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Recent Posts
- MIKHAIL KAUFMAN: portraits 04/05/2022
- VUFKU 100 13/03/2022
- Rodchenko’s Birthday 05/12/2021
- MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: trainspotting! 11/12/2020
- MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: reflections 24/11/2020
- MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the first cinema screening 24/09/2020
- MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations 29/06/2020
- MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations 29/06/2020
- Adriano Olivetti 27/02/2020
- Why is Computer Design stuck in the 1950s? 04/04/2018
- MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the movie cameras 26/02/2018
- The movie cameras in Man with a Movie Camera 26/02/2018
- Apple Park 24/07/2017
- Archispeak #1 – TEA, Tenerife 11/01/2017
- Dismal Designs – Nikon D5 30/10/2016
- Delightful Designs – 1946 SIRIO Elettra II camera 10/10/2016
- Japanese Style 22/07/2016
- Whistler’s Haircut 27/04/2016
- Beyond The Dreaming Spires 11/04/2016
- Leica 1 Model C – The First System Camera 29/02/2016
- Blot on the Historic Townscape 21/02/2016
- Dismal Designs – The Hearing Aid 09/01/2016
- A Factory Filled with Light – Olivetti at Pozzuoli 13/11/2015
- Great Designers Remembered – Pier Giorgio Perotto and the first PC 28/10/2015
- Dismal Designs – New Google Logo 15/09/2015
- Miniature Masterpiece – Leica FIKUS Variable Lens Hood 03/09/2015
- Disappointing Designs – Apple Watch 18/08/2015
- Memorable Images – Henry Taunt 19/07/2015
- Duane Hanson at the Serpentine 16/07/2015
- Blots on the Cityscape – The Ruin of London? 15/07/2015
- Disappointing Designs – Alfa Romeo Giulia 07/07/2015
- Golden Silver – The Beauty of Nickel Plate 02/07/2015
- Delightful Designs – Arteluce Bean Bag Light 15/06/2015
- Housing Design Crisis 12/06/2015
- Blot on the Landscape – Close-board Fencing 10/06/2015
- Delightful Designs – Alessi Birdsong Tea Strainer 08/06/2015
- Miniature Masterpieces – Leica RASAL and ROSOL Frame Finders 31/05/2015
- Hiroshige at the Ashmolean 01/02/2015
- Blot on the Townscape #2 – The Blade, Reading 01/02/2015
- Miniature Masterpieces – Leica APDOO, WINKO, WINTU and AUFSU 01/02/2015
- Dismal Designs – Premier Inn 01/02/2015
- Blot on the Historic Landscape – The Port Meadow Scandal 09/01/2015
- Peter Overs – Emu Dreaming 08/01/2015
- Dismal Designs – new Mini 04/01/2015
- Miniature Masterpieces – Leica VISOR, VIDOM and VIOOH viewfinders 03/01/2015
- Alessi Makes Serious Coffee 29/12/2014
- Blot on the Townscape #1 – Oxford 29/12/2014
- Great Designers Remembered – George C Blickensderfer and the First Portable Typewriter 29/12/2014
- Constructivism in Tenerife! 19/12/2014
- Dismal Designs – Fiat Fiorino 19/12/2014
Author Archives: Opinionated Designer
MIKHAIL KAUFMAN: portraits
Dziga Vertov’s experimental film ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ (VUFKU 1929) portrays a day in the life of an unnamed Soviet city in 1928. Filming the activities of its inhabitants at work and play the cinematographer (and Vertov’s brother) Mikhail … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema, Constructivism, Dziga Vertov, Film studios, Man with a Movie Camera, Photography, silent film, Soviet film, Ukraine, Uncategorized
Tagged City symphony, Dziga Vertov, Elizaveta Svilova, Mikhail Kaufman, Photography, Soviet silent film, Ukrainian film, VUFKU
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VUFKU 100
100th anniversary of the All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration The All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Adminstration (Vse-Ukrains’ke Foto Kino Upravlinnia, ВУФКУ – Всеукраїнське фоtокіноуправління) was founded on the 13th March 1922 by the National Commissar of Education of the Ukrainian SSR. Lenin realised … Continue reading
Posted in Cinema, Constructivism, Dziga Vertov, Film studios, Man with a Movie Camera, silent film, Soviet film, Ukraine, Uncategorized
Tagged Goskino, Man with a Movie Camera, Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Oleksandr Dovzhenko Centre, silent film, Soviet silent film, Sovkino, Soyuzkino, Ukrainfilm, Ukrainian cinema, VUFKU
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Rodchenko’s Birthday
С Днем Рождения Александр Михайлович! Rodchenko in his Productivist work suit, folded parts of the Spatial Construction sculptures in the background, c1924. Photograph by Mikhail Kaufman. Aleksandr Mikhailovich Rodchenko was born in St Petersburg on the 5th December 1891 (New … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Cameras, Constructivism, Design, Graphic Design, Leica, Photography, product design, Uncategorized
Tagged Constructivism, Photography, Soviet Union
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MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: trainspotting!
