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Filmmaker Gary Hustwit is streaming his collection of design documentaries for free

2020-03-22T15:16:00-04:00

During the global COVID-19 crisis, while most of us are housebound, filmmaker Gary Hustwit is releasing his collection of full-length documentaries online, for free. It appears that they will be released sequentially, starting with his first doc Helvetica, until March 24th, with the rest of his titles following.

"Helvetica" is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives.

"Objectified" is a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

"Urbanized" is a feature-length 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.

"Workplace" was a project for the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale abo...

Tell Me a Story, 'Urbanized'

2011-11-07T18:59:37-05:00

As he has moved through the design professions, Hustwit has scaled up from a single typeface (Helvetica) through industrial design (Objectified) and now to cities. Each one has followed essentially the same structure, talking heads interspersed with images, one person and one idea leading to the next. No voiceover. No narrative. No critique. And not a lot of style. As Hustwit told Adam Harrison Levy, that’s the way he wants it.

Critic's Notebook: 'Urbanized' looks at the growth of city living

2011-09-26T20:25:47-04:00

All in all — despite a pretty obvious blind spot in Hustwit's thinking about cities like Los Angeles — "Urbanized" ranks among the smartest recent analyses of mass global urbanization and its discontents. Think of it as a cinematic version of "The Endless City," the book that Ricky Burdett (who plays a significant role in "Urbanized") and Deyan Sudjic put out three years ago.