Typeface Design for Lineto
Revival from metal, not paper
LL Electa is a reappraisal of the Pica-style typewriter font used on Olivetti machines throughout the 20th century, designed by Luca Pellegrini between 2018 and 2026 and published by Lineto. Rather than replicating the softened impression of type on paper—as most digital typewriter revivals do—Pellegrini modeled the font on the metal type bars of a vintage Olivetti Studio 42, yielding sharper outlines and foregrounding features such as rectangular slab serifs and distinctive curve dynamics. A real-world test by designer Julia Born prompted the expansion from a single weight to a family of three weights plus matching Cameo versions, issued as both static and variable fonts. Font engineering and mastering were carried out by Alphabet, Berlin.
Set in LL Electa
Insights
- Pellegrini used the metal type bars of a vintage Studio 42—not printed specimens—as his primary model, producing sharper outlines than paper-impression-based revivals.
- The italic departs from Olivetti machine precedents, drawing instead on other historical italic typewriter models.
- Julia Born's request for greater weight and presence while setting a book about Charmion von Wiegand drove the expansion from one weight to three.
- The rationalized construction was a deliberate strategy to avoid the nostalgic appearance common in digitized typewriter fonts.
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