Design: Forms That Follow Function

Proof that everyday objects can be simple and elegant

To enter the wonderful world of good design now on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, you pass fluttery rococo plaster nymphs in the ornate beauxarts classic entrance hall. The abrupt aesthetic change is like jumping from a sauna into a cool swimming pool. Titled "Design Since 1945," the exhibition (through Jan. 8) presents a world based on the primacy of function, which beautiful form is supposed to follow automatically. It often does. Modern style is the only authentic one of our time, and...