The Rule

Calcolo

The product's output is the picture: an adding machine poster whose one image, a plus sign, is built from the digits it prints, in mixed faces and four overprinted colours.

CALCOLO
MACCHINE DA CALCOLO
Click poster to regenerate output

CALCOLO X1

MANUALE DI ISTRUZIONI

Brand Guidelines

Never draw the machine itself. Show what it *does*. Use dense layers of its actual output (numbers, letters, symbols) to construct the imagery. Rely heavily on primary colors and the `mix-blend-mode: multiply` overprinting effect to create depth and texture from the typography.

A. MITCHELL

DESIGNER

What breaks it

Drawing a literal picture of the adding machine. The genius of the Olivetti aesthetic was illustrating the concept and energy of the machine's output, never just showing a boring photograph or flat vector drawing of a grey plastic box.

LITERAL DEPICTION