Citroën H-Type Van

click photo to enlarge

One of the stages of the design process is conceptualization. This results from ideation (idea generation). Looking at modern automobile styling and design you could be forgiven for wondering if there is an agreement that every manufacturer has to use the same half dozen basic ideas. Further, that any resulting car design and styling is not not allowed to diverge from those of their competitors by more than fiver percent. It's got to the point that if manufacturers didn't put a badge on the bonnet or radiator you'd be hard pressed to distinguish one model from another. Of course, where the same model is actually produced by more than one manufacturer - as happens with, for example, Fiat and Suzuki (Sedici/SX4) or Toyota, Citroën and Peugeot (Aygo/C1/107) the confusion is understandable. As it is also when the basic body and internals is used by more than one manufacturer e.g. Opel and Vauxhall Corsa/Fiat Grand Punto or Ford Fiesta/Mazda 2. But even where this doesn't happen there seems to be an enormous amount of design convergence making cars virtually indistinguishable. Kias, Hyundais, Opels, Volvos, Peugeots, Toyotas, etc - who can tell them apart?

There have been times and manufacturers that have bucked this trend. In the past the French firm of Citroën had a name for turning out distinctive cars that stood out from the herd. The Citroën DS, a design produced by the combined talents of the industrial designer and sculptor, Flaminio Bertone and the aeronautical engineer, André Lefèbvre, was renowned for its idiosyncratic qualities. So too was the "umbrella on four wheels", the Citroën 2CV, an economy car that was so successful it remained in production for over forty years, from 1948 to 1990. Citroen's H-Type van (shown above) wasn't produced for quite that span, but it did remain available from 1947 until 1981. It too has qualities that make it stand out from vans of its time and today. I particularly like the flat glass windows and the corrugated metal. Both are chosen for their low cost, though putting folds into metal does, of course, increase its structural strength. The overall aesthetic of the vehicle is utilitarian with a slight hint of the military in the angled faces of the cab. When it was first made it was distinctive: it remains so today. Which is more than can be said for the vans made by the major manufacturers. These are even more clone-like than their cars.

This particular van has been restored and beautifully painted to act as a mobile coffee shop for "Café Classique". It was doing steady business at the Boston Classic Car Club Show, as the smaller photograph illustrates.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 70mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On 

Usefulness and beauty

click photo to enlarge

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."
William Morris (1834-1896), English designer, artist, writer and socialist

William Morris's dictum is one that most people find it easy to agree with, but hard to put into practice. In theory, the objects that we buy come in so many designs, styles and fashions that it shouldn't be difficult to find one that fits his criteria. However, the depths of one's pockets, the fact that products often converge towards a form that sells, and the desire on the part of the manufacturers and the public for "novelty" in design, make it much harder than it should be.

Today's photograph is of a glass jug that we bought recently. We settled on this fairly inexpensive model after rejecting more than a few. It's functional - always a good start as far as beauty in product design goes - and has no applied ornament of any description. Nor does it have the swoops and swirls of form that had been inflicted on quite a few of the jugs we considered. I took my photograph after placing it on a sheet of finely textured black vinyl in some sunlight that was streaming through a window. And, as I did so, it occured to me that there is a third consideration that I often apply to the purchase of a new object - can I get a photograph or two out of it? In fact, if you act on Morris's wise words the answer is invariably, "Yes".

Incidentally, when I was preparing this blog entry I happened to notice that it is number 1,015. I've tried to make a point of noting milestones in the progress of PhotoReflect, but I somehow missed one of the most significant. Ah well!

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 12.8mm (60mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f4
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Mass-produced

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There seems to be a general feeling that "hand-made" objects are individual, high quality and expensive. And often they are. However, in many cases a better description is individual, shoddy and expensive. Conversely, mass-produced objects are frequently looked down on for their ubiquity, uniformity, low cost and low quality. Sometimes that's the case. However, it isn't always so!

Take cars. The very best examples of automotive design are invariably the less expensive, mass-produced small vehicles - the VW Beetle and Golf, Mini, Fiat 500, Toyota Corolla, Citroen 2CV, etc. These are the innovative and "different" designs that moved car construction forwards. The low volume Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins, etc, that so many drivers lust after, may have a larger proportion of hand-assembly and finishing, and are certainly lavishly styled, but they are rarely good examples of design. What's more their reliability is usually considerably worse than that of their diminutive brethren. It's a fact that much of the best design of today is produced by designers working for industrial companies that make mass-produced objects - from hair-dryers to cafe chairs.

I was reminded of this when an indoor watering can costing 35 pence came into my home recently. It is made of a single piece of moulded plastic. The spout is simply an elongated groove, and the handle is part groove, part tapering tube. It's a design that is stackable, and is remarkably strong, its rigidity coming from the curves and folds that give it a very sensuous shape. More to the point, it performs its primary task wonderfully well - a great example of inexpensive, thoughtful, mass-produced design! As I looked at it the other day I saw a photograph in its swelling curves and tight folds, and gave it a shadowy, high contrast black and white treatment to emphasise these elegant and seductive qualities. The other reason I chose black and white is that I can't stand its lime-green colour!!!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off

In praise of the unique

click photo to enlarge

I'm a fan of good industrial design. Objects like the anglepoise lamp, the Thonet No. 14 bentwood cafe chair, the Braun ET22 calculator, or the Dreyfuss 300 telephone, made attractive and functional design available to everyman (though in some cases it was artful copies that were bought!). There are those who denigrate that which is mass produced in favour of the "designer" label or the "one off". But most people are aware that good design and mass production are frequent bedfellows, and that aesthetic as well as economic benefits flow from this pairing.

But, however good our industrial products are, there is still a place for the hand-made. In fact the perfection and ubiquity of mass produced items seems to make us crave the individual, unique, even flawed products of craftsmen and artists. It may also account for the recent rise in home-based crafts such as collage, card and candle making, etc. There seems to be a fundamental human need to have hand-made things around us, not just out of necessity, but for deeper psychological reasons, perhaps connected with where we have come from as a species.

Today's photograph is a detail from a hand-made glass bowl, one of two recently bought from a gallery exhibition. The irregular pattern and colours of varying depths suggest the sea, and the way the lines swirl around and converge at the bottom of the bowl give a sense of movement - like water going down a plughole! The bowls have a matt finish on the exterior and are glossy inside. I set up some bright lights and reflectors around the bowl to highlight the the attractive design, and used a macro lens to capture a detail from inside.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f16
Shutter Speed: 1.0
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0EV
Image Stabilisation: Off