstract Geometric Bauhaus Prints and Wall Art

    Abstract Geometric Bauhaus Prints and Wall Art

    Abstract Geometric Bauhaus Prints and Wall Art By WallbuddyRead More →

  • Neon Lighting – Dictionary – Design Term

    Neon Lighting – Dictionary – Design Term

    Neon Lighting. Semiflexible, hollow tubes of clear acrylic with small bulbs inside that can be connected to light up all at once or sequentially to produce a “chasing” effect. It’s also known as disco lighting, and it’s given homeowners new illumination alternatives. Lights designers consider neon lighting to be an art form.Read More →

  • Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future

    Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future

    Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future which features a close-up photo of the famous face.Read More →

  • Paris: May 1968 Posters of the Student Revolt

    Paris: May 1968 Posters of the Student Revolt

    In the turbulent days of May 1968 in Paris, a group of artists calling themselves the Atelier Populaire created posters that were vital in spreading the call to unite student and workers.  The propaganda of the French revolt was fed by immediate pressures.  The day by day events – the disruption of classes at Nanterre…

  • A Quaich: An Early Form of the Loving Cup

    A Quaich: An Early Form of the Loving Cup

    The quaich or quaigh is a type of Scottish drinking vessel. It is shallow and uncovered, similar to a porringer.Read More →

  • “International Style” Architecture of the Modern Movement

    “International Style” Architecture of the Modern Movement

    Alfred H. Barr Jr. coined the term in 1931 in conjunction with Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock’s 1932 “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition” (along with the accompanying book International Style: Architecture Since 1922) at the New York Museum of Modern Art, where Barr was director.Read More →

  • Jugendstil: An Exploration of an Artistic Style

    Jugendstil: An Exploration of an Artistic Style

    Jugendstil, an artistic style that originated around the mid-1890s in Germany and persisted throughout the first decade of the 20th century. READ MORRead More →

  • Mission Furniture – Design Dictionary Term

    Mission Furniture – Design Dictionary Term

    The term mission furniture was first popularized by Joseph P. McHugh of New York, a furniture manufacturer and retailer. The word mission references the Spanish missions throughout colonial California. The style became increasingly popular following the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo.Read More →

  • Taylorism Search for Industrial Efficiency or Robotism?

    Taylorism Search for Industrial Efficiency or Robotism?

    His 1911 book Principles of Scientific Management outlined these concepts, and they have influenced various aspects of design, including labour-saving kitchens and more ergonomic household equipment. These included the writings of fellow American Christine Frederick, who published Scientific Management in the Home in 1915, and Lillian Gilbreth’s assessments of domestic efficiency for the Brooklyn Gas…

  • Dada Art Movement – Making Mischief

    Dada Art Movement – Making Mischief

    As a designer, I am passionate about the history of art and their influence on ‘visual design.’  In art history, Dada is the artistic movement that preceded Surrealism, it began in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1916 by a group of mostly painters and painters.  Dada artworks challenged the preconceived notions of what art meant.  Many Dadaists felt…

  • Fashion Design from 1900 to 1920 – Focus on Freedom

    Fashion Design from 1900 to 1920 – Focus on Freedom

    Fashion Design from 1900 to 1920 – Focus on Freedom. Newfound political independence came newfound fashion freedom. READ MORERead More →

  • Cassone – the marriage chest

    Cassone – the marriage chest

    A cassone is a big decorated chest that was made in Italy between the 14th and 16th centuries. In 1472, a Florentine merchant married a young noblewoman named Vaggia Nerli. Cassoni were put on display in the most important and well-furnished room in the palace.Read More →

  • Anchor Blocks – 19th Century construction toy

    Anchor Blocks – 19th Century construction toy

    Anchor Blocks were a German system of building blocks that were popular as a children’s construction toy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, notably in Europe. Dr F. Ad. Richter in Rudolstadt, Germany, began developing and manufacturing the system in 1879. The concept was based on the FROEBEL block system, which significantly impacted…

  • Ideal Home Exhibition (est. 1908) Aspirational British Design

    Ideal Home Exhibition (est. 1908) Aspirational British Design

    The Daily Mail newspaper sponsored the Ideal Home Exhibition (from 1908). These shows provide an insight into popular taste and aspiration across all facets of domestic design and organisation in Britain.Read More →

  • Design History – 40s & 50s the age of the Graphic Designer

    Design History – 40s & 50s the age of the Graphic Designer

    The 1940s and 1950s the age of the Graphic Designer. Designers, illustrators, and artists used their talents to disseminate information.Read More →

  • Japan Advertising Artists Club pioneer of Japanese Graphic Design

    Japan Advertising Artists Club pioneer of Japanese Graphic Design

    In the 1960s, the JAAC’s philosophy came under fire for being overly reliant on exhibitions as a platform for innovative ideas. Furthermore, during the turbulent 1960s, a perceived emphasis on aesthetics at the expense of social significance, combined with allegations of elitism, led to the organisation’s disbandment in 1970.Read More →

  • The Chevron pattern – a Popular motif for Designers

    The Chevron pattern – a Popular motif for Designers

    The word chevron comes from the French word chevron, which means rafter or gable. Although there is no definition to prevent freedom in its shape, the chevron’s angle is most commonly between 60 and 70 degrees. Read More →

  • Honiton Lace the beauty of complex patterns

    Honiton Lace the beauty of complex patterns

    Honiton lace is a type of bobbin lace made in Honiton, Devon, in the United Kingdom. Its ornate motifs and complex patterns are created separately, before being sewn into a net ground. Common motifs include daisies, roses, shamrocks, ivy leaves, lilies, camellias, convolvulus, poppies, briony, antwerp diamonds, trefoils, ferns, and acorns.Read More →

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.