The "Do Normal" design retrospective at the SF MOMA, October 20, 1998 was a great introduction to the Droog design collective. Originally a Dutch design collective it is now a more international bunch. The playful/functional aesthetic is still refreshing and indicates that the true nature of modernism is alive and well in places.
Renny Ramakers' new restrospective "Less + More" offers a decent overview of Droog work. I especially like that works are displayed within context of the original newpaper, magazine, and exhibition clippings. Not sure if available at Amazon, but copies exist in SFMOMA bookstore and online at Cambium books.
Droog co-founder Renny Ramakers unravels new developments in design and applied expression, using many examples from all over the world as well as from Droog itself. The ideological freedom designers have gained over the past 15 years, combined with new insights in materials and all design-related fields, leads to playful experimentation and unprecedented propositions. Design is spreading its wings.
Links:
http://www.droogdesign.nl/index1.html
http://www.cambiumbooks.com/books/design/90-6450-457-1/
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/exhib_detail/98_exhib_do_normal.html