Objectified

Objectified by Gary Hustwit is a documentary style film that searches for the relationship between mass-produced objects and their designers.  It does not just skim the surface of the background of the designed objects, but the film also covers interviews with the actual designers themselves in order to really find a truer history of the life of these objects, but also understand the intent behind their design., in an interview with Wayne Taylor, had said “Like Henry Ford once said, ‘Every object tells a story, if you know how to read it.’  So I enjoy digging into these little stories behind the hundreds of objects we touch every day, that usually go unnoticed.” And as is appropriate, Hustwit goes into finding these stories in his film, Objectified.

Andrew Blauvelt

I think one of the most surprising examples of a story behind a common ordinary object was Andrew Blauvelt’s explanation of the Japanese toothpick.  He points out that the Japanese toothpick, unlike its American counterpoint, has a blunt end with grooves around the circumference of the flat end.  Those grooves serve more than aesthectic purposes:  The grooves allow for easy break-off of the flat end, sending a signal to others indicating that this toothpick has been used.  The broken off end can also be used as a small stand to prop the tooth-end of the toothpick from the table surface.  Blauvelt, after revealing the “secret” of the Japanese toothpick, goes on to explain that this unveils more than just the secret behind its design, but it also gives people a glimpse of the design history that went into creating this otherwise commonplace Japanese utensil and a look into the culture from which it came from.

Andrew Blauvelt reveals the "secret"

The film Objectified covers many themes and many topics, but if Bierut’s words are true – that not everything may be design, but “design is about everything” – then we must be, in fact “ready for anything.”  Whether that design is considered “good” or “bad” is another story, but as Gary Hustwit explores in his film, design and the story and intent behind that design can be found everywhere.