Marian Bantjes has been variously described as a typographer, designer, artist and writer. Working from her base on a small island off the west coast of Canada, her personal, obsessive and sometimes strange graphic work has brought her international recognition.

Since 2003, 5.5 designers have established an enviable reputation, being awarded the Grand Prix de la Création by the Paris City Council after just three years of business. Far from focusing only on shaping objects, 5.5 designers enforce a conceptual rigour that sees them permanently question their design status.

There’s very little Patricia Urquiola hasn’t turned her hand to in the field of design. Since establishing her studio in 2001, her prolific output has found markets through brands such as De Padova, B&B Italia, Alessi, Driade, Kartell, Flos and Moroso.

Marcel Wanders grew up in Boxtel, the Netherlands, and graduated cum laude from the School of the Arts Arnhem (now ArtEZ Institute of the Arts) in 1988. He became world-renowned for his iconic Knotted Chair, which he produced for Droog Design in 1996. His work is now ubiquitous as he designs for leading contemporary labels and is both founder and art director of Moooi.

Bruce Mau is a critical thinker, visionary and voice in our modern world. Igniting revolution within industries ranging from corporate and technological to urban and environmental, Mau uses design and his own optimism as primary vehicles for positive change.

Sean Adams and Noreen Morioka founded AdamsMorioka in Beverly Hills in 1994. The simplicity of their work has attracted leading clients including Sundance, Nickelodeon, Frank Gehry Associates, the Walt Disney Company and many other major international companies.

Architect Luyanda Mpahlwa is principal and director of MMA Architects in Cape Town. Mpahlwa completed his National Architectural Diploma in 1986 while serving a five-year term in Robben Island Prison, before going on to complete a Masters in Architecture at the Technical University of Berlin in 1997.

Lynda Relph-Knight has been editor of the UK’s Design Week since 1989. The role encompasses editing the world’s first and only weekly design magazine and its daily website, as well as overseeing the Design Week Awards and Benchmarks prize scheme for branding.

After completing their Masters in Architecture at the Royal College of Art, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby founded BarberOsgerby in 1996 and Universal Design Studio Ltd in 2001. They have worked for a diverse range of international clients including Cappellini, Magis, Flos, ClassiCon, Venini, Isokon Plus and Swarovski.

Jannes Hendrikz is the compositor and creative director of the Blackheart Gang by night, and TVC director for Shy the Sun by day. Completely self-taught, Hendrikz began his career at Refinery before moving to BlackGinger.

Since Javier Mariscal took up a pencil in the 1970s to earn his living, his life and career have been characterised by his creative incontinence and the need to express himself through multiple disciplines.

Keith Rose is one of only a select few to be inducted into the Clio TV Hall of Fame, for his BMW Mouse commercial.

W+K Delhi was formed in 2007 with the merger of Wieden+Kennedy and A, a Delhi-based creative agency. Founders of A in 2004, managing director Mohit Jayal and executive creative director V Sunil led the agency in defining a new approach to branding India, rejecting the clichés of aspirational faux-western imagery and defensive ethnicity.

Dwayne Spradlin is president and CEO of InnoCentive Inc, an open innovation community of smart, creative people who provide solutions to tough problems in almost any industry you can think of.

With his New York studio, Readymade Projects, Stephen Burks has been responsible for creative design direction on projects ranging from retail interiors and events to packaging, lighting, furniture and home accessories.

David Boira and Zoë Coombes are two architecturally trained furniture designers who work together under the studio name Commonwealth, based in New York. Both hold a Masters of Architecture from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture.

Dai Fujiwara joined the Miyake Design Studio in 1994 upon graduating from the Dyeing and Weaving Course at Tama Art University. After working as a member of the Issey Miyake Collection design staff, he launched the A-POC project with Issey Miyake in 1998. This won the Good Design Award in 2000 and the Mainichi Design Award in 2003.

Dunne&Raby – Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby – use design as a medium to stimulate debate among designers, industry and the public about the social, cultural and ethical implications of existing and emerging technologies.

Li Edelkoort is a trend forecaster, educator, curator and publisher based in Paris. She has fostered design’s creative talent as chairwoman of the Design Academy Eindhoven between 1998 and 2008.

Craig Wessels studied graphic design at the Natal Technikon in Durban. During his compulsory military service he began studying for a BComm in marketing and psychology, which led him to advertising.

Born in Calvinia, South African Keith Helfet studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cape Town before doing a Masters in Automotive Design at the Royal College of Arts in London.

Rick Valicenti is founder and design director of Thirst, a communication design firm devoted to art, function and real human presence. His clients include the leaders of Chicago’s design and cultural communities.

With a Masters in Art from Tsukuba University in Japan, Nobumichi Tosa established Maywa Denki with his brother in 1993. Initially an exclusive art unit belonging to Sony Music Entertainment, it transferred its management to Yoshimoto Kogyo Co Ltd in 1998.

Roger Smythe began work at the Clearwater Group, holding the positions of creative director and new business development manager between 1997 and 2002. Then, with Reot Reolon, he co-founded motion design house Masters & Savant to service television channels, advertising agencies and corporates alike.

Ferran Adrià is the famed head chef of the elBulli restaurant in Spain. elBulli has three Michelin stars and has been ranked first in the S Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants for the past three years.

After studying at the Technical University of Delft for two years, Frank Tjepkema graduated in 1996 from the Design Academy Eindhoven. Following this he obtained an MA degree in 1998 from the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam.