Marcello Nizzoli (Italian pronunciation: [marˈtʃɛllo nitˈtsɔli]; 1887 – 1969) was an Italian artist, architect, industrial and graphic designer. He was the chief designer for Olivetti for many years and was responsible notably for the iconic Lettera 22 portable typewriters in 1950.
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Marcello Nizzoli in the context of Industrial design
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufacture or production of the product. Industrial manufacture consists of predetermined, standardized and repeated, often automated, acts of replication, while craft-based design is a process or approach in which the form of the product is determined personally by the product's creator largely concurrent with the act of its production.
All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can vary. It can be conducted by an individual or a team, and such a team could include people with varied expertise (e.g. designers, engineers, business experts, etc.). It can emphasize intuitive creativity or calculated scientific decision-making, and often emphasizes a mix of both. It can be influenced by factors as varied as materials, production processes, business strategy, and prevailing social, commercial, or aesthetic attitudes. Industrial design, as an applied art, most often focuses on a combination of aesthetics and user-focused considerations, but also often provides solutions for problems of form, function, physical ergonomics, marketing, brand development, sustainability, and sales.
View the full Wikipedia page for Industrial designMarcello Nizzoli in the context of Olivetti Lettera 22
The Olivetti Lettera 22 [oliˈvetti ˈlɛttera ˌventiˈduːe] is a portable mechanical typewriter designed by Marcello Nizzoli in 1949 or, according to the company's current owner Telecom Italia, 1950. This typewriter was very popular in Italy, receiving the Compasso d'Oro prize in 1954. In 1959 the Illinois Institute of Technology chose the Lettera 22 as the best designed product of the last 100 years.
The typewriter is about 27x37x8 cm (with the carriage return lever adding another 1–2 centimeters in height), making it quite portable for the time's standards, even though its 3.7 kg (8.2 lb) weight may somewhat limit portability.
View the full Wikipedia page for Olivetti Lettera 22