Category Archives: Design

Rodchenko’s Birthday

Posted on 05/12/2021 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , | Comments Off on Rodchenko’s Birthday

MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the first cinema screening

Posted on 24/09/2020 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the first cinema screening

MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations

Posted on 29/06/2020 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations

MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations

Posted on 29/06/2020 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: the film locations

Adriano Olivetti

Posted on 27/02/2020 by Opinionated Designer

  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 , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Adriano Olivetti

Why is Computer Design stuck in the 1950s?

Posted on 04/04/2018 by Opinionated Designer

  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 , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Why is Computer Design stuck in the 1950s?

Apple Park

Posted on 24/07/2017 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , | Comments Off on Apple Park

Archispeak #1 – TEA, Tenerife

Posted on 11/01/2017 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , | Comments Off on Archispeak #1 – TEA, Tenerife

Dismal Designs – Nikon D5

Posted on 30/10/2016 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dismal Designs – Nikon D5

Delightful Designs – 1946 SIRIO Elettra II camera

Posted on 10/10/2016 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Delightful Designs – 1946 SIRIO Elettra II camera

Leica 1 Model C – The First System Camera

Posted on 29/02/2016 by Opinionated Designer

The renowned optical instrument firm of Ernst Leitz of Wetzlar in Germany produced the first modern camera in 1925, the Leica 1 Model A.  Designed by two brilliant engineers, Oskar Barnack and Max Berek, it revolutionised photography by using 35mm … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s photography, Camera, Cameras, Design, Photography, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Leica 1 Model C – The First System Camera

Dismal Designs – The Hearing Aid

Posted on 09/01/2016 by Opinionated Designer

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 , | Comments Off on Dismal Designs – The Hearing Aid

Disappointing Designs – Apple Watch

Posted on 18/08/2015 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Disappointing Designs – Apple Watch

Golden Silver – The Beauty of Nickel Plate

Posted on 02/07/2015 by Opinionated Designer

Around the early 1930s shiny metal things began to look colder and brighter when chromium plating replaced the soft golden tones of nickel plate. You can clearly see the difference looking at these otherwise identical Leica Elmar lenses (if you … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, metal finishes | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Golden Silver – The Beauty of Nickel Plate

Delightful Designs – Alessi Birdsong Tea Strainer

Posted on 08/06/2015 by Opinionated Designer

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 , , , , , , | Comments Off on Delightful Designs – Alessi Birdsong Tea Strainer

Alessi Makes Serious Coffee

Posted on 29/12/2014 by Opinionated Designer

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 →

Posted in Design, Italian Design | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments