Movies About Design
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Helvetica (2007)
Starring David Carson, Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, et al. (Nov 20, 2007)
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
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Objectified (2009)
Objectified is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. In his second film, director Gary Hustwit (Helvetica) documents the creative processes of some of the world's most influential product designers, and looks at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves? -
My Architect (2003)
A riveting tale of love, art, betrayal and forgiveness -- in which the illegitimate son of a legendary architect undertakes a worldwide exploration to discover and understand his father's and the personal choices he made.
Louis I. Kahn is considered by many historians to have been the most important architect of the second half of the twentieth century. While Kahn's artistic legacy was a search for truth and clarity, his personal life was secretive and chaotic. His mysterious death in a train station men's room left behind three families -- one with his wife and two with women with whom he had long-term affairs. The child of one of these extra-marital relationships, Kahn's only son Nathaniel, sets out on a journey to reconcile the life and work of this mysterious man.
Revealing the haunting beauty of his father's monumental creations and taking us to the rarified heights of the world's celebrated architects and deep within his own divided family, Nathaniel's personal journey becomes a universal investigation of identity, a celebration of art and ultimately, of life itself.
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Art & Copy: Inside Advertising's Creative Revolution (2010)
I Want My MTV. Think Small. Just Do It. Got Milk? Where do these phrases come from? ART & COPY introduces the cultural visionaries who revolutionized advertising during the industry s golden age in the 1960s by creating slogans to live by and ads we all remember. You may have never heard of them, but pop pioneers Lee Clow, Hal Riney, George Lois, Mary Wells, Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein, Phyllis K. Robinson, Dan Wieden, and David Kennedy have changed the way we eat, work, shop, and communicate often in ways we don t even realize. From the introduction of the Volkswagen to America to the triumph of Apple Computers, ART & COPY explores the most successful and influential advertising campaigns of the 20th century, and the creative minds that launched them.
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Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
It wouldn't be in character for British street artist Banksy to reveal all, even in a film about his work--nor would it be legally prudent. Instead, the elusive stencil-master, face concealed via hoodie, shines a light on amateur documentarian Thierry Guetta. Based in Los Angeles, the French-born bon vivant films everything. On a trip to Paris, he follows his cousin Space Invader around as he affixes his video-game mosaics to walls throughout the city. As he says in retrospect, "I liked the danger." A vintage clothing shop proprietor, he decides he's found his new calling and returns to record other artists, like Shepard Fairey, who found fame through his Orwellian "Obey" image, which features André the Giant (Fairey later designed Obama's "Hope" portrait). Through Fairey, Guetta meets Banksy, whose visage remains a mystery. Guetta captures him in his studio, on the streets, and during preparations for his "Barely Legal" exhibit, at which Brad Pitt and Jude Law make appearances, but things fall apart after an ill-fated trip to Disneyland, where Banksy pulls a stunt that references Guantánamo Bay. Afterward, he encourages the videographer to mount his own show, which yields unexpected results. If it seems as if Banksy is making fun of Guetta, he mostly holds a mirror up to hipsters who'll fall for anything deemed cool (like this film). Narrated by Rhys Ifans, Exit preserves Banksy's anonymity while biting the hand that feeds--with wit and humor.
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Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight (2010)
For many, Milton Glaser is the personification of American graphic design. Best known for co-founding New York Magazine and the enduring I ♥ NY campaign, the full breadth of Glaser's remarkable artistic output is revealed in this documentary portrait, Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight. From newspapers and magazine designs, to interior spaces, logos, and brand identities, to his celebrated prints, drawings, posters and paintings, the documentary offers audiences a much richer appreciation for one of the great modern renaissance men.
Artfully directed by first time filmmaker Wendy Keys, the film glances into everyday moments of Glaser's personal life and capture his immense warmth, humanity and the boundless depth of his intelligence and creativity.

