An interesting new exhibit opened today at New York's Museum of Modern Art. “Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects" reveals how we, as a modern society, expect the things we make to interact with us, increasingly through words.
From the New York Times T Magazine blog:
[Curators] Antonelli and Carmody make much of the idea that it is no longer enough for an object to look good and work well. Their introductory text states, “As the purpose of design has, in past decades, shifted away from mere utility toward meaning and communication, objects that were once charged only with being elegant and functional now need to have personalities. Thanks to digital technology, these objects even have the tools to communicate through their interfaces, adding a new interactive dimension.” But, as with any object, low-tech or high-tech, the most successful designs in “Talk to Me” are those that actually have something to say.