Yrjo Kukkapuro (born 1933) is a nationally revered and internationally admired Finnish designer whose career highlights could serve as a timeline for furniture design in the second half of the 20th century. From his first significant work as a student in 1957 to prototypes he designed for a 1998 exhibition, Kukkapuro's furniture has been characterized by the simple functionalism that is at the core of his design system.

Robert Mallet-Stevens is an important figure in the development of Modernism in Europe, and especially France, in the inter-war decades of the 1920s and 30s. Born into a wealthy family of art collectors, he was exposed early in life to significant movements and stylists,including Vienna Secessionists Josef Hoffman and Gustav Klimt, who collaborated on the Palais Stocklet villa in Brussels for Mallet-Stevens' uncle.

Trained as an architect, Milan-born Vico Magistretti (1920-2006) received a degree from Milan Polytechnic in 1945, then studied with Ernesto Nathan Rogers at Champs Universitaire Halien in Lausanne Switzerland. Initially employed at the urban design studios of Alfred Roth, he moved next to his father's design office in Milan, then opened his own practice and quickly achieved a reputation as both product designer and architect.

Canadian Bill Lishman is best known for his role in Operation Migration, which continues his successful efforts to re-shape avian migration patterns across North American. Lishman earned the nickname "Father Goose" by developing the means to encourage large flocks of birds to settle in new nesting areas by leading them in flight using an ultra-light aircraft. His unusual methods have had great success over 3 decades, and were the Subject of the 1996 film FLY AWAY HOME. He is also a noted artist and sculptor, and designed the geodesic-style buried home where he lives near Toronto.

George Cawardine (1887-1948) is remembered for his historic contribution to modern design in the form of his iconic Anglepoise lamp, arguably one of the landmark designs of the last century. The Anglepoise is memorable not only for its unique and previously unknown form, but also for its unusual genesis and profound influence on subsequent lighting forms. Cawardine set out to find an application for a new invention, and in doing so created an entirely new design concept. He operated a small factory in Bath, England that developed vehicular suspension systems for automobiles.