Salone 2008 is upon us and if you’re not one of the 200,000 plus people flocking to Milan to inspect the cream of cutting-edge design, don’t panic. We’ll do our best to keep you updated on the best of all that happens with the help of our friends in the blogosphere.

The highly anticipated, not to mention comprehensive, Salone del Mobile is one of the world’s most revered furniture and design shows. With over 2,500 exhibitors from nearly 40 different countries, it goes without saying there’s quite a bit to see. We are literally days away now, it will run from 16 to 21 April, and to save you scouring more than 200,000 square metres of exhibition space, we’ve put together a preview of the designers, products and projects we’re most excited about.

The highly anticipated, not to mention comprehensive, Salone del Mobile is one of the world’s most revered furniture and design shows. With over 2,500 exhibitors from nearly 40 different countries, it goes without saying there’s quite a bit to see. This year it will run from 16 to 21 April, and to save you scouring more than 200,000 square metres of exhibition space, we’ve put together a preview of the designers, products and projects we’re most excited about.

In conjunction with Random International - the young London based tech-design collaboration - lighting guru extraodinaire Ingo Maurer displayed some very hi-tech lighting. Random International had its UV printer on display again, able to print random images on UV film which disappear after a few seconds. Is this the future of advertising

Designer: Ingo Maurer

Designed by Massimo Morozzi, the Edra stand is not just a backdrop for the company’s new products - Leatherworks by Fernando and Humberto Campana; Chantilly by Inga Semp - and the display of collection items, some turned out in black for the occasion. The stage set for the Edra show is a stand-alone piece of architecture made from component parts of Paesaggi Italiani, Edra’s modular furnishing system.

Manufacturer: Edra

Showing that luxury and creativity can mix, this years design from Serralunga combines more traditional forms with interesting layering and transparency to create some very chic but challenging product. New Wave by Ross Lovegrove is a singular design that appears to change and adapt within space in a kinetic way as one moves around it generating a flow and dynamic from a static object.

Designer: Ross Lovegrove & Zaha Hadid [ Manufacturer: Serralunga ]

Droogs 15th presentation during Salone del Mobile in Milan reflects the zeitgeist of cutting-edge design as well as timeless necessity. A fascination for high tech materials, advanced techniques, human interaction and re-use of our waste.

Source: Droog

For the sixth consecutive year, Swarovski Crystal Palace have revealed 19 exciting new designs at this year’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile. Challenged to reinvent the chandelier, leading contemporary designers and artists from around the world have used their skills to experiment with Swarovski crystals and produce dazzling creations.

Source: Swarovski Crystal Palace

For their 2007 exhibition at the Milan Swiss cultural centre, the three designers from Big-game, Grgoire Jeanmonod (CH), Elric Petit (B) and Augustin Scott de Martinville (F), create the plus is more collection. Taking basic elements as starting points, such as a material, a principle or an archetype, Big-game transforms them in a simple way to design functional objects.

Designer: Big-game

The world-renowned French architect Jean Nouvel, whose designs have shaped urban landscapes across Europe since the 1970s, will present in Milan Corian Nouvel Lumieres, an exhibition featuring a large-scale, innovative, multi-sensorial loft-style environment (with kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living areas), all made in DuPont Corian solid surfaces creatively interfacing with light and hi-tech solutions.

Architect: Jean Nouvel [ Via: Dupont ]