Gary Hustwit's must-see typographical documentary Helvetica is newly available for download onto your iPod, and so it's fitting that the director is now at work on Objectified, a documentary about industrial design that will include footage of his interviews with everyone from Jonathan Ive of Apple and Dieter Rams to Hella Jongerius and writer Alice Rawsthorn, who he asked to share stories behind the manufactured objects of everyday life and comment on issues of consumerism, sustainability, and identity. Slated to debut early next year, Objectified (with the above logo by Michael C. Place of Build that is already available on t-shirts) will aim to represent a dinner party conversation among designers and design experts: a dinner party at which every guest demands to bring his or her own chair, dishes, and flatware.

As with Helvetica, Hustwit's choice of topic was guided by passionate interest as opposed to expertise. "One reason that I'm delving into the world of objects in this film is that I, admittedly, am obsessed by them," wrote Hustwit yesterday on the film's blog. "I'm interested in industrial designers because their work influences so many aspects of our world yet most of the time it's taken for granted. And I think that, especially today, it's crucial for us to re-examine how we make and use consumer products at every level."