Film
Objectified
Objectified examines how design shapes our daily lives and what we choose to surround ourselves with. Filmmaker Gary Hustwit sits with the world's most influential designers—from Apple's Jonathan Ive to industrial pioneers—asking why objects matter and how they're made. It's visually gorgeous, intellectually generous, and makes you look at your phone differently forever.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you find yourself wondering why the chair under you, the kettle on the counter, or the phone in your hand looks the way it does, and enjoy designers explaining their choices in their own words.
Skip it if you want a sharp argument or a rigorous critique, since this is mostly an admiring, talking-heads tour of designers and their studios that rarely pushes back.
What it asks of you: Settle in for about seventy-five minutes of unhurried interviews and footage of factories and workshops, with your attention mostly on people talking rather than on plot.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Helvetica2007
The sister film in Hustwit's design trilogy. A deceptively simple documentary about a typeface becomes a meditation on how design is everywhere, invisible, shaping how we read and think. Mesmerizing and funny.
But If fonts seem like a non-subject to you, this might feel like 80 minutes of navel-gazing. It's meditative, not dramatic.
The Toys That Made Us2017
Each episode traces a beloved toy's creation and cultural impact through interviews with designers and brand architects. Same curiosity as Objectified—how do objects get made?—but warmer, more playful, deeply nostalgic.
But Episodes are uneven. Some beloved toys got the deep treatment; others feel thin. It's comfort viewing, not revelation.
Abstract: The Art of Design2017
Netflix's eight-part series dives into different design disciplines—graphic design, architecture, furniture, automotive—through the eyes of masters. Visual, intimate, and proves design is not decoration but problem-solving at the highest level.
But Some episodes feel like extended design school lectures. If you want narrative propulsion over contemplation, keep scrolling.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Objectified
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Exit Through the Gift Shop2010
Both examine how objects acquire meaning and value. Objectified asks 'Why do we design things?' Exit asks 'What do we do when design becomes art?' Same question from opposite angles.
Banksy's film about street art, commodification, and what happens when underground design meets the market. It's about objects, desire, and the moment when authenticity becomes a product. Hilarious, sly, and structurally genius.
But It's as much a prank as a documentary. If you want sincerity and straight answers, the deceptions and meta-jokes will frustrate you.
More like this (4)
Rams2018
A portrait of industrial design legend Dieter Rams and his philosophy that 'good design is as little design as possible.' Quiet, respectful, and shows a life devoted to making beautiful, functional objects. Hypnotic simplicity.
But Very slow. If you prefer action or narrative momentum, this meditative profile will test your patience.
Eames: The Architect and the Painter2011
A two-part biography of Charles and Ray Eames, the designers who made the modern world livable. Their chairs, their films, their philosophy. Funny, touching, proof that great design comes from great partnership and curiosity.
But Divided into two parts. Some find the second half less compelling than the first's focus on their design work.
Man with a Movie Camera1929
Both use visual language—documentary and design—to make invisible systems visible. One shows how cities and factories work; the other shows how design thinking works. Both are poems about the world we've built.
Dziga Vertov's silent avant-garde masterpiece is pure visual design: montage, rhythm, composition, industrial machinery, and urban life choreographed into poetry. Watch how much meaning you can extract from framing and editing alone. Exhilarating.
But No plot, no dialogue, no conventional narrative. If you need story to hold you, this formal experiment will feel austere and impenetrable.
Watermark2013
Both examine the invisible systems that enable modern life. Objectified looks at designed objects; Watermark looks at designed landscapes and resource systems. One is micro, one is macro, but both ask: Who designed this? Why this way?
Filmmaker Edward Burtynsky captures the human relationship with water through stunning aerial photography and intimate interviews. It's a documentary about systems, resources, and how we design our infrastructure around desire. Profoundly beautiful and unsettling.
But Slower than Objectified. Long sequences of landscape with sparse narration. It's meditative; if you want information delivered with pace, you'll find it glacial.
People
Cast
- Paola AntonelliSelf
- Chris BangleSelf
- Andrew BlauveltSelf
- Erwan BouroullecSelf
- Ronan BouroullecSelf
- Anthony DunneSelf
- Agnete EngaSelf
- Dan FormosaSelf
- Naoto FukasawaSelf
- Jonathan IveSelf
- Hella JongeriusSelf
- Bill MoggridgeSelf
Directing
- Gary HustwitDirector
Production
- Jakob TrollbäckAssociate Producer
- Sharon HustwitAssociate Producer
- Gary HustwitProducer
Recommended by
Abstract: The Art of Design, Bill Cunningham New York, Art & Copy, Helvetica, Rams, The Block, Tim's Vermeer, Design Is One, Workplace, Martin Margiela: In His Own Words, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, 100 Humans, Sketches of Frank Gehry