Wow, a show of contemporary design that I REALLY liked, and I really liked almost everything in it. The winning entries in the ID Magazine (ID--as in Industrial Design, not "ID" the London fashion magazine) Annual Design Review are now on view in the new Sheila C. Johnson Design Center galleries at Parsons--The New School For Design. ID has conducted their Annual Design Review since 1954 and the 2008 review is a tightly edited selection, despite the choices having been made by a jury of more than 20 design "experts." The installation is beautiful, with most of the 131 objects set on one huge white table (much more sophisticated and visually complex than it sounds). The Babyfaces wall panel by Badham/Norris is shown below in a colorfully lit photo but they are actually, and very succesfully, flat, pure white. In form and content they are a brilliant combination of eerieness and purity. I'm not an advocate of bottled water but the YWater bottles are designed (by Fuseproject) to be reused to create interlocking toys, sculptures or structures: great for kids, as is the fabulous YWater website. The Blossa Glogg bottle acheives a contemporary look without abandoning traditional design elements. The exhibition runs until 28 September at 66 Fifth Avenue at 13th Street in Manhattan.
Babyfaces wall panels by Badham/Norris
