“I AM IRON MAN”.

You probably know those words from some lyric somewhere… **ahem Black Sabbath ahem**.   Well guess what, kiddo?  There is apparently a movie by the same name that was just dropped into theatres!  Go figure!  Now, we haven’t posted much (or at all, really) about movies here on CDf but we thought we’d make an exception (and perhaps start a new semi-regular feature on the site) with the release of the considerably designer-centric action film.

First and foremost, billionaire Tony Stark (protagonist) has at his disposal all manners of doohickeys and thingamajigs to create whatever he pleases.  And create he does, from weapons concepts, to hot rods, to super suits.

Read on for more.

Utilizing some some incredibly futuristic (but possible) software, Stark is able to create products in a virtual 3-D setting via a holographic image and touch-sensitive stylus.  Are you listening, Wacom?  While the technology is a little far-fetched by today’s standards, advances in human interface have shown that it may one day (sooner rather than later) become possible.

Stark utilizes the proper design process while constructing the IronMan suit: Initial concept (with rough model), prototype/prove-out model, and final product.  I know, a little design geekiness on our part.  Going from the rough Mark 1 suit to the Mark 3 in a few weeks is leaps and bounds ahead of what typical designers do, but it may not be too far ahead as we often see design concepts in the auto industry go from concept vehicle to production in relatively short amounts of time.

Speaking of vehicles, it comes as no surprise that Iron Man would get sponsored by a car company.  In this case, however, it is somewhat ideal that Audi threw in the R8 (and a few other vehicles from its stable) when it threw its money at this film.  Taking a look at the Iron Man suit of armor, it does have that “Audi-ish” feel to it.  Bold German simplicity and clean surfaces.  Plus, a lot of rings and circles in this movie tie in nicely to the Audi aesthetic logo.  Okay, that’s all quite a bit of a stretch but the pair do look mighty beautiful together!

The hands-on nature of the brilliant Stark make him a modern, yet chic, mad scientist.  His inane desire to build and create is inherently what we as designers hold most sacred.  We’re never happy with our “final designs”, and neither is Stark as he constantly looks to tweak and upgrade the MK suits.

Whether it involves adjusting the reverse thrusters on the palms of his hands, to modifying the effectiveness of the energy source, to choosing the color scheme, Stark’s passion is a testimony to Designers.  At points in the movie we see Stark sketch concepts, build 3-D data models, and play his own guinea pig… isn’t this what we Designers are all about?  Stark clearly loves design, as do we.

Do yourselves a favor and check out Iron Man.  Heck, they’ve already announced a sequel so you don’t want to be too far behind when we re-hash this article in 2010.

For more info, check out the official Iron Man site.

For more info on the tech used in the Iron Man comic & movie, check out Newsarama’s blog and New Scientist. And if you want to build your own Iron Man armor, check out Wired’s (somewhat) How-To guide.