‘Long live the poetry of the propelling and propelled machine, the poetry of levers, wheels, and steel wings1, the iron screech of movements, the dazzling grimaces of red-hot jets.’ From: ‘We. A Version of a Manifesto’, Dziga Vertov, Kino-Fot no. … Continue reading
Posted in Camera, Cameras, Cinema, Constructivism, Dziga Vertov, Man with a Movie Camera, silent film, Soviet film, Steam locomotives, Uncategorized
Tagged agit train, Debrie Parvo camera, Dziga Vertov, Elizaveta Svilova, Man with a Movie Camera, Mikhail Kaufman, Soviet locomotives, Steam trains in Russia, Trains in Man with a Movie Camera
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MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: reflections
Studying ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ carefully, shot by shot, for two previous posts on the locations and cameras, I was struck by the repetition of reflected and reversed images throughout the film from the first dramatic view of the … Continue reading
Posted in Camera, Cameras, Cinema, Constructivism, Dziga Vertov, Man with a Movie Camera, silent film, Soviet film, Uncategorized
Tagged Cine-Eye, Debrie Parvo, Dziga Vertov, кино-глаз, Elizaveta Svilova, Flopped Shot, Kinamo, Kino-Eye, Kino-Glaz, Krauss Zeiss Tessar lens, Left-Right Reversal, Man with a Movie Camera, Mikhail Kaufman, Mirror reversal, Reflected shots
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MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the first cinema screening
In the spring of 1927 Dziga Vertov* moved to Kyiv to work for VUFKU, the All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Adminstration (Vse-Ukrains’ke Foto Kino Upravlinnia, ВУФКУ – Всеукраїнське фоtокіноуправління) after being sacked by Sovkino, the Russian equivalent, for being over budget on … Continue reading
Posted in Camera, Cameras, Cinema, Constructivism, Design, Dziga Vertov, Man with a Movie Camera, Photography, silent film, Soviet film, Uncategorized
Tagged Berlin, Der Mann mit der Kamera, Dziga Vertov, Elizaveta Svilova, Express Cinema, Film und Foto Exhibition, Goskino No. 1 Cinema, Goskino No. 2 Cinema, Hermitage Cinema, K. Liebnecht Cinema, Kharkiv, Kharkiv Historical Museum, Kyiv, Man with a Movie Camera, Marmorhaus Cinema, Mikhail Kaufman, Moscow, Museum of Moscow, Odesa, Oleksandr Dovzhenko Centre, Palace Hotel, Shantser Cinema, Tverskaia 46 Cinema, VUFKU
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MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations
1929 poster for the film by the Stenberg brothers ‘We leave the film studio for life, for that whirlpool of colliding visible phenomena, where everything is real, where people, tramways, motorcycles, and trains meet and part, where each bus follows … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Cinema, Constructivism, Design, Dziga Vertov, Man with a Movie Camera, silent film, Soviet film, Uncategorized
Tagged Arcadia Beach, Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage, Bolshoi Theatre, Boulevard Stairs, Coal Mine, Debrie Parvo movie camera, Documentary film, Donbas, Donbass, Donetsk, Dziga Vertov, Eisenstein, Elizaveta Svilova, Experimental film, Film locations, Iron foundry, Kamianske, Kiev, Kinamo, Kulyanik, Kuznetsky Most, Kyiv, Man with a Movie Camera, Mikhail Kaufman, Moscow, Odesa, Photography, Potemkin Stairs, Pushkins'ka Street, Soviet Silent Movies, Steelworks, Strastnaya Square, The Eleventh Year, Tverskaya, Volkhov Hydroelectric Plant
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MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations
1929 poster for the film by the Stenberg brothers Dziga Vertov’s 1929 experimental masterpiece ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ [Человек с кино аппаратом, Chelovek s kino apparatom (R), Людина з кіноапаратом, Lyudyna z kinoaparatom (U)], along with Eisenstein’s ‘Battleship Potemkin’, … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Cinema, Constructivism, Design, silent film, Soviet film, Uncategorized
Tagged Arcadia Beach, Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage, Bolshoi Theatre, Debrie Parvo movie camera, Documentary film, Donbass, Dziga Vertov, Elizaveta Svilova, Experimental film, Film locations, Kiev, Kulyanik, Kuznetsky Most, Man with a Movie Camera, Man with a Movie Camera film locations, Man with a Movie Camera locations, Mikhail Kaufman, Moscow, Odessa, Photography, Potemkin Stairs, Soviet Silent Movies, Strastnaya Square, The Eleventh Year, Volkhov Hydroelectric Plant
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Adriano Olivetti
