‘Feels as if MoMA's design gallery has been expanded to fill an IKEA store.’ – NPR
‘Reading the stories behind these humble objects is every bit as enjoyable as revisiting the iconic masterpieces of Alvar Aalto, Ray and Charles Eames and Dieter Rams.’ – Wall Street Journal
'Beautiful and a must.' – Library Journal , Starred Review
'A chronological overview of some of the most ubiquitous, elegant, and impactful designs from the past four centuries.' – Fast Company
'If you're a hardcore design lover, this book belongs in your library.' – Design Milk
'Sure to be a useful reference guide for industry professionals and design enthusiasts alike.' – Metropolis
'This revision reveals that what we deem iconic is much like the universe itself – both timeless and ever- expanding.' – Introspective Magazine
‘[One of] the absolute best gifts for everyone on your list.’ – Glamour
‘Offers history buffs a chance to learn more about the chairs, cars, and objects they love and recognize as well as to discover something new.’ – Curbed
‘Endless inspiration.’ – Houzz
‘[A] title to check out.’ – Aspire Design and Home
‘Perfect bedside read or coffee-table display’ – Designlines 'While many of the objects are instantly associated with pioneering designers or brands (the Eames chair, the Nintendo Game Boy), others are so ubiquitous that it is easy to forget that they were designed at all (the paper clip, the egg carton).' – Booklist
'Draws from the three-volume Phaidon Design Classics, but costs less and adds more.' – Core77
'Filled with eye-catching, inspiration-lighting ideas that any design enthusiast will love to explore.' – Werd
★ 08/01/2022
This compendium of "the most timeless, innovative, influential, pivotal, and, above all, beautiful objects" has been updated—there was a 2006 first edition—to include more items created in this century and more designed by women and others underrepresented in the previous work and in the design world. It is also now one oversized volume, rather than the previous three. The resulting work is a fascinating and useful history of design, needs and desires, and taste. The catalog showcases everything; there are the practical objects, such as sheep shears; the fanciful, including a handkerchief-inspired vase; the huge, such as beautifully designed planes and cars; and the tiny, such as La Concha teaspoons. It must also be said that there is a wild abundance of chairs. Each entry includes a large, clear color photo of the item in question, its name, and the name of the designer and their company, if any. This data is complimented by a narrative history of how the object was conceived, the design movement that it was a part of, the designer's motivations, and other details necessary to show the milieu the item appeared in, such as how it was marketed and received. The index includes designer and company names, along with the names of objects, making it a handy reference as well as a great gift item. VERDICT Beautiful and a must where patrons enjoy art and design.—Henrietta Verma