Objectified documentary now available everywhere
Most everything we touch was conceived by another human being. That person’s intuition, research and imagination about how you will use your potato peeler, MacBook or alarm clock directly impacts you.
What an awesome responsibility. And what an often overlooked relationship we have with other people.
Objectified is a documentary about such relationships—those we have with the “manufactured objects around us, and by extension, the people who design them.”
If you enjoy reveling in the world of industrial design, or simply love gorgeous manufacturing porn (how could you not, raised on this: Crayons!), Objectified will make you swoon.
If to you there’s nothing like a wonderful documentary that celebrates creativity, makes you think, and speaks casually with the world’s most influential designers in a style that only Gary Hustwit (also director of Helvetica) can do, then you will love the film.
And if you’ve ever relished a great purchase or looked longingly at something while window shopping, you should watch Objectified.
We were fortunate enough to catch Objectified when it was screened in Portland back in June.
More about our thoughts on the film after the jump.
At the time, we’d just finished wrapping our heads around what we wanted Wantist to be and the film was both affirming and motivating right when we needed it most.
A glimpse into the minds of the designers was a treat for us. Experiencing the quirkiness of Parisian design partners (and brothers) Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, and the obsessiveness of Apple’s elusive Jonathan Ive, tickled our love for the stories of where objects come from and how ideas are born.
Alongside these stories were some bigger ideas—commentary from Rob Walker, Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn—about what we buy and what it says about us, to us.
We left the screening talking about consumers as enablers—how what we buy and who we buy it from impacts which businesses we’re surrounded by and if they succeed or fail.
We thought about the efforts being taken on the design and production side to improve the sustainability, quality and societal implications associated with how things are made. But we also thought about how that’s only one half of a constant evolution towards “better”. The other half belongs to us, the people who buy things. We have to buy better to support these changes.
We saw within ourselves a gradual movement towards better. Sometimes we made great choices, other times not so much.
We wanted a site that gave us a place to celebrate all kinds of “better”, acknowledging that not every product or every person will get it all right all of the time, but better is always a step in the right direction.
Like Korrine of Olio United reminded us yesterday, it’s not just about green/eco/sustainability, but it’s also about smart design, ethical production and the people behind the brand. We can go further and say that it’s about beauty, and products that last; those that are innovative and products that improve people lives, like those recognized in Emily Pilloton’s new book, Design Revolution.
So thanks, Objectified, for being an inspirational part of our quest towards all kinds of better.
Objectified is available now on DVD, Blu-ray, and limited-edition USB. Get your copy, invite your friends over. You won’t be disappointed.
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