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Start Digital Resource Hub for Designers

 8 Documentaries All Designers Must See

Here at Start Digital, design runs in our DNA. We’re obsessed with it. As a digital marketing agency, we design on a daily basis for a broad range of businesses including ours. When we’re not caught up in the act of design, we’re likely to be reading books and listening to podcasts about design. Although less frequently, we also watch documentaries and series about design too. After a big weekend of streaming, we feel now is the perfect opportunity to share these 8 documentaries all designers must see!

1. Abstract: The Art of Design

Netflix Original Abstract: The Art of Design, is an in-house documentary series that inspects the minds of innovative designers from a variety of disciplines and explores how design impacts every aspect of life – without us even knowing it.

The documentary stars many design elites including New-York’s illustrator Christoph Niemann, Tinker Hatfield who is most notably known for his involvement in developing the Air Jordan 3 series and Paula Scher, who is commonly regarded as one of the most influential graphic designers in the world.

Released in February 2017, Abstract is currently only 1 season long. It comprises of 8 episodes which are roughly 40 minutes long. There’s no mention of a season 2 yet but we’re certain it’s coming as The Art of Design is entertaining, informative and, importantly for a design series, beautifully shot.

If you’ve got a Netflix account, be sure to add Abstract: The Art of Design into your My List right now!

2. Amazing Interiors

Amazing Interiors is exactly like you’d imagine it to be. A show that explores houses which appear to be ordinary based on their exterior but are actually, extraordinary on the inside.

All of the properties shown have been transformed by their owners and transformed remarkably. For example, Bruce and Melaine Rosenbaum from Massachusetts, turned an old church into a steampunk-themed house whilst UK couple Joel and Rosie turned an old boat into a beautiful home.

Living true to the cliché, never judge a book by its cover, Amazing Interiors is a must watch even if you’re not into design. With only 1 season comprising of 12 episodes, approximately around 25 minutes long, Amazing Interiors is a binge-worthy show. Yes, it’s that good! Amazing Interiors can be streamed on Netflix.

3. The Toys That Made Us

Narrated by Donald Ian Black, The Toys That Made Us focuses on the individuals behind the creation of iconic franchises such as Barbie, G.I. Joe, Lego, Star Wars and Transformers.

The Toys That Made Us is an office favourite partially because we’re obsessed with figurines. (From Groot to Star Wars – we have more figures than a grown adult should) But mostly because design is so interwoven into pop culture and consequently these franchises.

There are currently 2 seasons of The Toys That Made Us. Each season compromises of 4 episodes each that range from 40 to 50 minutes long. Earlier on this year during San Diego Comic-Con, the team behind The Toys That Made Us made us geek out by confirming an upcoming season 3 that will focus on the Power Rangers, My Little Pony, WWE and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

If you’re a big pop-culture fan like us, The Toys That Made Us is a series that you don’t want to miss out on. The Toys That Made Us can be streamed on Netflix.

4. Objectified

Created by Gary Hustwit in 2009, Objectified examines the role in which everyday non-living objects and the designers responsible for them, influence our lives. Exploring toothbrushes to complex technological devices, Objectified goes deep into the creativity involved with manufactured objects.

Consisting of vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the feature-length documentary uncovers the creative processes of a selection of influential product designers. Jonathan Ive: the Senior VP Industrial Design of Apple (Cupertino), Chris Bangle: the former Design Director of BMW Group (Munich), Paola Antonelli: the Design Curator of the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and Rob Walker of the New York Times Magazine, are a handful of individuals who make an appearance in Objectified.

Objectified can be watched on Amazon and iTunes. Presenting tremendous insights into consumerism, creativity, design and more, Objectified is definitely one to watch.

5. Helvetica

Helvetica is a documentary about graphic design, typography and visual culture with a particular focus on the vast proliferation of the Helvetica typeface. Part 2 of the Design Trilogy by Gary Hustwit, this documentary explores the influence the typeface has had on our lives.

Whilst exploring the history of Helvetica, the documentary includes candid interviews with leading graphic and type designers including Massimo Vignelli, Rick Poynor, Matthew Cartera and Michael Bierut. Furthermore, the feature-length dives deep into the typeface’s beauty and explores its criticism driven by the rift between modernist and postmodernist ideologies.

Helvetica can be watched on Amazon and iTunes. If you’re someone who really appreciates typography, Helvetica is a perfect documentary for you.

