Published to accompany the ground breaking presentation of contemporary design at the Serpentine Gallery London (November 2009 – February 2010), curated by the influential German product designer Konstantin Grcic.

Grcic’s selection for Design Real focuses on ‘real’ items all conceived in the last decade: mass-produced products that have a practical function in everyday life.

‘What interests me about industrial design is how these things are made, in what material, and how this has affected their language and their quality. Some objects are very technically-driven; the function really determines the object. Other objects have much more of a signature or an authorship; you see the handwriting of the designer who made it and that’s what makes it so special.’ — Konstantin Grcic

The publication presents a wide range of products with different styles and functions, from furniture and household products to technical and industrial innovations.

With objects from well-known designers, such as a chair by Jasper Morrison, luggage by Ross Lovegrove and waterproof shoes by Zaha Hadid, as well as products by anonymous designers, including a wheel-shaped water container, a municipal recycling bin and a Volvo tail light, the exhibition provides new perspectives from which to look at the material world around us, encouraging new insights into design.