La Macchinetta

Whether you knew it or not, the legacy of Italian Futurism can still be seen today in the shape of everyday objects.

After living in New York for a period, futurist Fortunato Depero, returned to Italy in 1930. In 1932, he designed the iconic Campari Soda bottle (below). Used in bars and cafe's the world over, you can also pick up a pack in any well-stocked supermarket (especially in Italy). Whether you enjoy the bitter alcoholic beverage or not, every fan of modern design should have a row of these sitting in their refrigerator.

Another beautiful example of Futurist design is Alfonso Bialetti's "Macchinetta" coffee-maker. I bought one of these last year from a local coffee shop and painted it to add emphasis to its angular futuristic form. It is now part of my collection of interesting objects.

Bialetti designed the Macchinetta ("little machine") in 1933, and its distinctive shape is instantly recognisable today as an icon of industrial design.

"JvH design" Logo

Many typefaces and typographic styles were developed during the Cubist movements of the early 20th century. In Bohemia, from about 1910, influential artists were producing posters and periodicals using and promoting Cubist shapes and forms.

Vojtĕk Preissig's Typeface (1914)

In Italy, the Futurists were overthrowing the establishment and defining a bold new world. Artists such as Fortunato Depero were designing posters, and literary covers and needed a new way to express the written word.

The influential book, Zang Tumb Tumb, fused content, typographic style and layout into a single poetic work of Cubist-Futurist expression.

For the "JvH design" logo I was influenced by some of the Czech Cubists' exploration of geometric forms and their contempt for the right-angle as shown in Pavel Janák's Furniture Fittings (1912) shown below...