Analysis of Gary Hustwit’s Objectified

Objectified, a feature-length documentary produced and directed in 2009 by photographer

and filmmaker Gary Hustwit, explores society’s complex relationship with manufactured objects, its impact on everyday lives, aspects of good design, and the purpose of why a designer designs their product in a particular way. Designers from across the globe discuss their thoughts, opinions, and design process used to create their products, many of which are used in everyday life. Former chief designer at Apple Inc. Jonathan Ive, Chief of Design for BMW Group Chris Bangle, and cofounder of IDEO Bill Moggridge are among some of the many designers featured in the documentary.

While it may not always be apparent, every object, no matter how big or small, was created and designed to serve a purpose. In many cases, the purpose of creating and designing the product is to improve people’s daily lives without even knowing it. When designing, designers constantly question and asks themselves why a particular product is designed in one way as opposed to another. A big definition of a designer’s identity is how they view the world and the purpose of the products they create. German industrial designer Dieter Rams states that there are eleven characteristics of good design: innovation, usefulness, aesthetically pleasing, understandable, honest, unobtrusive, long-lived, consistent in every detail, environmentally friendly, and last of all with little design as possible. According to Dieter Rams, very few companies today actually take design seriously, in fact, many of the products created and brought to the market are both arbitrary and not thoroughly thought out. Apple, one of the few companies who does take design seriously, gives consumers a very clear sense of the people who designed and created their products. Jonathan Ive, former chief designer at Apple Inc., feels that it is important to investigate different attributes of a product, such as the materials being used or the form that is connected to the product, and how consumers can physically connect to the product. Jonathan Ive uses the iMac as an example, in which he explains that the very first iMac was spherical and primarily composed of a cathode ray tube, a completely different approach from the current iMacs that have a flat panel display.

Objects not only serve a purpose and target a particular audience, but they can also evoke the emotions of the user and create sentimental value. When one looks at a piece of art, or a product at that, they may find themselves being touched by it. Because of that moment, they have an emotional response to it and naturally they hope that the object does the same to another person. With this idea in mind, the object can become part of one’s home or family and become sentimental because of the stories and memories associated with it. For example, while a chair or vase may be seen as a normal object to one person, another person may see it as a chair that their father always sat in or a vase that their mother loved to place flowers into. According to Dutch industrial designer Hella Jongerius, sometimes it is the memories, stories, and small details that give meaning and allow the product to communicate with the user. She also refers to a time when she was working to creating a sofa with the Swiss company Vitra. After the sofa was complete, she added a last-minute addition by adding buttons to the sofa for no specific reason besides to give it more detail.

Sustainability has benefited society environmentally, however, it has also become one of the most difficult challenges designers face. While many designers emotionally and intellectually support the idea of sustainable materials, working and coming to terms with manufacturers to create long-lasting yet sustainable products is a difficult task. As stated by CEO and president of IDEO Tim Brown, most of the products designed and created find their way to a landfill once they have become deemed useless. During the simpler times of designer Ray-Bernice Alexandra Kaiser Eames, new materials could be used to create new objects without any concerns of a particular material posing health risks or being difficult to dispose of. Due to changes of society and the concept of sustainability, the focus has shifted from how the design of the product is created to what happens after the product has been completed and used by consumers. Sustainability in the field of design is far more than using recycled materials to design something. Instead, it requires the designer to redesign each aspect from the beginning, from gathering the materials, to designing, to production, to shipping, and finally designing the product in a way that it can be properly disposed of once it has been used up.

With its world premiere at the SxSW Film Festival in March 2009, screenings in hundreds of cities, being broadcasted on television network PBS and in countries across the globe such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Latin America, and many more, it is safe to say that Gary Hustwit’s Objectified has succeeded in the film industry. Although some discussions in the documentary are contradicting, overall, it does an excellent job in showcasing that the everyday objects used throughout one’s daily life can do more than just their intended purpose. After watching the documentary, the viewer will no longer look at the superficial characteristics of the object, but rather dig deeper into the process of creative thinking, designing, and production in which the product was created.