History & Vision Cmap 7

HCI module 7, Cmap 7: History and Vision

Reflection on Documentary Objectified by Gary Hustwit

HCI Assignment 5: Documentary Objectified

By Kadri-Liis Piirsalu & Nansy Mass

 Every one of us spend our life surrounded by the work of industrial designers but very few of us understand the process by which our furniture, TV, or smartphone came to look and feel the way they did and most importantly how the elements of design interact with our own ideas and assumptions about value and functionality. The design of everyday objects has more than a little to do with mass psychology and the way it intersects with commerce.  Objectified takes us on a journey to the world of industrial design and the interaction of people with the objects they have brought into their lives. Objectified brings us closer about the understanding of design and the many assumptions an object makes us think about, beginning with what is it for and ending with how much does it cost. An object speaks to us; who but it there and what was the goal. The documentary makes us think how we take the objects surrounding us in everyday life for granted but we are affected by them every day as we use them constantly. Nice examples of that were given in the documentary about the toothpicks for instance.

Everything around us is design in itself, everything we use and work with. Nothing really has been there before and has been sculpted and planned by a designer to give us a maximum experience and interaction as possible. Design needs to solve problems we face every day, but designers also work to simulate people’s minds and souls. Objectified explains how good design has to be honest, aesthetical, long-living, consistent and environment friendly. This is actually quite hard job to cover all of these requirements if we think about it as all these requirements are very important and do not always go hand in hand but waste is a product of bad design.  This notion further touches the topic of cradle to cradle or cradle to grave as words such as reduce, reuse, recycle urge environmentalists and our everyday society makes us as responsible citizens of the world to think about it, the meaning stands for the notion that do more with less in order to minimize the damage. These notions urge us to think of the nature and the fact that why not to take nature itself as our model and skip the toxic materials used in design or in any other industry as it will end up as waste. Therefore if we elaborate these principles as designers already do think about it when designing to us, re-designing could be one version of it therefore we make an exciting and viable case for change. These notions refer to the responsibility a company or a designer takes for the entire cycle of a product or an object to disposal or termination. Many argue that human progress since the industrial revolution has been one big design error because it did not think about the concept of reusing or making objects out of materials that last forever and therefore leave mountains of waste behind.

 Further on during the process of designing the designer needs to understand its target audience, to whom the designed object is made for, but also pay attention to details that are useful for humans and in general and also stand out in the market with its uniqueness. But the main goal is to make a change!

Product development merges through self-experience. During the design development designers pay attention to the usability and performance of the designed object and try to provide the user with a better experience through mapping and ergonomics. The design should have a clear and understandable logic so that the user knows what to do with the object thanks to its design. The more natural the object is in its design, the easier its usability is. Designers are looking design products we would want to keep and that will stand the test of time.

However this is not all that is needed since the attributes of the product play an important role such as materials used and therefore ask- how do we connect with the product?

The look of the object, in other words the way we perceive the object represents the designs intention. What can be done with the object? For instance if a person comes from one culture to another and sees an object that does not exist in its own culture, but can assume or knows what it is used for or what can be done with it, then it can be said to be good design.
Another example of a good design is, if a person does not know that their using an object for certain task, so that using it has becomes an automated interaction. This is where the user is subconsciously interacting with the designed object. Therefore good design needs to be dissolved with natural human behaviour.

 

When it comes to human and computer interaction (HCI) then, it is very little to do with the design of the object, but a lot with the software that it is carrying, as the software is what we are initially interacting with, the things that happen on our screens. When it comes to software and their usability, they pretty much have the same principals as designed objects; they need to be designed on logic so that we can operate on them.

Apple has a great design. It has a unique appearance as an object and has been designed with the principals of “less is more,” which initially makes us concentrate on the software it contains. Though the things we operate with; mouse and keyboard are necessary objects for our interaction and therefore it is very important for them not only to complete its functions and enhance our interaction, but also want us to engage with the software itself. This is where the aesthetics and material play an important role, but also the form itself. Therefore these objects should give out emotions and a need for interaction with the software itself. In further perspective it would be ideal if the design itself creates relationship and memories with its user and therefore the usability of the object lasts longer. Therefore it is very important in iteration design, human and software interaction, how we think about the object and how we feel about it.  We tend to want new things or in other words the new now it is something that the society brings with. Having new things or some special object you make a statement to yourself and this object is reflecting yourself. This could be also seen in people who are very brand loyal and brand specific when it comes to their purchases. Through the objects we own or that have been owned by someone special to us we share, hold and create memories and relationships, there are stories the objects carry with them.

Overall documentary Objectified gives a vital overview about everyday design and objects and makes us think for example on questions like; what was the designer thinking when designing this product? How do we connect with a certain object? And what is the story it carries? Today as we consume us as buyers have become more aware of what are we buying as we are now also thinking about the ecological footprint we leave behind, therefore designers have the pressure to design something that is sustainable in a way but also something that would not end up as a waste once used.