Photo by Sandi Lynn Russom
Bio Ernesto D. Morales founded Object Solutions and manages its inner workings. Through his objects, illustrations, writing and photographs, he embraces chance relationships and combinations of disparate ideas. He won’t find a shard of glass in his soup without proposing an inventive solution. Morales also runs Studio Malagón, an independent design and branding office. He lives and works on Galveston Island.
Object Solutions has been featured on the Today Show, Gawker and Core77.
Q: Obvious first question: How did you get the idea for Object Solutions? (and you can’t just say “object problems.”)
I’ve been sketching everyday what-if scenarios and inventions for years. Their initial incarnation was a fictional research laboratory, The Institute of Future Impactful Thought, developed with Chris Maggio but never launched. I kept reshaping the project in my head and eventually dedicated a year to make it happen. By this time I was living in Mexico City, and Chris was living in New York with John Wilson. I wrapped myself in a complex workflow, fabricating objects with Mexico City artisans and flying them to New York to make the films. Chris and John have done an excellent job creating the film aesthetic, and I wear a hundred other hats as the project keeps expanding.
Q: Your tagline is “Welcome to a world of problems, solved.” Will business be hurt if the world around us becomes less problematic?
A huge part of Object Solutions is meticulous ambiguity. Is this a real company or a satire? The tagline sounds optimistic, but it also emphasizes a dark worldview: a company introduces you to a world of “problems” in order to “solve” them before your eyes. The problems are defined extremely narrowly, and the solutions are hyper-specialized – which engenders more problems and more Object Solutions. When you take a look at our modern product landscape, this sounds familiar.
Q: There are so many problems. Walk me through your process of choosing which ones to try and solve.
I decided to start with two series: “Contaminants Outside the Home” and “The Home Itself.” The home is treated as our stronghold where cleanliness, comfort and convenience are at maximum. Outside the home, the world is teeming with malicious variables. This seemed like a sensible place to start, given the emergence of smart homes and ever more ways to take our creature comforts on-the-go.
Q: Your solutions are not only innovative but presented beautifully. Can you tell us more about your graphic design background?
Thanks for the kind words. I studied at Boston University, where I found myself at the end of an advertising degree without a desire to set foot in the ad industry. I wanted to get into graphic design, so I pulled together a portfolio of school projects and landed an internship at a tiny studio in Salem. From there I learned all the foundations and software I needed, and I spent late nights doing personal projects to improve my work. I’ve been fortunate with clients, jobs and internships that have pushed me into new challenges. With Object Solutions, I embrace a handful of other disciplines as inventor, writer, illustrator, actor and narrator. I love taking part in every aspect, and it keeps the tone consistent.
Q: The Lint Investment System is obviously cutting edge technology. Any insight into how long before this and other lab-phase object solutions will actually become available for purchase?
The Object Solutions Laboratory is where inventions can live outside of real-world constraints. With these, the illustrated idea is the final piece. Some have told me they favor this section because it opens up their own imaginations. That’s really important to me. When the product is physical and appears attainable, it is evaluated on a different level: would you own this vs. what if our world contained this?
Q: Can you give us any preview of future inventions that Object Solutions is working on?
Four new inventions will launch in early 2015. One will forever redefine the way we sit. The other three will explore how to ensure a morning’s wakefulness, alert people of how many hours you’ve slept, and cope with the overnight absence of a partner. Next will be a series on romantic relationships, offering hyper-specific products for every relationship micro-stage. It will be a compendium of products, where the message is along the lines of “So, you’re thinking about entering a relationship?” and then you’re taken by the hand as we cover all your pressing needs. In the meantime, my back catalogue of inventions will slowly trickle out into Object Solutions Laboratory.