With more than 100 design awards under its belt -- and 44 of them from BusinessWeek -- IDEO is an Industrial design firm that enjoys high esteem in both artistic and commercial circles. Tom Peters, described as "the father of the postmodern corporation," has cited IDEO in books and lectures for years

Clean, Functional, Hi-tech, Minimal, Pioneering

There's something intuitively appealing about the designs of Karim Rashid, who has designed coat racks, couches, and practically everything in between. His "Limacon" couch (1997) would feel equally comfortable in the spaceship home of George Jetson or in a stylish living room in Milan. Its boldly asy

Biomorphic, Bright, Clean, Hi-tech, Postmodern furniture, Round

Goudy started out as a bookkeeper who just wasn't very satisfied with accounting. He milled around South Dakota and then Minnesota aimlessly bookkeeping. Finally, when he found work in a small bookstore in Chicago, something clicked. These books weren't filled with dull numbers but with marbled pages

Classical, Clean, Elegant, Minimal, Subtle, Typography

Gustav Stickley was born in Osceola, Wisconsin, in 1858 and began to train with his father in stonemasonry and woodworking at the age of 12. At 18 he became an apprentice in his uncle's Pennsylvania factory, where he produced chairs and caned seats. He and two of his brothers, all educated in the fam

Arts & crafts furniture, Clean, Elegant, Minimal, Organic, Sincere