Design documentaries
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29 titles
- DirectorMichael MadsenStarsCarl Reinhold BråkenhjelmMikael JensenBerit LundqvistA documentary on the safety of nuclear storage.
- StarsPlatonTinker HatfieldIan SpalterA look beyond blueprints and computers into the art and science of design, showcasing great designers from every discipline whose work shapes our world.
- DirectorJason CohnBill JerseyStarsCharles EamesRay EamesJames FrancoThe relationship between Charles Eames and his wife Ray ignited a burst of design ingenuity whose impact on the world can still be felt over half a century later.
- DirectorGustav DeutschStarsStephanie CummingChristoph BachFlorentin GrollThe life of a fictional actress and the paintings of Edward Hopper illustrate 30 years of American history.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiBarbara DennekRita MaidenMonsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.
- DirectorGary HustwitStarsManfred SchulzMassimo VignelliRick PoynorA documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture.
- DirectorGary HustwitStarsPaola AntonelliChris BangleAndrew BlauveltA feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
- DirectorJulia CaveStarsFrank WhitfordCharles JencksChristopher FraylingTraces the development of the Bauhaus movement (1919-1933) from its formation in Weimar by Walter Gropius to the establishment of the Bauhaus School in Dessau to its last stand in a derelict factory in Berlin.
- DirectorCosima DannoritzerStarsRichard JonesMolly MalcolmSteve BunnThis is the story of companies who engineered their products to fail.
- DirectorGary HustwitStarsNaoto FukasawaDieter RamsIt is a documentary portrait of Dieter Rams, one of the most influential designers alive, and a rumination on consumerism, sustainability, and the future of design.
- DirectorVirpi SuutariStarsAlvar AaltoAino AaltoElissa AaltoThis captivating exploration of Alvar Aalto, the defining figure in Scandic design and one of Europe's greatest modern architects, focuses on his remarkable and loving partnership with wife, Aino. Theirs was a profoundly humanist vision that put people at the centre of design, and ranged from work in furniture design through to huge architectural projects. They mixed with, and influenced, major figures of modernist art and design including Le Corbusier, Gropius, Moholy-Nagy, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Come on a cinematic tour of their iconic buildings all over the world, from a library in Russia, a student dormitory at MIT, an art collector's private house near Paris, to a pavilion in Venice. Narrated by experts in the field and featuring never before seen archive footage, Aalto tells the love story of an extraordinary couple with a great passion for human scale architecture.
- DirectorDavid T. FriendlyMick PartridgeStarsJohn BuscemiRob DyrdekMike EppsAn in-depth look into the exploding subculture of sneaker collecting and the widespread influence it has had on popular culture around the world.
- DirectorKathy BrewRoberto GuerraStarsPaola AntonelliBarry BergdollMichael BierutA documentary on two of the world's most influential designers -- Lella and Massimo Vignelli.
- DirectorSaul BassStarsPeter HansenPaul SaltmanMixing animation with live-action, Saul Bass' "Why Man Creates" is an eight-part meditation on the nature and struggle of creativity.
- DirectorWendy KeysProfiles Milton Glaser (1929- ), America's foremost graphic designer: designer of the iconic "I [heart] N.Y." logo, teacher, and humanitarian. Interviews with Glaser are arranged to take him through a rough chronology of his life: study at New York High School of Music and Art and at Cooper Union, a seminal stay in Italy, his marriage, and his various partnerships - founding Push Pin Studios and "New York" magazine, designing Grand Union supermarkets, and working with "The Nation." Interspersed are examples of his work. Glaser is, throughout, charming in manner, memorable in his observations, and generous of spirit.
- DirectorDavid DworskyVictor KöhlerStarsApparatÓlafur ArnaldsScott BelskyA documentary that explores how the digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent of people in an unprecedented way.
- DirectorChristina ClausenStarsFab 5 FreddyJeffrey DeitchJulia GruenA portrait of New York artist Keith Haring.
- DirectorFaythe LevineSam MaconAt a time when most American cityscapes are dominated by computer created signage, Sign Painters takes a close look at the past, present, and hopeful future of the hand paint sign industry in the USA.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsEve BabitzJohn BaldessariLarry BellHow LA Learned to Love Modern Art. A lesson in how a few renegade artists built an art scene from scratch.
- DirectorAaron RoseJoshua LeonardStarsJulian Bennett HolmesThomas CampbellShepard FaireyThis documentary follows the lives and careers of a collective group of Do-it-yourself artists and designers who inadvertently affected the art world.
- DirectorGary HustwitStarsAmanda M. BurdenRem KoolhaasNorman FosterA documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.
- DirectorDoug PrayStarsMary WellsDan WiedenHal RineyART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.
- DirectorSam Wainwright DouglasIn rural Alabama, architecture students cross the threshold of poverty to build communities, not just structures, and leave snakebit to make a better world.
- DirectorAlison KlaymanStarsAi WeiweiDan AiLao AiA documentary that chronicles artist and activist Ai Weiwei as he prepares for a series of exhibitions and gets into an increasing number of clashes with the Chinese government.
- DirectorStéphane CarrelStarsPaul SmithStéphane CarrelPaul Smith has 400 shops and outlets in 35 countries, 12 clothing lines, 400 million euros in yearly revenue, sales figures topping Chanel's, partnerships with Evian, Apple, and Austin, as well as prestigious bicycle and race car brands. All that, and his popularity around the world is only growing. The secret of his success? A brilliant concept called "Maximizing Britishness" or "How to build a brand and an empire around English pop culture with a brilliant marketing strategy and an unrivalled sense of imagination." Who is Paul Smith? How has he managed to get millions of men interested in fashion? How did this modest bloke from Nottingham become synonymous with elegance in men's fashion?
- DirectorPaul SenStarsRobert X. CringelySteve JobsA conversation with Steve Jobs as he was running NeXT, the company he had founded after leaving Apple.
- DirectorHillman CurtisBen NaborsStefan SagmeisterStarsJonathan HaidtSheenah HankinBen NaborsAustrian designer Stefan Sagmeister tries to redesign his personality to become a happier and better person.