1.  Bruce Mau. D-Thinker, theorist and doer, the father of modern Design Thinking. His work and design philosophy paved the way to liberate design from its pre-conceived borders. In his words: ”…it is not about the world of design, it is about designing our world”.

2. Steve Jobs, today’s quintessential visionary; discovered, navigated and choreographed through a labyrinth of systems and subsystems to create a holistic, authentic, unmistakable ONE. Jobs is responsible for giving design a seat at the boardroom table and influencing an entire global culture; Design Thinking and Design Doing in complete and absolute synchronicity and harmony.

3. David Kelly, founder of IDEO; coined the term Design Thinking. Kelly is responsible for the creation of Stanford’s d-school, one of the top DT institutions in the world. He has been the key figure in the development, standardization and fine tuning of the Design Thinking curricula.

4. Li Edelkoort, the Grand Dame of design education. As former chair of the Eindhoven Design Academy, she was the visionary and restless promoter of interdisciplinary studies that provided the fertile ground for the development of Design Thinking.

5. Paola Antonelli, chief Design Curator at MOMA, exposed Design’s expanded territories in the monumental exhibition “The Elastic Mind”.  She is the most important ambassador of the design domain. Her curatorial directions give credibility to design’s newly discovered assets.

6. Jonathan Ive, Apple’s Wunderkind, responsible for inducing, managing, cross-pollinating artistic, economical and technological creativity within ONE single interface; Design Thinking’s main objectives flawlessly executed.

7. Bill Mc Donnough, the architect of the future, the architect with a conscience. Mc Donnough uses the essence of Design and Design Thinking to weave, business, ecology and culture into life-changing, real and doable projects around the globe.

8. Hartmut Esslinger, founder of Frog Design, a virtuoso thinker who, for over twenty years, constantly questioned pushed, expanded the mission of the design disciplines.

9. Rene Mauborgne & Chan Kim, economic theorists, who penetrated the analytical world of business and finance with simple revolutionary theories that blurred the lines between left and right brain thinking.

10. Philippe Starck. By thinking of people as active protagonists within an environment, and considering every point of contact with the experience itself, he reinvented the hospitality business model, and paved the way to the development of human-centered, design-driven strategies.

11. Tim Brown, IDEO’s chief, the prophet and voice of DT. His efforts gave Design Thinking global exposure and business validation. His just released book, “Change by Design”, provides some of the first clear and detailed insights into the culture of Design Thinking.

12. Tyler Brule, founder of Wallpaper magazine and Monocle. His keen eye enabled him to curate creative content of the highest grade, and expose the public to a never before seen global aesthetic culture. In the process, he inevitably created an early platform that encouraged the cross-pollination between materials, products, technology, business and design…the fertile ground for the evolution of Design Thinking.

13. M P Ranjan, professor at the National Institute of Design, Ahmebadad, India, predicted the rise of Design Thinking in 1997, and produced, in my opinion, the first and most valuable paper on Design Thinking. It contains ALL of the main DNA strands of DT that are considered still viable today, including the term “Design Thinking”.

14. Chris Anderson, TED’s creativity curator extraordinaire. Chris has been instrumental in designing the ultimate “Experience for the Enlightened Mind”. TED has transformed the monolithic, self-serving conference model into a global interdisciplinary forum that houses some of the world’s greatest creative capital, including that, of most of the top twenty design thinkers.

15. Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School, a relentless ambassador of Design Thinking for business and academia. His work on “Integrative thinking” and its adoption into the DT-strategy, has been crucial in the process of creating contextual clarity between left and right brain thinking.

16. Bill Buxton, Microsoft’s Design Thinker and Doer. Not afraid to be critical of his own company in the pursuit of holistic design solutions. His insights and knowledge into interdisciplinary relationships make him one of the most eloquent speakers on the subject of design and Design Thinking.

17. John Maeda, Head of RISD, one of the greatest minds in cross-disciplinary thinking with the uncanny ability to untangle complex algorithms into simple bite-size elegant morsels of understanding.

18. James Dyson, the modern day visionary, design thinker and design doer. Dyson has been involved for decades in a restless pursuit for finding the propper  synergy and harmony between product, design, technology, human need, learning and teaching.

19. Idris Mootee, under the radar theorist, practitioner and writer. His stunning presentations blur the lines between business and design. His design literacy and strategy knowhow reflect  the ever-so important  ”mutual respect between business and design”.

20. Brad Pitt, actor, design aficionado and activist. Pitt was influential in designing and re-building an entire community in New Orleans based on the core principles of Design Thinking:  people’s needs, sustainable environments, democratic design, quality and wellness.

So, there you have it. That’s my list. There are quite a few people who are missing, even though they are constantly mentioned in the press, and others, that some may not consider Design Thinkers, are at the very top. Why not AG Laffley, the former head of P&G, for example? Well, I have not found enough evidence to consider him a D-Thinker. He is an adopter of the DT intelligence. Laffley is essential to the DT system. Without visionaries like him, new emerging professions like DT may never find a way in the market space. However, we must make clear differentiations within the components of the system itself in order to improve the structure and maintain its  credibility. 

So, go ahead, fire away!!! Whom did I miss? Who does not belong on the list?

1. Eindhoven Academy in Holland, considered by many the top design school in the world today.
2. Institute without Boundaries, George Brown University, Toronto, Canada. Led by Bruce Mau, one of the greatest design thinkers alive.
3. Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Institute, Potsdam, Germany. The parent or sister Institution of  Stanford’s d-school.
4. Zollverein, Essen, Germany. A brand new school, dedicated 100% to the Intersection of Design & Business.

I am sure it was an oversight, but I think, by now there is enough of a DT enlightened audience to encourage  BW to move towards a much more in-depth, critical, mature and diverse coverage of Design Thinking.