Objectified

Saw Objectified, a documentary about design. It opens with a winning bit of design trivia: that some toothpicks with serrated ends are intended to have those ends broken off and used as toothpick stands. This is a neat little tidbit that suggests a whole secret world of life-hacks and shortcuts that is, of course, bad design. Design, we are told, should be as unobtrusive as possible, as clear as possible. It should produce products that are completely disposable but also much stand the test of time. It must be all things to all men just like (for instance) Apple products are. Let's talk about the iPhone.

Based on the title, I sort of assumed this would be an anti-consumerist message film. I was sort of relieved to find that it is instead a sort of evocative and scattershot series of interviews with famous product designers. They briefly briefly hit upon software user interface design, but just as quickly as it is brought up, it's shied away from and we're watching an old man revving the engine of his vintage, spotless teal truck. They also briefly touch on 3D printers, the emergence of maker culture, and more broadly the way that electronics have revolutionized our lives and our products. It's all very thrilling.

There's not many surprises here however and I frankly enjoyed listening to the absurd and delightful designers talk about their lives and their philosophies. We talk surprisingly little about how things are designed and more about the virtues of the final designs. Japan is fetishized, Apple is praised, environmentalism is brought up like it can be helped by mass-producing more objects. I personally prefer a utilitarian and durable quality to my products (I'm typing this on a desktop my parents got me when I graduated from high school.) During a montage of derelict vacuum-tube monitors and coffee makers sitting on the curb in the rain, I wondered how many of those were broken and how many were just old. I would rather have a plain ceramic mug than one 3D printed out of fibers.

But here I am talking about design, so perhaps this documentary interested me more than I'm willing to admit. It's an interesting conversation-starter and an interesting look into an industry I know little about, just don't expect to see the manufacture of anything, not even designs.