On June 10th, Hustwit was in attendance to present the second in a trilogy of design-themed documentaries to a sold-out crowd of Seattle’s creative community. His first film, Helvetica, gained global acclaim for its discussion of the much-used, loved and loathed typeface. The film tells the story of the development of this modern type classic and presents sharp-witted arguments for and against it from designers such as Massimo Vignelli, Matthew Carter, Erik Spiekermann and David Carson.

While Helvetica focuses on the compelling rise of one typeface, Objectified takes a wide-angle look at the business of industrial design. As defined by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), industrial design “is the professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both user and manufacturer.” Making a documentary on industrial design in 90 minutes is a daunting task, but as Hustwit noted in his post-show comments, it’s not intended to be comprehensive. Rather, he carefully curated conversations with some of the finest names in design and design criticism. Objectified features dramatically different perspectives on the industry from Dieter Rams, Jonathan Ive, the Bouroullec brothers, Karim Rashid and Rob Walker, among many others.

The film puts you in conversations that the design-faithful would only dream of having. First we walk with Dieter Rams—legendary for his minimal Braun aesthetic—in his backyard as he trims his bonsai trees, delivering another piece of stoic wisdom with each clip of his shears. Then we are surrounded by the highly expressive designs of Karim Rashid, who seeks to find a “physical representation of the Digital Age.” Next, we find ourselves in the white-walled, smoky Parisian studio of the Bouroullec brothers, who blur the line between art and design. We visit Tokyo-based Naoto Fukasawa, who describes how peeling potatoes inspired the soft, faceted surfaces of a cell phone. Even the notoriously closed doors of Apple are opened—with Jonathan Ive illustrating to the audience how to “get design out of the way” of people’s technology.

But instead of falling head-over-heels into product worship, Hustwit tempers the film with voices that consider a larger frame of reference. Rob Walker, The New York Times “Consumed” columnist, describes the consequences of a culture driven by “buying the new now” as a means to distinguish individuality. This conversation evolves to breach the subject of sustainability, but like the state of the industry itself, isn’t quite sure how to reconcile the demands of a strained ecosystem with the draw of a glossy object. To that dilemma, Rams steps in to guide this generation of designers: “[In the future] design will be measured on how it will enable us to survive.”

While Helvetica holds a tight critical focus, Objectified opens the doors to several 800-pound gorillas without caging them up again. The film moves between topics of history, design process, a variety of differing philosophies, interactive design, consumerism, sustainability and an open-source design future. These are forces that are shaping design today, but it’s a lot to cover in 90 minutes. Providing answers isn’t necessary, but building a framework that links fewer topics to defined themes would have provided a better understanding of industrial design and moved the film’s message in a clearer direction.

Objectified takes us into the minds of people who create objects with beautiful stories and compelling experiences. It’s a rare look inside a profession that shapes our man-made world. While moving fast between a variety of subjects, it serves as a brilliant look at industrial design and encourages greater public discourse regarding our designed future.