6. Urbanized

An extremely insightful documentary, this feature-length is all about the design of cities. Urbanized explores the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world’s more foremost architects, policy-makers, builders and thinkers.

At 85 minutes long, the documentary which was released in 2011, offers invaluable and almost mind-boggling insight into how design has, is and will forever influence, billions of lives. It’s remarkably eye-opening to how design and the relevant designers in the form of architects, builders, city-makers, policy-makers, thinkers and more, will determine the future of these urban cities and ultimately, the prosperity of society.

Urbanized is the final documentary to the Design Trilogy by Gary Hustwit and much like its counterparts, it can be watched on Amazon and iTunes. Honestly, we couldn’t recommend Urbanized any more: the documentary should be watched by everyone!

7. Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight

Released back in 2009, Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight examines the life and work of foremost graphic designer Milton Glaser. With work spanning from newspaper, logos, brand identifies, interior spaces, paintings, prints and much more, Glaser is the creative mind responsible for Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits album cover, I Love NY More than Ever, the DC Comics logo amongst much more.

The 73-minute-long documentary does a splendid job at capturing the life of the famous Milton Glaser but more notably, the never-ending depth to his inspiring creativity. Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight can be watched on Vimeo, iTunes, Amazon and YouTube.

If you’re someone who aspires to be a creative force that’s to be reckoned with, this documentary must be watched!

8. Design Disruptors

In 2016 product design collaboration platform InVision, released their 1 hour and 15-minute-long documentary Design Disruptors which focuses on the increasing importance of design as a competitive advantage in disruptive technology.

The documentary explores how influential companies such as Airbnb, Facebook, Netflix, Pinterest and Spotify have put design first and consequently transformed how we conduct our everyday activities. Furthermore, the beautifully shot content weaves together inspirational stories of designers who opposed the status quo and by doing so, dramatically impacted their industries and the entire world.

Additionally, Design Disruptors includes insights from experts such as Katie Dill: the Director of Experience Design at Airbnb, Julie Zhuo: the Vice President of Product Design at Facebook, Frank Yoo: the ‎Director of UX and Product Design for Lyft, Andy Law: the Lead Mobile Product Designer at Netflix and Tobias Van Schneider: the Former Lead Product Designer and Art Director at Spotify.

Design Disruptors is a super inspirational documentary and one that anyone vaguely interested in the role design plays in business, must check it out! The documentary can be watched through https://www.designdisruptors.com/get-film.

So, there you have it, 8 documentaries all designers must see! If you make it through the list and want more recommendations, holler at us because we’ve got many more. Alternatively, if your business needs help relating to design whether web design, logo or even social media, drop us a line at info@startdigital.com.au.

startdig

We are a collective of designers, coders, producers and technologists from around the world who collaborate on a shared passion for innovative websites. Based in Perth, Western Australia, we bring style and innovation to the projects we undertake. Taking time to understand our clients requirements we strive to produce quality web design work for an affordable price. We then leverage our years of experience to make sure that our websites are responsive, SEO friendly and meet the clients requirements.

