Work: Valentine

Description

“It was essential to design and produce a portable typewriter with significantly lower production costs, because Japanese machines were eating up the market,” Ettore Sottsass later recalled about the Valentine.

The Valentine: an object, an icon, an attitude. Designed by Ettore Sottsass and launched by Olivetti in 1969, it was born with the ambition of completely redefining the concept of the portable typewriter in the marketplace.

Its design completely broke away from the traditional, automotive-inspired metal casings of the past. Instead, it embraced cutting-edge materials born from chemical research, pairing a sturdy steel internal mechanism with a vibrant ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) shell—the very same plastic used for Lego bricks. This lightweight, durable, and cost-effective material could be molded into any shape, allowing the Machine and its Case to be conceived as two seamlessly integrated parts of a single object.

Equipped with a built-in handle, the typewriter slides effortlessly into its matching, flaming-red transit case for easy transport. This colorful, transgressive, and unpretentious solution brilliantly anticipated the demands of Radical Design, a rising movement re-evaluating the relationship between industrial products and society. While iconic in red, it was later produced in other colors as well.

As Chiara Alessi notes, “For the first time, a typewriter is no longer just a tool or a function; it is a symbol with a distinct identity that catches the eye and demands to be admired. It marks a definitive shift in the relationship between design and technology.”

Valentine in Roll number 1 – duration 1:45
Sonic evocation of the object created by Paolo Ferrario