The design trends that we enjoy today, those typesets and fonts we choose from, were once pioneered by radical designers who dared to start something new and make a difference. These creative thinkers put their ideas into tangible projects and shaped the world of design into what it is today.
The following are the top 20 most inspiring designers who changed the world by inspiring all aspiring creative minds of today as well as the coming generations.
- Jonathan Barnbrook
Jonathan Barnbrook is one of the United Kingdom’s most inspiring graphic designer of his time. He started the idea of graphic design in a country that is involved with its society and its elements. He incorporated commercialized community culture, the economy, international policies and even war in his works. He is known for his commercial and non-commercial work. His original ideas that display wit, social irony and political movements.
- Saul Bass
Saul Bass is another prestigious graphic designer of the 20th century. He is known for his works in the designs of movie titles. He worked closely with some prestigious film makers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, and Otto Preminger.
- Robert Brownjohn
Robert Brownjohn is known for his wit and bold imagery designs combined with creative typography. He is among the most creative designers of the 1950s in NY and later in London in the 1960s. Among his famous works are the design movie titles of James Bond films, the graphic designs for Robert Fraser Gallery, and the famous Rolling Stones artworks.
- Matthew Carter
Matthew Carter is considered the most significant typography designer of the 19th and 20th century, perhaps of all time. He pioneered and designed some of the fonts that we use today such as the famous Verdana for Microsoft. He also designed some typefaces we use in printing today like Miller and Bell Centennial.
- Joshua Davis
Joshua Davis is one of the pioneers of web design. He started his passion for this new medium in the early 1990s and it became a widely used medium in commercial industry. He pioneered this new medium for Kioken in NY and experimented with other companies such as the famous PlayStation. He earned the Prix Ars Electronica in 2001 for the prominent digital art category.
- MartíGuixé
MartíGuixé is known for his innovative and brilliant ideas derived from simple concepts. Among hisc reations are the product designs for Authentics and Camper’s shoe shops.
- Peter Saville
Peter Saville’s works were more focused on fashion, arts, music and graphic designs. He started working at Factory Records in the later parts of 1970s.
- Stefan Sagmeister
Stefan Sagmeisterstarted was a well-known designer in 1962 and is still one of the most influential and important graphic designers today. He was born and raised in Austria and currently resides in NY. He is known for famous works such as posters he did alongside the AIGA and other musicians like Lou Reed and David Byrne.
- Derek Birdsall
Derek Birdsall has been a graphic designer since 1934. His passion for art and design rooted from his grandfather and a fountain-pen fetishist. He is also passionate about papers and several writing instruments.
- Irma Boom
Irma Boom is a legendary book designer from Lochem, Netherlands. She is known for her remarkable book design creations, which are recognized internationally.
- Alan Fletcher
Alan Fletcher is known for his witty and customized visual designs. He is recognized as one of the most important figures in the graphic design industry in Europe and in North America. He designed numerous posters for prestigious companies such as Fletcher/Forbes/Gill in the 1960s and the Pentagram in the 1970s.
- Abram Games
Abram Games is one of the most recognized graphic image designers of mid-20th century in Great Britain. He has designed over hundreds of posters and images during the post war era. Among his prestigious works are the logos of BBC Channel and the famous Festival of Britain.
- Konstantin Grcic
Konstantin Grcic is a German designer known for his functional and humorous product designs. The authenticity of his designs gained popularity for innovation by many manufacturers. Many of his furniture and product designs went on to be patented and marketed by Authentics, Krups, Magis, and Flos.
- Ron Arad
Ron Arad is known for his experimental and innovative designs with technological approaches. He combines playfulness and technology in his designs which makes him one of the most innovative thinkers of our time. He is an architect educated in London who was originally from Tel Aviv. He is a self-taught designer who ventured his talent in furniture design.
- Sam Buxton
Sam Buxton’s works involve advanced materials and modern technology which is manifested on his foldable sculptures of electroluminesentfurniture.
- Joe Colombo
Joe Colombo is an Italian product designer who specializes in innovative furniture. He is known as the country’s most influential designer. His works are modern in design and bring about new concepts for different product households. They are now one of the basis for modern furniture in the country and across the world.
- Eileen Gray
Eileen Gray struggled to be known as one of the most recognized and important architects in the field of furniture designs in the 20th century, and probably in many years to come. Her designs reflect Art Deco and modernism in general.
- Christian Dior
Christian Dior is one of the most famous and influential personalities in fashion design the world has ever known. He became popular after WW II for his hourglass silhouette fashion design. He is known to make the largest fashion statementss that brought fashion into a new industry again after the war. As of today, his name is one of the most recognized and well-respected names in the fashion industry.
- Michael Marriott
Michael Marriott is a curator and famous product designer known for his modern ideas and concepts. Your furniture at home is probably patterned by his inventions and designs. His designs are known to use great materials with great functions.
20. Jonathan Ive
Jonathan Ive won the prestigious Designer of the Year award at the Design Museum in 2003 for his innovative product designs. He is currently the SVP for Design at Apple. Among his innovative creations are the famous iPod and iMac.
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