LONDON, ENGLAND.- What is good design? Is it about styling? Function? Sensuality? Innovation? Sustainability? Inclusivity? Something that makes us laugh? The Design Museum has invited fourteen people each with a particular perspective on design from different parts of the world to choose ten examples of what they believe is “good design”. The catch is that nothing can cost more than £10. From a biodegradable cardboard toilet and Brazilian flip-flop, to a classic Bic biro and Masterlock padlock, their choices will be exhibited at the Design Museum in Under A Tenner from 3 December 2004 to 27 February 2005. The result will offer fascinating insights into the different contributions that design makes to life today and into the design thinking of such people as: J Mays, head of global design at the Ford Motor Company; the acclaimed furniture designer Ron Arad; Cameron Sinclair, co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, which designs emergency housing for disaster zones; and Murray Moss who, as the owner of Moss, runs New York’s chicest design store.

Among the other collectors choosing ten examples of inexpensive “good design” are Foreign Office Architects and the product designers Naoto Fukusawa in Japan and Hella Jongerius in the Netherlands. The graphic designers Stefan Sagmeister in the US and Experimental Jetset of the Netherlands are participating in the project: as are Geoff Kirk, chief design engineer of Rolls-Royce, and the design commentator Wayne Hemingway in the UK; and the Brazilian furniture designers, the Campana brothers. As well as selecting ten objects costing less than £10 each for the exhibition, the Under A Tenner collectors will explain why they consider their choices to exemplify “good design”. The public will be invited to join in the debate by commenting on the collectors’ choices and suggesting which examples of “good design” they think should be added to the Under A Tenner project.