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Neil & The Team at Start Digital are fantastic to work with. Our new website is exceptional. The guys here have fresh, modern ideas and the process from start to finish was flawless. Highly recommended.
Blank Walls
Blank Walls
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Neil and the team at Start Digital provide such an excellent service and have been a massive help for us since we launched late 2018. Their attention to detail is unmatched compared to other digital agencies we've dealt with, and the team go out of their way to ensure the best result is achieved in the most time & cost efficient way. Thanks again Start Digital
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00:18 11 Jun 19
A huge thank you to Neil and the Start Digital team! We engaged them to redesign our Move Homes website to take our brand to the next level. Not only does the website look fantastic, but throughout the website build we received frequent and transparent communication- we knew exactly what was happening and why. Start Digital listened to what we needed and would offer their advice on how to achieve our goals. Aside from their expertise, they’re also great people and really easy to deal with. We look forward to working on more projects over the coming years!
Sheila Woods
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04:36 12 Mar 18
Neil Mason and the Start Digital team have done a tremendous job with the design and implementation of Interstaff’s new website. Our brief to Neil was for a clean, modern website which visually communicated our brand values, ‘sharp, dependable, expert and human’ to both business and individual clients, and importantly to offer an engaging and easy-to-navigate online experience optimised for SEO. We are delighted with the design as well as the level of consideration and attention to detail Neil and his team put into shaping the online experience of our brand. Start Digital have been very flexible and easy to collaborate with and nothing was ever too difficult. They went above and beyond – even working over the weekend to help us have our website ready to launch ahead of one of our key business seminars. We look forward to continuing to work with Neil and his team in the future and would definitely recommend their services.
iQuest Consulting
iQuest Consulting
05:48 21 Feb 18
The Start Digital team built us a new website and have been managing our SEO for over a year now. During that time our site has moved into the top five on page 1 of Google for keywords such as IT Company Perth and IT Support Perth which has increased our traffic considerably. We're very proud of our website and highly recommend Start Digital.
Heather Bush
Heather Bush
01:02 16 Feb 18
Neil and his team at Start Digital go above and beyond expectations. Having worked with many web agencies I can honestly say that Start have been one of the most open and cost effective agency I have worked with . They come highly recommeded
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Excellent Perth website design, development and SEO agency
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06:58 06 Dec 17
After years of tolerating our old website, we are now proud owners of a sleek, responsive and easy to use new site, thanks to Start Digital. Professional, practical, affordable and easy to work with-Neil and his stellar team delivered our site along with 22 additional sites for some of our congregations. Our organisation is complex and this project was massive. Throughout the project, Start Digital were flexible and patient with us. They responded quickly to emails and phone calls, kept us in the loop and always made time to touch base in their cool office. We can’t thank the team enough for their tremendous effort. It’s only been a month, but we have received plenty of positive feedback since launching the new site. We look forward to working with Start Digital for future digital projects and highly recommend anyone who needs a new website to give them a call.
Amantha Imber
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08:25 02 Dec 17
Neil and the team created an AMAZING website for Inventium. We have received so much positive feedback since launch. I highly recommend Start Digital - they are awesome!
Lee Bramley
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03:54 16 Nov 17
Fantastic Service, Really Knowledgeable in all areas of Website and Marketing strategies, they built us a fantastic looking site and nothing was too much for them throughout the process, We also found them to be very reasonably priced compared to other quotes we had, highly recommended.
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06:22 11 Jul 17
Start Digital have built 3 websites for The Highways Group. We've been impressed with their attention to detail and quality of design every time. They're a friendly, professional agency and our go to web team.
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07:45 19 May 17
We highly recommend Start Digital service, their efficient , personnel approach and professional skills gave us great results thanks .
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22:13 25 Nov 16
Knowledgeable and excellent service at a great price I highly recommend Start Digital. We engaged them to redesign our website and manage our online presence. Previously we were a few pages back on a google search, however after only a few months we are in and around the top 5 on the first page. The guys at Start were great to deal with providing straight forward easy to understand information without the typical sales pitch that we have experienced many times before from other providers in the industry. We continue to receive updates on the progress of our website and their SEO service all for a very reasonable rate (ie. much cheaper than we were previously paying for a lesser service)
Eva Wood
Eva Wood
01:24 23 Nov 16
Neil and his team was responsible for the design and re-branding of our website, business cards and marketing material. They quickly understood our business, they identified the market we needed to target and delivered an excellent solution to match. We would highly recommend Start Digital.
Compac Marketing
Compac Marketing
04:05 14 Oct 16
Neil and the guys at Start Digital took care of some problems we had with our website performance. They were really efficient, responsive, easy to get along with and gave us some great pointers to help us with SEO. Unlike many digital marketing companies out there, Start Digital were very genuine and well-priced. Would definitely recommend their services to others.
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05:23 13 Oct 16
Great design ideas and technical capability means a complete solution for small and medium sized businesses like us. Neil & Co actually take an interest in what you are trying to achieve rather than just turn and burn volume website factories out there! I recommend them.
Claire Leech
Claire Leech
02:11 04 Oct 16
We have had the pleasure of working with the team at Start Digital recently as we wished to update our website for our restaurant business. WOW! An amazing new, innovative, trendy and professional approach taken by these guys has resulted in a brilliant new site, clearly directing so much more traffic through our business resulting in increased brand awareness and google presence. As a relatively new business, Start Digital will definitely be going places ! We really look forward to continuing to work with them in the future and watch both our and their business grow! Thanks Neil and the team at Start Digital.
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