We live in a world drowning in objects. But what do they tell us about ourselves? In The Language of Things, Design Museum Director, Deyan Sudjic charts our relationship - both innocent and knowing - with all things designed. From the opulent excesses of the catwalk, or the technical brilliance of a laptop computer, to the subtle refinement of a desk lamp, he shows how we can be manipulated and seduced by our possessions. Brilliant and courageous, The Language of Things defines the visual vocabulary of our time and gives us a powerful new way of seeing the world. With up to 100 colour illustrations throughout, this book itself is both a provocative and beautiful thing.

Deyan Sudjic is director of the Design Museum, London, England.

Before moving to his post at the Design Museum, he contributed to Schoolkids OZ, was the design and architecture critic for The Observer, the Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at Kingston University and Co-Chair of the Urban Age Advisory Board.

In 1983, he founded Blueprint, a monthly architecture magazine and went on to be the magazine's editor and then its editorial director. From 2000 to 2004, he was the editor of Domus (magazine).

Alongside these roles, he was the Director of The Glasgow UK City of Architecture and Design program in 1999 and the Director of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002. He was also a juror for the design of London's Aquatics Centre, which is to be built for the 2012 Olympics from a design by the architect Zaha Hadid.