Design Debate

February 2010 saw the premier, in Berlin of a newly restored, near-as-damn-it to the original, version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The film is now enjoying a limited theatrical release. Perhaps it is an appropriate moment then, to put its influence and influences into context. Metropolis and the earlier Russian film Aelita, which inspired it, explore the plight of the proletariat under a greedy, exploitative ruling class. Both feature an uprising, the catalyst for which is a love affair breeching the class divide. Metropolis also follows Aelita's suit in its adoption of a science fiction setting; both films project the tensions of the present onto a dystopian future. However, if Aelita was a conceptually original take the oppressive conditions of pre Revolution Russia, it is Metropolis that is the more cinematically accomplished. The two films exemplify divergent tendencies. Soviet Cinema would be increasingly informed by Marxism. This was manifest in a Constructivist aesthet...

A football is not, it would seem, just a football. Every league and major tournament has its own ball. The 2010 World Cup, for example introduced the Jabulani, a revolutionary Adidas design said to fly truer than any other ball. However, with every new ball comes a new raft of complaints about how it plays. Speaking on Radio 5 back in the spring, England Goalkeeper David James said that the Jabulani would cause keepers a lot of embarrassment. Conversely, strikers complained that it was difficult to keep down, at least English strikers did! How can different footballs, which by the way, have to conform to a regulation size and weight, contain so many surprises? The three factors most likely to affect play are how well the ball keeps its shape, the degree to which the slight weight in-balance caused by the inflation valve is minimized and lastly, visibility. It is likely that commercial imperatives, rather than the pursuit of dynamic perfection drive the introduction of new and excl...

Goldman Sachs Website What do you picture when you think of the City of London - The Bank of England with its colonnaded fascade? Men in pinstriped suits and bowler hats? Traders frantically signaling instructions across the floor of the Stock Exchange? Or, perhaps computer screens animated by a dizzying array of charts and indexes? The Blackstone Group Website The persistence of such images is probably due to cinema and news media as much as to the city itself. Indeed, our most enduring impressions of the city are probably drawn from its history, rather than its present; crucially, from a time pre 1995. It was around this time that the city effectively reinvented itself to address the new economy created by dot.coms. So, what is the contemporary face of the city? What do city institutions ask for when they work with designers? Below are the websites of three city heavy weights. Feel free to speculate on what the briefs might have been. KBC Peel Hunt Website To kick start the debate,...

This Zeitgeist features illustration and obscure photographs, along with robot spies...

The latest excitement in our office has been the discovery of 'graze boxes', they are snack boxes that get delivered to you at work. They are ordered through their website www.graze.com and consist of fresh fruit and nibbles chosen to your requirements. We just love the idea, its ethos (everything is made from recycled materials), and the the way the website and packaging are designed. The box fits through a letterbox so that you don't have to wait in or sign for it. The postage paid logo and the graze logo are effectively displayed in white ink on the brown cardboard. Inside, the box is divided into sections that lift out, complete with a recipe card, nutritional information and a 100% recycled napkin. We at Pickle can't fault it, and all for only £2.99! Marie Lawley Share

This selection of images from the internet include intriguing illustration, dolls and captivating black and white photography. Share

How I take my tea colour match Recently when searching for presents for my brothers I hit a loss. There is so much on the web, but I always seem to find the cliche tacky stuff that shows I was stuck for ideas! However whilst browsing today I noticed the company Suck UK. They have been running for 10 years and offer products that appeal to the design savvy. The cardboard ghetto blaster eye pod speaker system Suck UK have won countless awards for their innovation such as, Gift of the Year and Young Designer of the Year (Crabtree and Evelyn). Their main product designers are Jude and Sam, based in the East End of London. Although the set up is quite established now, in the beginning it was more along the lines of kitchen experiments and workshops in squatter's digs. This colourful beginning shows itself in the humour of the products on sale. The carve your own wooden postcard Not only showcasing their own talent, there are cherry-picked products from across the world. Some items that...

Our latest selection of images include classic black and white photography and vivid illustration.