Bob Sabiston is an independent filmmaker in Austin, Texas. His company, Flat Black Films, makes films that investigate new uses of computers in the visual arts arena. Sabiston received his Masters from the MIT Media Lab in 1991.

Ross Lovegrove graduated from Manchester Polytechnic with a first-class BA Honours in industrial design in 1980 and in 1983 from the Royal College of Art with a Masters of Design degree. In the early 1980s he worked as a designer for Frog Design in West Germany on projects for Sony and Apple Computers.

Fernando Guitérrez is the designer and art director famed for his elegant, impactful graphic design of Benetton's Colors magazine, Spanish magazine Matador and national newspaper El País.

Designer and creative director, Ilse Crawford's Studioilse creates the big idea behind a brand through its emotional values, and then makes them visible and tangible through design.

Karim Rashid is a leading figure in the fields of product, interior, fashion, furniture, lighting design and art. Born in Cairo, half Egyptian, half English, and raised in Canada, Rashid now practices in New York.

In 2001 the Museum of Modern Art listed Alexander Gelman as one of the "world's most famous modern and contemporary artists in all media" – which isn't surprising considering his past experiences.

David Carson has been named in ID magazine's list of the top-40 influential designers. His company has offices in New York and Los Angeles and their work for cultural, corporate, music and other clients has been recognised by the New York Type Directors Club, American Center for Design and ID magazine.

John Heskett's research is focused on the theme of how design creates (and not just adds) economic value and the role this has on design policy for governments and corporations. Other areas of interest are the relationship between design and innovation and the problems of design in global markets.

Veejay Archary was a founding partner of Herdbuoys McCann-Erickson, the first black-owned advertising and design company in South Africa in 1991. He has worked in New York for Diefenbah Elkins/FutureBrand, a world leader in branding. He was trained in Durban, Buenos Aires and New York.

Mary Lewis was the first female president of British Design & Art Direction. She has chaired the BBC Graphic Design Awards and is a member of the Royal Mail's Special Stamps committee. Lewis received the British Design & Art Direction President's Award in 2001 for Outstanding Contribution to Design.

Shubhankar Ray is world renowned for his work as creative director of Camper, where he has worked on the Walking Society concept and the Visual Language System, including a global ad campaign, magazine, film, web and shop systems.

Nkhensani Nkosi is one of the new voices from Africa: fashion designer, entrepreneur, television personality and lauded actress. Her distinctive Stoned Cherrie fashion label was born when Nkosi recognised that the urban energy that exists on the continent was not being branded and packaged into products.

Garth Walker trained as a graphic designer and photographer at Technikon Natal in Durban in the mid 1970s.

He later founded Orange Juice Design in Durban in 1995, one of South Africa’s best-known graphic design studios and one of the very few with an international reputation. In 2008 Walker again went solo with his new studio, Mister Walker.

Peet Pienaar is a performance artist turned graphic designer and co-owner of design studio The President. He is the editor and publisher of the multi-award-winning Afro magazine - a pan-African magazine showcasing contemporary writing and culture from the continent.

Richard Hart is a designer, illustrator, type nut and – most recently – a weekend artist. He is happiest when he’s making. His output includes posters, publications, flyers, packaging, furniture, interiors, exhibition design, painting, sculpture and a few objects that are less easily described.

Together, Andrew Makin and Janina Masojada lead OMM Design Workshop, an architecture practice based in Durban, South Africa. That they are a multiple award-winning team is hardly surprising – the firm defines itself by the quality and relevance of its conceptual design, production and final resolution.