Covering the best and most innovative furniture, lighting, tableware, textiles, and products created over the past eighteen months by both well-known designers and new names from around the world, this year's striking selections have been made by the acclaimed New York-based furniture and product designer Karim Rashid. In a departure from the Yearbook's traditional format, objects are grouped thematically according to current global design trends: Futuretro, Nukitsch, Phenomena, Organic, Embellishment, Multiplicity, Minimum, and Techno.

The book is richly illustrated in color throughout, and many images are accompanied by extended captions explaining their form, function, and innovations. Full technical data is given for each object, and a comprehensive reference section is included with designers' biographies and a list of suppliers' contact details.

An introduction by Jennifer Hudson provides an insight into Karim Rashid's background, working practices, and design vision, while Rashid's own introduction explains the reasoning behind his selections as well as his transformation of the Yearbook's presentation to reflect the multiple directions of international design today.