Adriano Olivetti in memoriam 11th April 1901 – 27th February 1960 A film about the greatest industrialist of them all: https://youtu.be/Ax_zKlnSxHE
Posted in Architecture, Art, Computers, Design, Housing, Housing Design, Personal Computers, product design, Typewriters, Uncategorized
Tagged Adriano Olivetti, Architecture, Design, Design Italiano, Industrial design, Italian design, Italy, Ivrea, Olivetti, Typewriters
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Why is Computer Design stuck in the 1950s?
Compared to my first computer, an Apple Macintosh 128K, the modern device has an awesome amount of computing power. I have just bought a Hewlett Packard ‘All-in-One’ PC with wireless keyboard and mouse, 24″ screen, 8GB of RAM and … Continue reading
Posted in Computers, Design, Personal Computers, product design, Uncategorized
Tagged Computer design, Design, Hewlett Packard, Industrial design, McAfee, McAfee LiveSafe, Microsoft, Windows 10
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MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the movie cameras
1929 poster for the film by the Stenberg brothers Dziga Vertov’s 1929 masterpiece ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ is a staple of film studies courses and has been analysed and written about countless times. What has had no attention, surprisingly, … Continue reading
Posted in Cameras, Cinema, Photography, silent film, Uncategorized
Tagged Abel Gance, Alexander Rodchenko, cine camera, Debrie, Debrie Grande Vitesse, Debrie GV, Debrie Le Parvo, Debrie Sept, Debrie tripod, Dziga Vertov, Eduard Tisse, Elizaveta Svilova, Emile Labrely, Ica Kinamo, Kino Eye, Kino Glaz, Kinok, Le Parvo, Man with a Movie Camera, Mikhail Kaufman, Sergei Eisenstein, silent film, Silent film camera, Stenberg brothers, Varvara Stepanova, Zeiss Ikon Kinamo
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The movie cameras in Man with a Movie Camera
Dziga Vertov’s 1929 masterpiece ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ is a staple of film studies courses and has been analysed and written about countless times. What has had no attention, surprisingly, is the actual equipment used on and in the … Continue reading
Posted in Cameras, Cinema, Photography, silent film, Uncategorized
Tagged Abel Gance, Alexander Rodchenko, cine camera, Debrie, Debrie Grande Vitesse, Debrie GV, Debrie Le Parvo, Debrie Sept, Debrie tripod, Dziga Vertov, Eduard Tisse, Elizaveta Svilova, Emile Labrely, Ica Kinamo, Kino Eye, Kino Glaz, Kinok, Le Parvo, Man with a Movie Camera, Mikhail Kaufman, Sergei Eisenstein, silent film, Silent film camera, Stenberg brothers, Varvara Stepanova, Zeiss Ikon Kinamo
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Apple Park
Steven Levy of Wired magazine was invited in for a tour of the vast new Apple headquarters building in Cupertino, California, designed by Foster and Partners. Opened in April 2017 the building has cost a reported $5 billion, and the … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Building, Computers, Construction, Design, Olivetti, Personal Computers, Uncategorized
Tagged Apple HQ, Apple Park, Foster and Partners, Foxconn, Jony Ives, Pegatron
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Archispeak #1 – TEA, Tenerife
WHAT ARCHITECTS SAY VERSUS THE REALITY! Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2008 ARCHITECTS: Herzog & De Meuron, project directed by the Canarian architect Virgilio Gutiérrez ARCHITECTS: “…..A new public path diagonally cuts through the building complex connecting the … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Blots on the Cityscape, Blots on the Townscape, Building, Design, Spanish Architecture, Ugly Buildings, Uncategorized
Tagged Herzog & De Meuron, Modern Plaza, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, TEA, Tenerife architecture, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes
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Dismal Designs – Nikon D5
In complete contrast to my previous post……. The grotesque looking D5 is the epitome of everything I loathe about the current offering of DSLR cameras. It is the Mr Creosote* of cameras, a misshapen lump with buttons, lids, and switches scattered at … Continue reading
Posted in Camera, Cameras, Design, Japanese Design, Photography, Uncategorized
Tagged Cameras, Canon EOS, Design, DSLR, Japanese cameras, Japanese DSLR, Nikon D5, Photography, Product design
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Delightful Designs – 1946 SIRIO Elettra II camera
As well as being a Leica fan I’m also intrigued by the many ‘Look-a-Leicas’ that mostly appeared in the decade after WW2. The launch of the first Leica in 1925 caused a sensation, changing the way people took photographs. Tens … Continue reading
