Her

Her is a 2013 film directed by Spike Jonze, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore, a man tasked with writing meaningful and emotional letters to other people. The story is a moving tale of Theodore’s evolving relationship with an ever-growing artificial intelligence. Throughout the film, there are strong references to the Singularity theory.

Here, I will focus on the film's aesthetics and world, and how it can inspire designers.

I was personally very moved by this film when I first saw it.

Her was one of the first sci-fi films which depicted a future I could imagine myself living in. Its world felt approachable, humane, and gentle, with mid-century modern design, very different from the harsh and cold bleakness of Minority Report or Blade Runner. In Her's world, technology melts and morphs into everyday life rather than standing out. Screens are fairly absent, and everything works in the background—quiet, capable, and low-key. Devices are smart yet ambient and unobtrusive.

“There are a number of films that cover that very well, so we didn’t need to go there. This is a pleasant, soft future where everything is designed to everybody’s personal taste.” – Barrett on the film's world.

Design and technology often follow in the footsteps of science fiction. I believe that by sending this film back to 1994, designers and engineers alike can be inspired by another type of future design—calm design. The future doesn’t have to consist entirely of green UIs, flashing lights, and deadly robots.

Lesson one: Good design is as little as possible.

The nineties are iconic for bright colours, bold typography, and funky product design. Design follows trends, technology, and a natural progression of inspiration and culture. In the 1980s, Dieter Rams created a list of 10 principles he believed formed good design. The tenth principle, "good design is as little as possible," could question and counter some of the more questionable design decisions, such as trolls or the old MacBooks, that could have benefited from the use, or at least the inspiration, of these principles.

Lesson two: Design for wellbeing.

In 1994, mobile phones were chunky, bulky, and, in general, ugly. The progression to modern-day smartphones seems almost inevitable, but as the novelty and newness of the smartphone wear off, the screen is slowly fading away. People are becoming more and more aware of their own digital wellbeing and how the modern-day smartphone, while incredibly powerful and useful, is perhaps not best for human beings.

Ambient information and design are becoming more popular and more accessible. Phone companies are even including wellbeing apps and system integrations for their devices, such as iOS’s “Screen Time” and Android Pie’s “Digital Wellbeing,” which limit, track, and help users find balance in their own screen time while informing them of their habits.

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An Interview with Geoff McFetridge on the Interfaces from Her

Not even those who worked on the Oscar-nominated film Her are sure exactly how near we are to the near-future depicted in the movie. “I think the idea of the near-future is that you can’t predict the pace of technology,” says graphic designer Geoff McFetridge, who designed the interfaces for the film.

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