Objectified/Subjectified

I guess you could say that this is my entry for You Thought We Wouldn't Notice.



When I first saw this incredibly cool poster for the new documentary Objectified recently, I couldn't help but think that I'd seen this concept before: objects in black, with minimal detail silhouetted up against a basic solid background. And the type, too. So, where had I seen it before? I thought to myself. Maybe it was done by the same people? Maybe Build, the company who designed the poster, is known for this sort of thing? Maybe it's a common enough concept that it's not worth finding out? Nevertheless, I began the search in my extensive archives.

Ah, yes. here it is:



The cover to Swiss Graphic Design, edited by Robert Klanten, Hendrik Hellige, and Michael Mischler, published in 2000. I don't own this book. I scanned the cover back in 2004 when I was working at Primal Screen. One of the designers there had the book on his desk and I was immediately intrigued by it.

I'm not crying foul here. I'm just presenting something that looks very similar to something else. I find it interesting that the objects themselves are rendered almost the exact same way: black with thin line details.

Here's a post on the film's blog about the logo that's shown in the middle of the poster:
Objectified logo explained.

It's there where you can get a closer look at the objects:


Click on image to view larger.

Coincidence? Or not?

I found this while writing this post: Chinese publication The Outlook Magazine rips Objectified logo. What goes around comes around, I guess.