Stephen Bayley is one of Britain’s best-known cultural commentators and has been described as the ‘second most intelligent man in Britain’. He is the author of more than ten books, nearly 30 exhibition catalogues, countless articles, broadcasts and newspaper columns.

Stephen Bayley. Photo: Barry Lategan

Which object or art work has inspired you to innovate or have a great idea?

The pen. It is still the most effective, accessible and economical ideas multiplier. And a good one is a daily pleasure.

Courtesy The Pen Room

Which person has most inspired you?

Shakespeare, for the beauty, mystery, melancholy and wisdom of his writing and the prodigal, utterly peerless genius that he represents, although flawed and vulnerable too.

All 32 copies of Hamlet held at participating institutions are to be digitised for the first time by the the Bodleian Library. Photo © Bodleian Library

Beginning April 2008, The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford will be teaming up with the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC to create a freely accessible digital collection of the Shakespeare Quartos.

The one-year project will reunite all 75 pre-1641 quarto editions of Shakespeare’s plays into a single online collection, on the website the Shakespeare Quartos Archive.

Which idea or invention are you most proud of?

The Design Museum because it's my monument (now shabby, run-down and directionless - like me).

The Design Museum at night. Photo: Luke Hayes

Which innovation will have the most impact in the future?

Double-glazing because it is an inexpensive, low impact solution to the big environmental problems of noise pollution and thermal waste.

Maybe instead of double-glazing I'd say the bicycle, the only technology with no downside.

© freephotosbank

Tell us what you think. We would like you to use our simple Storymaker editing tool to tell us what you'd put in a museum of me. We will be selecting some of the most interesting examples and publishing them next to the experts' views during MGM 2008.

Go back to the Museum of Me index page