Design in Britain: Big Ideas (Small Island)
Edited by Deyan Sudjic
Conran Octopus, £45
FT Bookshop price: £36

Britain is acknowledged globally as a creative cauldron. Students flock to its design colleges and designers from worldwide establish studios in the UK. So is design in Britain nurtured by something in the ether? And are certain characteristics shared by designers working in Britain?

This 272-page hardback, produced in conjunction with London’s Design Museum (whose director is Deyan Sudjic), attempts to provide answers. En route it explores the protagonists and movements that led to the current state-of-play.

As an overview of contemporary design in Britain, this informative book is exemplary. Seven chapters cover the design spectrum – products, architecture, cars, graphics, fashion, web-based activities, brand identities – each written by an expert in their field. A final “outsider’s view” by Paola Antonelli, senior curator of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, offers intriguing comparisons between design in the UK and US.

Traits including “no-nonsense innovation”, “wit with insight”, “a strong sense of observation” and “an analytical tendency” are highlighted by contributor Daniel Charny while others offer further evaluations of the drivers behind Britain’s buoyant design scene. It’s an on-going debate, stimulated in no small part by this compelling book.