Response to Objectified

        Last week in class we were assigned to take a look at Gary Hustwit's Objectified. During the course of the film, it was very eye-opening to realize that objects we interact with on a day to day basis were designed. When you think about it- it makes sense. My desk, my chair, even my toothbrush was designed by a professional. But when you consider just how many objects you come into contact with a day is when this fact begins to become scary. Looking around my room, I can't find a single thing that wasn't designed in some way!

    Objectified talks a lot about what good design really is. Good design is aesthetically pleasing, design is simple, and design is effective. When we talk about what good design might mean, it means it's useful in some way- like curving a handle on sheers for better grip, creating rigid shapes on a phone so it makes you want to touch it, and even implementing a small stand on the toothpicks we use to signify they're no longer fresh.

    Something that I engage with almost daily is reading. And like the documentary touches upon, I want my objects to last. And books are one of the rare items that get better the more you use them. We get attached to our books, and want to keep them around- even after we're done reading them. However, one of the things I struggle with is keeping my books preserved. Whenever I need to bookmark my page, I tend to bend down the top corner ever so slightly to keep the page booked. Over time, this leads to a bunch of the pages in the book bent in a strange way, especially over a few readings. 

       The simple solution to this problem is to create a bookmark. However, one of the most important things about design is finding ways to innovate, and add something new to the world. Much like "finding a way to put your own spin on the chair", I create a way to put a spin on a bookmark. In order to re-invent the bookmark, I attempted to make this object more useful, and be able to fulfill it's job as a bookmark better.

    To do this, I created an arrow that's attached to the bookmark. Using this arrow, you can mark exactly where you are in your page. Instead of only knowing which page you are on, now you can mark exactly where on that page, too! I imagine the bookmark is made out of some sort of stretchy rubber, so it has a nice tight fitting around the book and is easy to maneuver the arrow to how you desire. I did my best to keep the documentary's definition of design in mind when creating this device. I attempted to make it simple, yet good-looking and unique. I also did my best to add something new and exciting to the bookmark to make it stand out and last.

    This project was super fun. I enjoyed watching the documentary, and I'm pleased with my bookmark creation, I wish I had one in real life! Thanks for reading!