FastCompany's 100 most creative people in business

This month, FastCompany magazine publishes the 100 most creative people in business. Of their list they say:

There are no rules about creativity. Which made constructing our list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business a tricky task. We looked for dazzling new thinkers, rising stars, and boldface names who couldn't be ignored. We avoided people we've profiled in the recent past. We emphasized those whose creativity addresses a larger issue -- from the future of our energy infrastructure to the evolution of philanthropy to next-generation media and entertainment. So read on. Enjoy. Quibble. Complain.

Image from FastCompany's website

Scanning the top ten it's great to see two designers feature on the list demonstrating that design clearly contributes to the business's (triple) bottom line.

Apple's Jonathan Ive tops the list at #1 for revolutionising the way we all listen to, interact with, exchange and buy music. Ive was first interviewed by FastCompany for breathing new life into the computer hardware and software industry. He brought not just functionality but sheer delight for many who would otherwise be engaging with a "beige box" everyday.

Design in Apple has propelled the company to generate no less than $US32 billion in sales last year and FastCompany touts Apple as the, "most successful and faithful marriage of business and design." No wonder so many of us look to (and desire) not just Apple products but the behind-the-scenes operations and philosophies of the company.

Apple illustrates that design is yes, user/customer-led, but if an organisation that wants to achieve Apple's success it needs design to be CEO-led. Apple says, "You need a CEO who gets it [...] Something like the iPod is a melding of design and user experience and marketing and pop culture, and you don't achieve that without coordination throughout the company."

The other designer in the top ten is Sandy Bodecker, vice president of global design at Nike. The top twenty adds another three designers to the list: fashion designer, Stella McCartney; architect Thom Mayne; and sustainable design program manager at Autodesk, Dawn Danby.

Check out more details on these designers, and the other 95 creative people who make it on the list at FastCompany's website, which also happens to have a really neat interface and content (eg. Wikipeadia, news and Twitter profiles of each of the 100 individuals).