It's been a busy year for Joey Roth, what with the Ceramic Speakers launch et al. We're happy he had the time to send us his favorites for 2009. And yes, if you're wondering, we've seen him smile. A lot. Here are his Top 5.

Joey Roth
joeyroth.com

Ring by Sruli Recht

The packaging for this ring is easily the best packaging design I have ever seen, for any product. It articulates cardboard's cardboard-ness in a remarkably beautiful and effortless way. The ring itself has three interchangeable settings, and manages to be playful without resorting to irony.

Prism Glasses

These frames look undesigned and even boring online, but I can imagine that the materiality and translucency of hand-carved acetate makes them impossible not to notice in person. This is what fashion should be: quiet designs that reveal an unpredictable energy on a closer look.

Ghost Stories 2nd Chapter by Nendo

I'm sad that I didn't get to see this exhibit in person. From photos, it seems like a lot of light energy was created with a few simple but very calculated gestures. The chairs, which are made from clear polycarbonate and painted to look like wood, are my favorite part. Their legs are left more and more clear as they reach the floor, so that the group of chairs seem to exist in a pool of mist. I'm sure this technique will be copied just as inappropriately as Baas's use of burnt wood.

Raw Clock by Stanley Ruiz

Unassuming and simple, the contrast between wood and leather, and natural color pallet that this creates, makes this one of my favorite clocks of all time.

Axe by Best Made Co.

The axes are interesting, but Best Made Co.'s genius is in storytelling. I have never seen a tighter integration of product, copy, and identity. Their launch makes all other marketing this year seem clunky and ridiculous.