Gary Hustwit, the documentary filmmaker who brought us the most excellent Helvetica, has a sorta-sequel: Objectified!

Objectified is a documentary about industrial design; it’s about the manufactured objects we surround ourselves with, and the people who make them. On an average day, each of us uses hundreds of objects. (Don’t believe it? Start counting: alarm clock, light switch, faucet, shampoo bottle, toothbrush, razor…) Who makes all these things, and why do they look and feel the way they do? All of these objects are “designed,” but how can good design make them, and our lives, better?

One reason that I’m delving into the world of objects in this film is that I, admittedly, am obsessed by them. Why do I salivate over a shiny new piece of technology, or obsess over a 50-year-old plywood chair? What does all the stuff I accumulate say about me, and do I really need any of it in the first place?

The film is set for release in early 2009. As a side note, I was going to post this when I received the email announcement through the Helvetica email list. But then I was scooped by a half dozen different design and tech blogs I subscribe to within THREE HOURS. Moral of the story: I need to cut down on my RSS feeds and post faster.