Posted in Camera, Cameras, Design, Italian Design, Leica, Photography, product design, Uncategorized
Tagged Cameras, Copy Leicas, Design, FED cameras, Italian cameras, Leica cameras, Leica copies, Photography, Product design, SIRIO Elettra II
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Japanese Style
I took this photograph in Gion, the historic part of the city centre in Kyoto. Not posed at all, they were just walking down the street, totally absorbed in each other. Over the past decade it has become quite common to see … Continue reading
Posted in Fashion, Japan, Uncategorized
Tagged Gion, Inu-yarai, Kimono, Kyoto, Traditional Japanese clothing
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Whistler’s Haircut
James Abbott McNeil Whistler (1834-1903) was one of the greatest artists of the late nineteenth century, and the finest etcher since Rembrandt. An expatriate American, he had a huge influence on the cultural world of London and Paris, friends with … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Uncategorized
Tagged Art for art's sake, James Abbott McNeil Whistler, Mortimer Menpes, Victorian artists, Whistler
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Beyond The Dreaming Spires
THE OTHER OXFORD, FAR FROM THE TOURIST TRAIL Mention Oxford to most people and an image of beautiful golden stone buildings with spires and domes comes to mind. The High Street or ‘The High’ is surely one of the most … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Blots on the Cityscape, Blots on the Townscape, Building, Housing, Housing Design, Oxford, Ugly Buildings, Uncategorized
Tagged 1930s semis, Dreaming Spires, Oxford, Oxford buildings, pre-war housing, urban sprawl
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Blot on the Historic Townscape
King’s Lane Development, Cambridge, UK (1967) – Architect: James Cubitt & Partners There are so many third-rate modern buildings around they just blend into the background, but sometimes you come across one that is so crass, ugly, and ridiculous that … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Blots on the Townscape, Building, Ugly Buildings, Uncategorized
Tagged Alan Turing, Cambridge, Cambridge Architecture, James Cubitt, King's College, King's Lane, King's Lane development
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Dismal Designs – The Hearing Aid
WHY ARE HEARING AIDS SO BADLY DESIGNED AND OVER-PRICED? An elderly relation of mine has some Starkey 3 Series hearing aids which cost an extraordinary £2,500 ($3,600)! Apart from the outrageous price, of which more later, this is one of the most … Continue reading
Posted in Design, product design, Uncategorized
Tagged Hearing aids, Starkey hearing aids
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A Factory Filled with Light – Olivetti at Pozzuoli
“…Facing the most remarkable bay in the world, the architect has designed this factory to respect its beautiful surroundings and to make this beauty a source of comfort in the working day. We wanted nature to be part of the life of the factory rather than being excluded by a … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Olivetti
Tagged Adriano Olivetti, Apple vs Olivetti, Bay of Naples, Camillo Olivetti, Enlightened Industrialists, Foxconn, Luigi Cosenza, Olivetti, Olivetti factory at Pozzuoli, Pozzuoli, Steve Jobs
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Great Designers Remembered – Pier Giorgio Perotto and the first PC
This month marks the 50th Anniversary of the launch of the world’s first commercially produced personal computer, the Olivetti Programma 101, during the Business Equipment Exhibition at the New York World’s Fair in October 1965. No, it wasn’t IBM, Hewlett-Packard, or … Continue reading
Posted in Computers, Italian Design, Olivetti, Personal Computers, product design
Tagged 1965 New York World's Fair, First PC, First Personal Computer, Mario Bellini, National Museum of Computing, Olivetti computers, Olivetti Programma 101, Pier Giorgio Perotto
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Dismal Designs – New Google Logo
the OPINIONATED DESIGNER verdict: Link to the work (only took a week, and it shows) that went into creating a mediocre logo: http://www.ifitshipitshere.com/redesigning-the-google-logo/
Posted in Google logo, Graphic Design
Tagged New Google logo
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Miniature Masterpiece – Leica FIKUS Variable Lens Hood
