Objectified

Gary Hustwit's Objectified is a film that aims to educate consumers (ie. everybody) to the fact that almost everything they come into contact with in their lives was conceived and designed by somebody, somewhere. Whilst this relationship between designer, object and user is one probably the largest focus of the film, Hustwit really should have devoted a larger segment to the wastage end of the spectrum. Although there was some footage of recycling plants reclaiming computers and electrical appliances left "out in the cold" after having been replaced, many people know that the real damage of irresponsible design is what is not reclaimed and gets discarded into landfill or our oceans.

The problems dont seem to end with the subject matter, as the interviews with "famous" designers seem to send contradictory messages about what they believe and what we as a planet should be trying to achieve. Anyone with a remote interest in design will appreciate the early footage of Jonathon Ive inside the Apple workshop, talking about what was at the time, Apple's latest Macbook Air. The positioning of this interview is crucial because if placed after someone sending a message about minimising consumerism, Ive would be made to look like a crook, with no thought whatsoever about the environment. Later in the film me meet Karim Rashid who, after telling us that he designs chairs for a living, asks us why chairs are still being designed. This kind of hypocrisy shows us that not every designer acts with the best intentions and that whilst people such as Rashid are in the spotlight, the prima-donna image of image of designers is sure to remain for some time.