Designs of the Year exhibition

Aside from the technical problem afflicting the link to magCulture, the Designs of the Year exhibition at the Design Museum looked great. It fills the whole of the top floor, with 100 items divided into seven categories: Interactive, Graphics, Architecture, Fashion, Transport, Furniture and Product. A real mixture of stuff that spreads the scope of the Museum in a way that augers well for its new director, Deyan Sudjic and his team.

As a list, the selections are OK but it’s worth a visit to see the exhibition itself to experience the combinations of different work in one space. Because the selections were made by individuals rather than a committee, there are some really off-the-wall choices alongside the more expected. Alongside the iPhone in Product, there’s a really clever, simple, spanner; as well as Selfridges’ new signage system in Graphics there’s Creative Review’s neat little Monograph booklet for subscribers. There are some things you’ll disagree with – I support London’s Congestion Charge but does last years western extension justify an entry here? – but that’s the point of this type of list project.

Good to see several magazine-related items on show: Jop van Bennekom’s Butt Book, based on his magazine Butt; the afore-mentioned Monograph; the Association of Illustrators’ Varoom magazine; plus magCulture.

What can win? How will they choose from such a disparate range of things? Forget about that, go and see the exhibition and enjoy. Museum details here.