Watching the film Objectified helped me understand some of the processes behind design. When we purchase an object, we rarely think of how the object came to be. The film increased my awareness of how ideas manifest into the form of objects. In the film, a design company creates a functional and ergonomic potato peeler after they heard of a woman with arthritis who could not use a certain type of potato peeler with an uncomfortable handgrip. The design group designed the peeler in a way that would minimize the physical discomfort of peeling potatoes in an attractive and functional way. The content, or the purpose of the object, dictates the form of the object in many cases. For example, a mug’s purpose of containing a warm beverage influences its form and design. It must have an appropriate shape to hold a liquid and a handle so as to minimize the possibility of burning a person’s skin. Good design has as little design as possible. Design is the search for form. Designers must ask the question of what form an object should take based off of the content and purpose of the object. The best objects are the ones that feel undersigned and make people think “of course its that way, why would it be any other way?”
photo credit: http://www.roullierwhite.com/ekmps/shops/roullierwhite/images/oxo-good-grips-swivel-potato-peeler-393-p.jpg
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