Ettore Sottsass, designer, RIP
The man who designed the Olivetti Valentine has passed away.
He worked as a design consultant for Olivetti from 1958 to 1980, creating the Elea 9003 calculator and the popular portable red typewriter, released on Valentine’s Day in 1969. Sottsass referred to his typewriter as the “anti-machine machine.” Its features included a carriage that dropped to the level of the keyboard and a storage case, though it was the color that made it memorable.
“Every color has a history,” Sottsass said two years ago. “Red is the color of the Communist flag, the color that makes a surgeon move faster and the color of passion.”
