... of My Affection

A few fine films about design have released in the past few years. None quite so good as Gary Hustwit's Objectified. If Helvetica was a valentine, this documentary is a marriage. A union of the objects—noticed and overlooked—that contribute to our civilization. What struck me most through the interviews was how crucial relationships are. How designed objects deepen our most human interactions. In particular, Bill Moggridge of IDEO and designer of the first laptop computer, tells about his father's briefcase. Well-worn and now in his possession, the case is surely coveted by his children because it only seems to get more attractive with age. More storied with age. Unlike the trendy and now missing backpack of my middle-school years—this is an item that lives on. Moggridge says he wants to design things that "wear in" and not out. Words to design by.