But an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art seeks to illustrate how design infuses our lives in much more important and lasting ways -- and force us to think about its power and responsibility.
"Massive Change: The Future of Global Design" highlights the breakthroughs and discoveries in design that have changed how human beings live, as well as previews possible inventions on the horizon.
As a common quotation found in the exhibit and its accompanying catalog says, "Now that we can do anything, what will we do?"
The exhibit, which opens Saturday, touches on everything from an electric car developed in India to a featherless chicken bred to withstand Israel's hot temperatures; a machine that uses ultraviolet light to disinfect water in the developing world to a wheelchair that can climb stairs.
And in the intriguing but still being developed category: a "printer" that could one day be used to create replacement parts for diseased organs, one layer at a time.
The exhibit got its start in Canada when the Vancouver Art Gallery asked a Toronto-based studio called Bruce Mau Design to create a project on the future of design.
"They were very open to what that meant," said Bruce Mau, the studio's founder, who is perhaps best known for his graphic design of books and other publications, but who also collaborates with leading architects, artists and cultural institutions.
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