$2,950 (CD5x), $1,350 (NAC 112x), $1,650 (NAP 150x)
www.naimusa.com
"It sounds better than anything on the planet. If you know anything about music, you know you shouldn't have dials and whistles. You should hear the music the way it was made. This system produces music like you can't believe, and all you can do is push 'play.' It's superdesign. It does what it's supposed to do."
$199
www.nike.com
"It's just a tank. This watch has no reason for being this big, but I like the brutality of it. I also have a really beautiful Panerai watch, whose purpose was to be seen at 300 meters when you were about to die in a submersible during World War II. That massive thing took up three-quarters of your wrist for a functional reason. This Nike watch rivals the size, but it's like, 'Okay, well, that was beautiful, and we're doing it on a digital watch.' It's self-conscious, absurdist, but beautiful."
Price of a martini: $12 and up
www.standardhotel.com
"Someone made a living room in the middle of a bunch of skyscrapers. Who knew L.A. could be urban?"
Priceless
"It had also been my dad's. He gave it to me when I turned 40. The leather is 75 years old and looks like it has survived a few wars -- which it has. There are deep, lined pockets to put my hands in if it gets too cold. And there are lots of other pockets to store my cell phone, sketchbook, pens, passport, and airline tickets. It's a wearable briefcase."
$449 (with two-year Cingular service contract)
www.motorola.com
"This is the most exquisite and powerful piece of design I have. It feels incredible in my hand, the interface is enjoyable to navigate, it sounds amazing, and looks like it arrived in a time warp from 2010. People are curious about it and have asked me to let them hold it. And it is just good manners to use your clients' products."
$4.95 for a six-pack of 8-ounce bottles
www.coke.com
"For years I have kept a small refrigerator in my office stocked with freezing-cold Coca-Cola -- but only in the original glass contour bottle. I offer it to everyone when we meet in my office. Coca-Cola delivered this way activates so many positive emotional and sensorial cues -- sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste -- that it's always a great way to kick off a meeting. I have seen some people get crazy happy about it. And happy people are imaginative people."
Starts at $12,099
www.deere.com
"I was born and raised on a farm, and I really do enjoy tractors. This one has a 25-horsepower engine. It's a scream. I use it for blowing snow as well as mowing the yard. Most designers might not think that a garden tractor is highly refined design, but when you consider the problems the design team had to solve in terms of functionality, durability, ergonomics, and affordability, it's impressive. It's like the Swiss army knife of tractors."
$490 (No longer in production, but still available at some retailers)
www.sony.com
"Beyond doing the basics of keeping my schedule straight, it has a built-in camera. If I'm on the road and I see something that provides inspiration for myself or my team, I yank this out and take a pretty decent photo. That's incredibly helpful."
Starts at $53,280
www.hummer.com
"I'm on my second Hummer. I like the fact that it can pull my snowmobile in winter, or my Indy car to a race, and that I don't give a second thought to using it to take my wife and family to a nice restaurant. General Motors does a phenomenal job of managing the brand equity across the whole experience -- Web site, advertising, point of sale, even subtle details such as the gearshift. It's rounded and muscular. If KitchenAid built a car, this would be it."
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