Divisumma 18 portable calculator
When Mario Bellini began consulting for Olivetti in 1963 it was making the transition (within its office products division) from designing and manufacturing products that were electromechanical to ones that used microelectronic technology.
The synthetic rubber keypad of this portable calculator is soft to touch but the mechanism beneath has been designed with spring steel, which imparts a light but positive action. There is an audible click in the operation which offers confirmation. This considered approach to the tactile and expressive qualities of the materials, combined with Bellini’s proclivity to include anthropomorphic elements into his products, is designed to create an emotional reaction in the user.
