Beyond the A-Rod and Kanye sightings and party-hopping revelry (which might coincide, if you’re lucky), let’s not forget why we all came to Miami: to witness examples of the world’s greatest works of art and design. And even for those unfamiliar with the latter (we overheard one man on his cell phone saying, “It’s amazing, like, art ... you can use”), the booths at Design Miami/ dazzled. 

“Our goal is really to offer a journey through design history,” fair director Marianne Goebl told ARTINFO. In the same journey-offering spirit, we rounded up a few choice pieces guaranteed to impress the non design-savvy, from the architecturally-inspired shelving units of Eames that in turn inspired the modernist purveyor Mark McDonald’s booth, to the bizarre technological innovations that produced a lamp that continuously shatters itself. ARTINFO presents the best picks for novices to Design Miami/.

To see our Design Miami/ photo roundup, click on the slideshow.

To see all our Miami 2012 coverage, click here.