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Beolit 12 by Cecile Manz for Bang & Olufsen : The Beolit 12 is a portable music system that plays music wirelessly from your iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac or any smartphone. -
Colour Porcelain by Scholten & Baijings : This pale grey natural porcelain collection is decorated with three different levels of colour intensity selected from the company's archives. -
Magic Arms by Nemours/Alfred L duPont Hospital, Philadelphia : This 3D-printed exoskeleton is worn like a jacket, allowing children with muscle weakness weighing as little as 25 pounds to use the Magic Arms to move around and lift objects. -
Switch Collection by Inga Sempé for Legrand : Inga Sempé has collaborated with electrical specialists Legrand to create a collection of funky switches, sockets and dimmers. -
Child Vision Glasses by the Centre for Vision in the Developing World and G Hartshorn : These new specs allow the user to self-adjust the lenses until they focus clearly by using a fluid-filled lens technology. They are perfect for the evolving needs of youths aged 12 to 18 years. -
Oigen Kitchenware by Jasper Morrison/Japan Creative : This is a series of minimalist cast-iron products that embodies traditional Japanese sleekness and simplicity. -
w127 Lamp by Dirk Winkel : Dirk Winkel, a Berlin-based designer, has produced this chic black desk lamp to prove the adaptability of designing with plastic. -
Surface Tension Lamp by Front : Swedish designers Front have created a lamp that blows a bubble that forms a temporary area of shade over the LED light. Over the lamp's 50 000 hour life, it will produce over 5-million bubbles. -
Plug Lamp by Form Us With Love : Addressing today's digitally connected society and our constant need to recharge our computers, smartphones, tablets, this lamp features the addition of an electrical socket in its base. -
Tekio by Anthony Dickens : Tekio is a prototype modular lighting system inspired by Japanese paper lanterns. "Tekio" is the Japanese word for "adaption", as the system can adapt shape and range for any interior. -
Federic Malle travel sprays by Pierre Hardy : These tubular metal spray bottles are said to embody femininity with their soft colour ombre designs. -
E-source by Hal Watts : This product is a sustainable cable recycling system for use by small-scale recyclers, particularly in developing countries. It consists of an innovative bicycle-powered cable granulator, and an approach to separating copper and plastic using water. -
Replicator 2 by MakerBot : This is an impressive fourth-generation 3D-printing machine, and is now the most efficient and affordable machine for making professional quality models in your own home. -
Olympic Cauldron by Heatherwick Studio : Heatherwick Studio created 204 individual copper petals, each carried at the opening ceremony by one of the participating countries, which together created an iconic image for the 2012 Olympics. -
Little Printer by Berg : Use your smartphone to set up subscriptions for your little printer and it will compile a beautiful little newspaper for you including gossip, news, puzzles or whatever you choose. -
Faceture Vases by Phil Cuttance : Every piece of this collection is unique, as created through casting a water-based resin into a handmade mould. The mould is then manipulated to form an individual lightshade or vase. -
Papa Foxtrot Toys by PostlerFerguson : Papa Foxtrot Toys are the new leaders of wooden toy production in London, with their replicas of English ships and equipment. -
Colalife by Simon Berry : Colalife is a non-profit organisation that works with Coca-Cola in developing countries to get social-improvement products (such as oral rehydration kits) included in the soft drink's distribution systems. -
Liquiglide Ketchup Bottle by Dave Smith/Varanasi Research Group MIT : Liquiglide is a slippery, non-toxic, edible substance that can line the bottle of a product to ensure the contents glide out the bottle easily. Yes, that means a non-stick ketchup bottle! -
Kiosk 2.0 by Unfold Studio : Kiosk 2.0 is a mobile printing studio, bringing creativity and productivity to the streets. -
Flyknit Trainers by Nike : Exceptionally lightweight, the Nike Flyknit Trainer features Nike’s Flyknit technology for structure, support and a precision fit that creates the feeling of a second skin. The one-piece knitted form features areas of stretch, breathability and support. -
Little Sun by Olafur Eliasson and Frederik Ottesen. Photo: Merklit Mersha : Developed over the past two years, Little Sun is a work of art that brings solar-powered light to off-grid areas of the world.
Here are the 22 exciting products that have been shortlisted for Design of the Year 2013 by the Design Museum in London. We love the ingenuity of the non-stick ketchup bottle, the attention to detail of Inga Sempé‘s light swtiches and the shear magic of Front’s bubble lamp. But it is the amount of social-improvement orientated designs that is really heart-warming.
Which design do you think should win?
See the 12 furniture designs and 17 architectural designs that are finalists for Design of the Year. See all 90 finalists here or visit the exhibition in London from 20 March to 7 July.
