Design Museum: Designs of the Year

Two new things I learnt about London over the weekend:
1. It snows in spring, not winter; and
2. Marks & Spencer Hot Cross Buns and Cadbury Crème Eggs are key items for holiday survival.

Fighting the urge to hibernate under the duvet, I headed over to the Design Museum with some friends on Easter Sunday to look at the 100 works nominated for the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year. This year’s decision to change the title from “Designer of the Year” to “Designs of the Year” was inspired as it really opened up the competition to new and innovative design from all disciplines.


Amongst the iPhone, Nintendo Wii, and a cheap and energy-efficient laptop for children in developing countries (Yves Behar’s One Laptop Per Child was the winning design), I was particularly (and predictably) taken by the Hussein Chalayan LED dress from his a/w 2007 Airborne collection. Encrusted with Swarovski crystals and 15,600 LEDs, multi-coloured patterns flickered across the fabric as if lit by psychedelic fireflies. Quite beautiful.


Also up for nomination in the fashion category are Pierre Hardy’s fashion accessories from s/s 2008; Giles Deacon’s s/s 2008 collection; Uniqlo’s cashmere project with Pantone; Issey Miyake’s innovative Dyson vacuum cleaner dress (complete with male and female parts) and Osman Yousefzada’s a/w 07/08 collection.

My other favourites include Anthony Dicken's clever interpretation of the classic Anglepoise Fifty lamp, Marigold’s genius (and nomadic-friendly) Make/Shift shelving, and the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions (for dazzling new illustrated covers like a comic-strip version of Lady Chatterley's Lover).




The museum's shop is a must-see (and worthy of its own post), especially if you fancy design-led products and books. In fact, some of nominated products are available to purchase in the shop (as well as online), including the Anglepoise Fifty lamp (£39.50), Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions (£12.99), Make/Shift shelves (£120 for a set of two), and Naoto Fukasawa's calculator (£25.95).

Design Museum
www.designmuseum.org
Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
Tel. 0870 833 9955

Tickets: Adults £8.50; Concessions £6.50; Students £5; Under 12s free

Opening hours:
10am - 5.45pm daily (last admission 5.15pm)

Nearest tube: London Bridge