Content and Form in Objectified

In class last Tuesday, the film Objectified was shown. Objectified portrays design as something that improves daily life without people knowing or thinking about it. We make assumptions about an object within seconds of seeing it; 'What is it?, How well does it do its job? How much does it cost?'

The film states that products should be unobtrusive, long-lived, consistent, and contain as little design as possible. One concept that the film displays very well is the interaction between content and form. Design is the search for form— it is trying to find what form an object should take. Content is what the artist is trying to convey through their work and form is the physical materials the are being used. An example of form interacting with content in the film is the first product that was shown. The first scene depicts a team of designers attempting to change the design of a products handles in order to create a more comfortable and enjoyable experience to the public. They wanted to create a finished product that would allow a more secure grip and less stress on the human body. The form of this product would be the shears and the content would be the changes and design of the handles that the designers are trying to create. There are many more examples of form and content throughout the film, such as products created by apple, phones, cameras, etc. I enjoyed the section of the film that involved the designer that worked for apple because he brought up a very interesting point. Many designers want it to be clear how clever their design

was by making it very obvious, when in reality it shouldn't be there if it has no purpose. An example of this is the indicator light on apple computers that illuminates

when the computer is shut, to show that it is still functioning, and turns off when the computer is in use.

Every product is a work of art and therefore contains both form and content. A perfect design is a product that we look at and think; 'Of course it's that way, why would it be any other way?'