How Form and Content Intersect in Objectified

The documentary Objectified introduced us to the world of industrial design, which is a branch of the design industry most people often overlook. Industrial design focuses on redesigning the shapes of everyday object people use to make our daily lives easier and more convenient without even realizing it. As a result, Objectified showed that the form of the objects we use everyday affects the content of our happiness and convenience.

The redesigning of the hedge trimmer handles sets a perfect example for how the form and shape of the gardening tool can affect the content of our gardening experience. Simply adjusting the form by adding curves and a bulb to the tip of the straight handle allows people to have a better grip without putting more energy or effort into their trimming work. Although this may seem like a small feat, it could mean the difference between whether or not the gardener will have a strained and sore arm when he wakes up the next morning, thus, affecting the worker’s overall gardening experience. It is all these little unnoticed things in life that can add up and define our day.

The Apple Company was one of the earliest companies to realize that the designs encasing their products may sometimes be even more important than the function of the product themselves. As a result, they hired the genius designer Jonathan Ives, whom basically launched the Apple Company to success from his designs. Computers before the late 1990s were all box-like, chunky, and neutral-colored, so Jonathan Ive probably thought to himself, “What would make the computer experience more enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing?” They came up with the iMac, which gave the apple computers clear, bright casings that stood out from the rest of the computers during that time. By simply adjusting and redesigning the form and color of the computer, the content of the user’s experience is dramatically more enjoyable and uplifting; computers brought not only function, but also pleasure to their users. As a natural instinct, people often gravitate towards designs and objects that are aesthetically pleasing.Therefore, the Apple Company justified the fact that the design behind their technology is just as important as the technology itself.

http://images.macworld.com/images/news/graphics/135017-imacbondi_376.jpg

Sources:
Objectified: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit
http://www.macworld.com/article/135017/2008/08/imacanniversary.html