It seemed like in 2008 there was a lot of product and also a lot of disappointment. With the technology available it seems like anyone can be a designer these days. Thankfully, a few gems shined through the rubbish. Here are my picks.

1) Touch: Mana
I know it's annoying when people see something that looks simple and say "but I could make that!" With that said, I could make these! Which is great because everyone I know (present company included) is going broke. I've also never really liked the idea of repurposing items just for the sake of repurposing. It's like how you justify your ugly light. "But it's made out of old bottles!" Uh, I'll take a pass. Thankfully, this clever and unique jewelry by Mana Bernandes successfully repurposes regular household items in a way that I find both striking and beautiful.

2) Philippe Starck, Designer
It's not often that Harry speaks his mind on MoCo Loco, but when he does, I am thankful. It takes a lot of balls to publicly out a bigwig like Philippe Starck, especially when you're the man behind one of the most read and influential blogs on the internet. I also appreciate that instead of simply calling Starck out, Harry offered up a solution to Starck's conundrum: create sustainable design that improves quality of life. It's much, much more difficult and challenging than "reinventing" an orange juicer. Great designers are replaceable. Great design is not.

3) Help
There's a reason that brands like Muji are as internationally successful as they are. It's because they don't cloud their product with a bunch of unnecessary garbage. I like practical packaging for practical products.

4) Future Perfect: Part 1
I'm a huge fan of Sarah Cihat's work. Most of her objects exhibit a healthy juxtaposition of delicate design and industrial materials.

5) Tokujin Yoshioka "Second Nature"
I fell in love with Yoshioka after seeing his exhibit at Design Miami last year. This chair, like everything else he creates, is 100% completely badass.