A series of posts celebrating the early Leica camera accessory, ingenious and often beautiful small masterpieces of functional design. Ernst Leitz produced the first ‘system’ camera in 1930 (the Leica 1 Model C), and by 1933 the accessory catalogue ran to over 100 pages. These … Continue reading
Posted in 1930s photography, Cameras
Tagged Leica Fikus, Leica lens hood, lens hoods
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Disappointing Designs – Apple Watch
Being an Apple fan since my first Macintosh I wasn’t expecting to be disappointed by the Apple Watch. I tried out the Sport version recently which seemed well made and there are some great features and apps, but crucially it just … Continue reading
Posted in Design, watch design
Tagged Alessandro Mendini, Apple Watch, Breitling, Chronomat, gold Apple Watch, Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, Mimo Loga, Navitimer, Samsung Gear S2, smart watch, Tizen
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Duane Hanson at the Serpentine
The 1805 Magazine building (an armoury and gunpowder store) in London’s Kensington Gardens was sensitively converted by Zaha Hadid and Liam O’Connor Architects in 2013 into the new Sackler extension of the Serpentine Gallery, with a swooping tent-like addition in fabric and glass … Continue reading
Posted in Art
Tagged Duane Hanson, Hyperrealist Art, John De Andrea, Pop Art, Ron Mueck, Serpentine Gallery, Serpentine Sackler Gallery
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Blots on the Cityscape – The Ruin of London?
There has been an astonishing lack of serious debate about the future planning of London except in one or two of the architecture journals and the Guardian. Over 400 very tall buildings are planned for the city, particularly along the south … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Blots on the Cityscape, Blots on the Townscape, London Architecture
Tagged 20 Fenchurch Street, London architecture, Rafael Vinoly, skyscrapers in London, The Fryscraper, the Walkie Talkie
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Disappointing Designs – Alfa Romeo Giulia
If you’re an Alfa Romeo enthusiast you need to be very resilient to keep faith with the brand! From the boxy looking 1960s Giulias (the accident prone grey police cars in the Italian Job) to the Capybara look-alike Mito, they just … Continue reading
Posted in Auto Design, Automotive Design, Car Design, Italian Design
Tagged Alfa, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Car design, Giulia, Italian Car Design, Italian design
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Delightful Designs – Arteluce Bean Bag Light
Arteluce Model 600p light – Gino Sarfatti 1966 Designed in that ‘Golden Age’ of Italian design* nearly 50 years ago, it still looks startlingly modern today**. A brilliantly simple concept, taking advantage of the leather and metal-working skills of Northern Italy, the … Continue reading
Posted in Interior Design, Italian Design, Lighting
Tagged Arteluce, Bean Bag Light, Flos, Gino Sarfatti, Italian design, Italian Lighting
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Housing Design Crisis
In an effort to improve on the woeful standard of housing design in the UK the last government launched the Building for Life 12 scheme in 2014. It is ‘designed to help local communities become more involved in design conversations and in shaping development … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Housing, Housing Design
Tagged Bracknell, Building for Life, Housing crisis, housing design, Jennett's Park
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Blot on the Landscape – Close-board Fencing
Is there any more miserable way to mark a boundary than the ubiquitous close-board fence? The cheapest method of enclosing outside space (and looks it) which is why it is thoughtlessly used everywhere. It often blocks ancient routes for wildlife … Continue reading
Posted in Blot on the Landscape, Blots on the Townscape
Tagged close board fencing, cut and laid hedge, fencing, hedges, new housing development
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Delightful Designs – Alessi Birdsong Tea Strainer
Alessi ‘Tea Matters’ Melodic Tea Strainer – Alan Chan 2010 No other manufacturer would, or could, make such a quirky and delightful product. Ostensibly for straining tea but imagined as a cage containing the strainer in the shape of a bird, all … Continue reading
Posted in Design, Italian Design, product design
Tagged alan chan, Alessi, bird song, birdsong tea strainer, chinese birdcages, Tea Matters tea strainer, tea strainer
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Miniature Masterpieces – Leica RASAL and ROSOL Frame Finders
