The Design Book documents 500 of the most innovative examples of industrial design that have remained in production today. Presented chronologically in order of invention, it features works as diverse as the anonymously designed Arare Teapot of the 1700s, the design of which remains almost untouched (my daily tea is brewed in one that is almost identical), to Arne Jacobsen’s 1958 Egg Chair (pictured), works by star designers Le Corbusier, Yanagi and Eames, to the present day Apple and more.

We learn the story of the seemingly simple clothes peg, the deck chair, the corkscrew and the chopstick, which have achieved such perfection in design and functionality that they remain almost untouched and in production today. The Design Book is a historical journey through the object. It works brilliantly as a reference book, allowing the reader to understand the history of design, and the history of taste and culture.

The Design Book is published by Phaidon.

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