Magnificent Me sings the praises of a bold and unblushing new book of design, focusing on beautiful - and useful - sensual objects.

Most products that have anything to do with sex are tacky and, frankly, rather depressing.How did so little imagination end up being applied to this most imaginative of arts? And then, out of the blue, along comes a book called 'Sex in Design', compiled by maomao publications in Spain for Belgian publishers Tectum.

Contained within is a splendid array of products from all over the world, showing that designing for sex can in fact be a beautiful, provocative, witty and even political act.To give you a sneaky preview, here are our favourite naughty nine.

Winterfell and Natuerlich Nerz by Miss Geschick and Lady Lapsus

To shave or not to shave?  Bounteous or Brazilian?

Two inspiring ladies take this modern-day dilemma and put their own twist on it with these fantastically hairy undergarments.  Now you can have it both ways and be hairy on the outside, yet smooth within...

Pelvis and Penis bone necklaces by Erica Weiner

Never have his'n'hers pendants been so witty and genuinely beautiful - elegant, spare and abstract enough to keep the wearer's meaning a secret.

Very personal and very, very sexy...

Pornographic Wallpaper by Carlos Ranc

Presented in a book with a classic and inoffensive flower cover, these wallpaper designs by French designer Carlos Ranc verge on the abstract and almost get away with it.  They certainly wouldn't be obvious from a distance covering a large wall......

We'd love to see them somewhere really subversive.  How about a public library?

72 Degrees by Studio de Winter Leung

One of the simplest, most discreet but pleasing works in the book. This otherwise unremarkable shelf, designed with teenagers in mind, features a hidden compartment, so that they can secrete their favourite porno mag from the ever-watchful eyes of their parents...

Nipple tassels by Miss Bellasis

Suitably for one of the more traditional items in the book, these wonderfully varied tassles are created by a company originally founded at the end of the last century. Each pair - with names ranging from Tae, Velvet and Margeurite to Dorita, Florrie and Amour de Tita - is handmade to order, using only vegan materials, and, for your added pleasure, comes with the story behind its creation.

Hide'n'Peek Bed by Gala Wright for Viable

What's sexier than a four-poster bed? Originally dating from the 15th century, the concept obviously still has life in it yet. This great contemporary take on a classic takes the form of a sumptously soft black bed with red headboard and cushions, surrounded by a heavy, almost chainmail curtain of aluminium beads, which still allows a voyeuristic half-glimpse of the bed inside...

Photography by Mark Whitfield

Whippy, Voyeur, Love Honour Obey by True Love Always

For those with a bed of more normal proportions, the erotic charge can come instead from a more straightforward source with these great duvet cover and pillow sets. From sweetly seductive to icily intimidating, there's one for every mood!

The Aphrodite Project Platforms by Norene Leddy

And from the personal to the political...

The Aphrodite platforms (named after the goddess Aphrodite, whose priestesses performed acts of prostitution as a sacred religious ritual) were designed for sex workers and include a GPS tracking system that relays the wearer's location to public emergency services, as well as an alarm system to repel attackers.

I rub my Duckie Paris by Big Teaze Toys

Our final choice offers innocence subverted. 

These rubber ducks, with winning eyelashes, pierced bills and removable boas, offer a (vibrating) twist on these ultimate signifiers of childhood bathtime fun...