A series of posts celebrating the early Leica camera accessory, ingenious and often beautiful small masterpieces of functional design. Ernst Leitz produced the first ‘system’ camera in 1930 (the Leica 1 Model C), and by 1933 the accessory catalogue ran to over 100 pages. These … Continue reading
Posted in Cameras, Photography
Tagged 1930s, aerial photography, Hindenburg, Leica RAMET, Leica RASAL, Leica RASUK, Leica ROSOL, Leica viewfinders, Paul Wolff, sports photography
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Hiroshige at the Ashmolean
The Ashmolean Museum, in Oxford, has a small part of its Hiroshige collection on display at the moment (closes 15th February 2015): http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibitions/details/?exh=105 The woodblock prints in the exhibition are part of his ‘Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road’ series, first published … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese Art
Tagged 53 Stations of the Tokaido Road, Ashmolean Museum, Hiroshige, Impressionists, Japanese Art, Japanese woodblock prints, Japonisme, Van Gogh, Whistler
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Blot on the Townscape #2 – The Blade, Reading
This is the tallest building in Reading (Berkshire, UK) and so the ridiculous silver cardboard pointy bit on the top can unfortunately be seen for miles around. Quote from the building’s website: “Sharp thinking……The curving form of the spire gives … Continue reading
Dismal Designs – Premier Inn
Catching an early flight from Gatwick recently I stayed the night before in the Premier Inn next to Gatwick North Terminal. The nearby car park cost was part of the deal, and it was great to walk next door to the … Continue reading
Posted in Hotel Design, Interior Design
Tagged Airport hotels, Bad hotel design, Budget hotels, Gatwick, Gatwick hotels, Premier Inn
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Blot on the Historic Landscape – The Port Meadow Scandal
CASTLE MILL GRADUATE STUDENT ACCOMMODATION, OXFORD Port Meadow is an ancient area of water meadow by the Thames on the edge of Oxford. Around 300 acres (120 hectares) in area it is still used for grazing cattle and horses, as it … Continue reading
Peter Overs – Emu Dreaming
I recently bought a painting by Peter Overs, an aboriginal artist from the Kamilaroi people, currently living in Alice Springs, in the centre of Australia. Painted with acrylic on canvas, it is quite small, (300mm square) but I was really impressed by its … Continue reading
Posted in Art
Tagged Aboriginal Art, Emu Dreaming, Emu Dreamtime, Peter Overs, Quandong fruit
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Dismal Designs – new Mini
I had a 1959 Austin Seven Mini as a partner to my 1926 one (below). The proportions of the grille and headlights were just right, giving it a cheeky, friendly appearance suiting such a revolutionary small car, and making it … Continue reading
Alessi Makes Serious Coffee
Alessi Neapolitan Coffee Maker – La Tavola di Babele Another one of Alessi’s beautiful masterpieces of design and construction. It only makes a few small cups of delicious coffee and there are a lot of things to clean afterwards, but … Continue reading
Blot on the Townscape #1 – Oxford
Looking at this horror in the centre of the city you might think it was an electricity sub-station with those gates, or even University squash courts. But no, it is a block of flats in an area of Victorian terraces … Continue reading
Great Designers Remembered – George C Blickensderfer and the First Portable Typewriter
Recalling brilliant designers and their creations from the past. George Canfield Blickensderfer (1850-1917) and the Blickensderfer No. 5 A memorable name for such a prolific inventor! Born in Pennsylvania, USA, he moved to Stamford, Connecticut after his marriage. While working … Continue reading
Constructivism in Tenerife!
I came across this interesting building in the architectural wasteland of South Tenerife. An old apartment block overlooking the beach in Los Cristianos, it has an early Soviet Union Constructivist flavour about it. Rather a clever concrete structure, there is … Continue reading
Dismal Designs – Fiat Fiorino
Over the past few years Fiat has produced a string of boring or hideous van designs in equal measure. The Doblo was bad enough, but look at the truly grotesque front end of the new Fiorino. It looks like Popeye’s … Continue reading
Posted in Car Design, Vehicle design
Tagged Car design, Daihatsu Midget, Fiat design, Fiat Fiorino, Fiat van design
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the OPINIONATED DESIGNER blog 