Paola Antonelli on Features of Designs

Paola Antonelli on Features of Designs You know it’s very funny. It’s like Terminator. I’m like Terminator. I just like scanning things and then something or Wonder Woman, Bionic Woman. But something attracts the attention and I zero in and it’s funny because it can be millions of objects. So at that point it’s almost—it’s pretty rational what attracts be about that object. But usually there’s something, I go in and dig deeper. So it’s not a first impression. It’s not superficial. It’s almost as if there was communication. Sorry if I sound a little “new agey” here or animistic, but it really works that way. And what I do I spend my day without thinking, scanning things. And I already noticed your shirt. And I already noticed—I already noticed everything about you without even thinking. I could be a good detective perhaps. And what attracts me to an object is some sort of communication that the designer already instilled in the object. Because you know what, if you notice today, the objects that are considered most interesting are the ones that are endowed by the designer with some sort of—how can I say, some sort of grabbing element that attracts more than your attention. That attracts really your interest and this happens with all sorts of objects. That’s why—you know I was doing an interview once. I was interviewing Johnny Ive, who’s the head designer for Apple. He hardly ever gives interviews, and I was really lucky that we’re friends. But I convinced him to give an interview. But we started talking about this, about the communication that objects have with people, because to me one of the most stunning features of Apple computers is the little breathing light. You know the little breathing light that tells you that the computer is sleeping, is asleep and not turned off. I mean that’s amazing! It makes you think that the computer has a heart. You know so it’s these little touches that people notice subliminally that differentiate certain objects from others.