Frankly, it’s quite hard to rank any type of artist or designer because judging such creative feats and accomplishments is not like betting on a race horse. Nevertheless, each year should bring freshness, innovation, and fascination in all artistic fields. This is what being ‘contemporary’ and groundbreaking is all about – constantly striving to surpass previous standards, to evolve and raise the stakes. For now, let us focus on modern furniture and delve a little deeper to see which designers were able to wow us with their ingenious thinking and alluring execution that will definitely go into history.

Philippe Starck

He is a man of imagination, surprises, and fantasy. For over 30 years, this designer, creator, architect and author of thousands of projects is constantly fighting against conventions and the mundane. There is an overall concept known as “democratic design” were quality objects are bought at lower price so that everyone could have the best furniture out there, but Starck broke the bonds of mass production and successfully focused on designing exclusively for the elite. He has done almost everything – private homes, yachts, cars, motorbikes and even the artistic direction of the travel plans in space, consequently making him one of the most iconic creators there is.

Ron Arad

This Israeli-born genius is a passionate technology lover who is known for incredible versatility in his work. Arad produced a remarkable array of innovative objects like carbon fiber armchairs and polyurethane bottle racks and he has also designed memorable spaces, some plastic and tactile, others ethereal and digital. All he needs is his metal workshop and a computer with it’s rapid manufacturing capabilities to create beautiful and surprising furniture which reflects the joy of invention, humor, constructive skills and pleasure.

William Dangar

A leader in Australian landscape designing, this man has set a strong, recognizable identity for the Dangar Group. This name is a synonym for practicality, innovation and class when it comes to exterior design. With over a thousand successful projects completed nationally and a prolific association with Belle Magazine as Exterior Design & Garden Editor, this man created a brand called Robert Plumb which is a renowned collection of designer timber furniture. His handcrafted works of art are an embodiment of quality, durability, anti-mass-production and uniqueness. His outdoor extravaganza and ruggedness gives out a luxurious appeal everybody is searching for. The clients are rushing to have something customized for them that will reflect their lifestyle and persona, so the Robert Plumb Project is consequently a business that delivers only the best.

Karim Rashid

A man with over 3000 designs in production, over 300 awards and working in over 40 countries. This is one the most prolific designers that holds a legendary status. It would be absurd to write down all of his successes and collaborations, but amidst all of his accolades and privileges, he’s a frequent guest lecturer at many universities and business conferences. Rashid is also a fashion, music and art lover who always emphasizes the importance of presence of design and creativity in everyday life.

Konstantin Grcic

A trained cabinet-maker who has established his own practice KGID (Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design) in Munich, Germany in 1991. He has designed and created furniture, lighting, products and features for many leading global companies; and his work has naturally received international design awards like the renown Compasso d’Oro. Some of his work is already placed in prestigious design museums throughout the world, while he himself curated a substantial amount of exhibitions. Grcic claims that it’s important to meld strictness and punctuality with mental acuity and humor, so that the result of such blend could speak in effective simplicity.

Marcel Wanders

An iconoclastic Dutch designer exuberates humor and originality in his work. He became known for his collective Droog Design chair specifically because of its metallic knit Knøtte. His projects are a bit too much for publishers on the marked, but that has never stopped him for maintaining his independence. That is why his clientele is more enthusiastic when it comes to furniture design and art. Wanders is what you might call an explosive, whimsical and provocative creator, he does not hesitate to think outside of the box, which got him a special place in many prestigious museums.

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

These brothers have formed a family design team that has created superb works of art for more than a decade. Today, Ronan and Erwan create furniture for numerous manufacturers, namely Vitra, Kvadrat, Magis, Kartell, Established and Sons, Ligne Roset, Axor, Alessi, Issey Miyake, Cappellini, Mattiazzi, Flos, Mutina and Hay. Several exhibitions have been devoted to their work, mainly because of their sense of balance, beauty, and fineness.

Piero Lissoni

This architect opened his industrial design, architecture, and graphic design studio in 1986. Not only does he produce some of the most curious furniture, but he also coordinated image, communication campaigns, and countless show rooms. Right now, he has focused on architecture, with numerous projects for hotels, private homes and buildings across Italy and abroad, like for instance in Venice (Monaco & Grand Canal), Zurich (Al Porto), Istanbul (Bentley design hotel) and Bangkok, to name a few.

Xavier Lust

He studied interior design at Institute Saint-Luc and opened his studio in Brussels, Belgium after finishing his studies. Known for his many collaborations with leading international producers like Driade, De Padova, Fiam, Extremis and so on, he was classified as an artist who gives tension to his objects. The curves he makes in particular are made by a “deformation” process of metallic surfaces. Many awards are hung up on his wall, he lectures around the world about the craft and according to Russian critic Olga Bozhko, his art expresses the impossible with illusion of lightness and motion.

Naoto Fukusawa

This Japanese industrial designer has established Fukusawa Design in 2003 after having acted as the head of the American company IDEO’s Tokyo office. He has released a host of innovative and captivating works in Italy, Germany and Northern Europe, garnering a lot of attention and critical acclaim. Fukusawa captures values that people tacitly share and wish for, he outlines them, visualizes the unseen, travels beyond the borders of his thoughts and finds hints and solutions in the subconscious. His workshops are consequently called “Without Thought”, which is an obvious indicator how this brilliant mind operates and creates.