Michael Van Valkenburgh Michael Van Valkenburgh devotes himself to the practice of landscape architecture with great integrity and passion. A professor and mentor in Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for over twenty years, he has simultaneously carried out a prolific and diverse practice. Van Valkenburgh has designed and built more than 300 gardens; parks; and...

Tom Ford Tom Ford is a rare combination of a gifted designer and an astute businessman. He believes that “good design should have the power to communicate long after the original moment has passed.” Ford’s timeless designs beautify the body as they celebrate sensuality. They have attracted worldwide attention through his role as Creative Director...

Herman Miller For over 65 years Herman Miller has been a design leader through thick and thin, advancing both the science and the art of furniture design. Based in Zeeland, Michigan, the company pioneered modern American residential furniture in the 1930s and 1940s through its unique relationships with Gilbert Rohde, George Nelson and Charles Eames....

Milton Glaser Nearly all Americans today are familiar with Milton Glaser’s work as one of the pivotal figures in postwar graphic design and illustration. Born in the Bronx, and educated at Cooper Union and Bologna, Italy under a Fulbright grant to study with the painter Giorgio Morandi, Glaser is a profoundly influential master of communication,...

Amanda Burden Amanda M. Burden is Chair of the New York City Planning Commission and Director of the Department of City Planning. Museum Director Paul Thompson characterizes Burden as “a civic leader widely recognized for her generous community spirit and dedication to design excellence.” From 1983 to 1990, Burden was responsible for the planning and...

Aveda Corporation Founded in 1978 and based in Minneapolis, the mission of Aveda Corporation (A-Veda = All-knowledge in Sanskrit) is rooted deeply in two things: design and responsibility. Aveda’s strives to develop solutions to problems by insisting on strong design and aesthetic standards, expressed within shifting parameters of materials and design processes that are “light...

Polshek Partnership Located in New York City since the founding of the practice in 1963, Polshek Partnership is known for architectural excellence and longstanding commitment to cultural, educational, governmental and scientific institutions. James Stewart Polshek and his six partners believe that the most elegant architectural responses are both technically and socially relevant to their time...

Rick Joy The sublime nature of Rick Joy’s work derives from a visceral understanding of place. He shows us how efficient and environmentally sensitive architecture can emerge as a by-product from a quest for the timeless qualities that are always associated with great architecture. While the beauty of the desert is the inspiration for his...

@radical.media For over two decades, Jon Kamen has been at the forefront of the commercial production industry. As founder and chairman of @radical.media, a global media and entertainment company, Kamen has been an innovative leader in providing advertisers with communications vehicles that link their brand messages to consumers. @radical.media is also committed to developing a...

William McDonough + Partners William McDonough’s work arises from the goal of creating buildings, spaces, and places with completely positive intentions. Time recognized him as a “Hero for the Planet” in 1999, stating that “his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that—in demonstrable and practical ways—is changing the design of the world.” McDonough is...

Yeohlee Teng Yeohlee Teng’s strong and consistent approach to clothing design portrays seasonless efficiency, striking geometry and concise functionalism. Teng designs for the “urban nomad,” a postmodern consumer who demands adaptable and low maintenance clothing that appears deceptively simple but makes a powerful impression. The inspiration for Teng’s simple, clean and functional clothing came from...

Yves Behar Yves Behar founded his firm, fuseproject, with the idea of designing objects based on conceptual narratives inspired by the user’s experience. Behar measures the success of his work by determining how well the object expresses the initial idea. The diverse experience and mediums practiced by the San Francisco based Behar and the fuseproject...

Eva Zeisel Born in Budapest, Hungary, Zeisel’s career is international in scope and spans more than 75 years. Known for lyrical and shapely ceramics, she has produced over 100,000 objects. She describes her approach to design as “the playful search for beauty.” In 1946, she was the first designer in America to create an all-white...

Katherine and Michael McCoy The McCoys are internationally recognized for their unique multi-disciplinary design education methods, which provide designers the tools to collaborate in creating compelling design experiences. Together they organize professional education programs for High Ground and Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. Previously directors of design at Cranbrook Academy of Art for...

Mayor Richard M. Daley Richard M. Daley has been the mayor of Chicago since 1989 and has been working to make Chicago the greenest city in America. Since he became mayor, the city has planted 400,000 trees and begun an effort to attract renewable energy companies and create a sustainable landscaping industry. Millennium Park, the...