R. Craig Miller is fond of saying that design is the most democratic of the arts.

Even though the curator of the upcoming IMA exhibition, “European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century,” is happy to drop terms like “Neo-Dada/Surreal” into conversation, in the case of the show opening next week, he knows he is still talking about things people understand: a kettle, a chair or a watering can.

“People often forget the extraordinary power that a wonderful design can have on their daily existence,” Miller said. “You might not be able to meet the expense of a $50,000 painting, but you can buy a Philippe Starck fly swatter for $18.”

The new show at the museum is being held in conjunction with a two-day international design symposium and comes not long after the opening of the IMA Design Center.

Maxwell Anderson, chief executive officer and director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, said the show — which features such eye-catching fare as a knife block in the shape of a head or a bench carved in the shape of a whippet — is about celebrating “the value of objects that have a function as much as objects that hang on a wall.”

The show runs from March 8 to June 21.