Museums have generally chosen one of two methodologies for survey exhibitions of contemporary design. In one, the purely esthetic qualities of functional artifacts such as teacups, record players, and chairs are isolated by placing the objects on pedestals or in vitrines as if they were sculptures; alternatively, the design process itself unfolds in displays often including experimental prototypes and tracking initial concept through final execution.

“Italian Re-Evolution: Design in Italian Society in the Eighties” ostensibly proposes a new methodology. Organized by museum director Sebastian J.