Objectified: Form and Content

The film Objectified emphasizes the idea that form follows content. Throughout the documentary, the designers illustrated how form is derived from content.

evolution of vegetable peeler design. Photo: nytimes.com

For example, we witnessed a design begin as an idea—that toothbrushes should be more environmentally friendly. From there it evolved through collaboration in to several unified ideas and the content began to formulate itself as a wall covered in post-it notes. The task of the designer is to derive from that content the form that would best embody the original idea. Therefore, design becomes a search for form. This search was documented through Objectified.

Another notable example of the relationship between form and content is that of Smart Design's design process. Their philosophy is to put great design in to everyday objects. They approach their designs by identifying what is wrong with existing objects—flaws that people overlook and often accept as unchangeable. From the existing problems, they draw their content and the form is the solution to the problem. In the film, the designers discussed how traditional potato peelers would hurt the users hand since the handle was uncomfortable. From this problem, they drew their content—they would design a potato peeler that was comfortable and easy to use. From there, they worked to design the appropriate form, trying many different types of handles before they found a perfect fit.

The movie itself exemplified the philosophy that form should be determined by content. Most obvious is the fact that the filmmakers chose to present this content in a film format, most likely because it would best represent the visual nature of the objects discussed. Also, while the designers were being interviewed, the camera would focus mostly on inanimate objects rather than the designers faces. Sometimes it showed the objects being built or designed, sometimes the finished product, and sometimes it even showed objects within the particular designer's studio. While the designers spoke—and thus provided the content—the visual aspect of the film focused on the form.