Everything That Made Dwell’s Editor-in-Chief Pull Out His Phone at This Year’s Design Miami

During any given design fair, there’s one question people always ask each other: What did you like? I can never answer. You can mainline everything going on in contemporary design in an afternoon or two—whether you’re an admirer or a collector. But I’m terrible at giving hot takes. Roughly two weeks after an event ends, I go back through my photo library, and if I have a picture of it, I either loved it or hated it, which is to say I had a strong reaction.

If I really loved it, I’ll figure out where to see more work by the designer and spend more than a few passing minutes in a fair booth with it. If I hated it, I’ll ask myself why and hopefully learn something about how my taste is evolving. Either way, I always look forward to Design Miami, currently taking place on its home turf—they also do editions in Basel, Los Angeles, and Paris—with presentations by more than 50 galleries and designers. The fair opened on December 3rd and runs through the 8th. Earlier this week, I walked the aisles with photographer Ysa Perez looking for highlights. Here are some of things I think I’m going to love when I finally revisit the images I snapped.