Davide Fornari, Davide Turrini (eds.)
Identità Olivetti
Spazi e linguaggi 1933–1983
Book design: Federico Barbon
Euro (D) 39.–, Euro (A) 40.–
Italian edition
ca. 360 pages, ca. 230 images
16 x 24 cm, softcover
Pre-order. Release date June 2021
ISBN
978-3-03863-061-6
• On visual identity and branding at Olivetti
• Examples from showrooms, trade fairs, and world exhibitions
• Cultural activities and advertising measures of a globally unique company
Olivetti’s
world-famous typewriters best embody the company’s industrial legacy
and visible identity, which was both innovative and complex, material
and immaterial. These identities are at the heart of an
interdisciplinary research project carried out by ECAL/Ecole cantonale
d`art de Lausanne and the Università degli Studi di Ferrara in
collaboration with the Association for the Historical Archives of
Olivetti in Ivrea. This publication includes contributions from 36
authors.
Olivetti Identities. Spaces and Languages 1933– 1983 presents the results of this research with the aim of analyzing the Olivetti phenomenon as a whole, paying particular attention to the context of corporate evolution and the approaches of designers such as Xanti Schawinsky, Renato Zveteremich, Ettore Sottsass, Hans von Klier, Egidio Bonfante and Walter Ballmer, among others.
The
research analyzed the corporate identity journey of Olivetti from the
establishment of the Olivetti advertising office in 1933 to the opening
of the permanent Olivetti pavilion at the Hanover Fair in 1983, which
was intended as the final step in a particularly efficient corporate
identity strategy.
The volume is organized in four sections dedicated to the design of showrooms and exhibition design at trade fairs and expos, the analysis of languages that have shaped corporate vocabulary as well as visual communication and interaction design, and cultural and promotional activities, respectively.
A final section summarizes the credentials of designers Santiago Miranda and George Sowden, as well as former Olivetti collaborators in sales and training.
Two visual essays featuring published and previously unpublished documents from the Olivetti historical archives complete the book.
About the author:
Davide Fornari is associate professor at ECAL/Ecole cantonale d`art de Lausanne and Head of the Applied Research and Development department. He has authored, edited and served as art director for a number of publications on design, including Mapping Graphic Design History in Switzerland, Bianca und Blu Monica Bolzoni (2019), Carlo Scarpa: Casa Zentner a Zurigo (2020).
