Tim Brown is the CEO of the "innovation and design" firm IDEO -- taking an approach to design that digs deeper than the surface.

As head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri leads the engineering, product, and business teams to create experiences that bring people together.

Leyla Acaroglu uses innovative design and systems thinking to create positive change.

Elaine Fong is endlessly curious about the role of design in the human journey and how global conversations can inspire new ways of thinking.

Alastair Parvin believes in making architecture accessible to 100 percent of the population.

Michael Green designs and studies flags, and is fascinated about how we use them as symbols of personal identity and pride.

TED Resident Carlos Bautista wants to close the information and technology gap for people in developing countries.

TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong is a sustainability innovator who creates new materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to "grow" architecture.

Barcelona-based architect Xavier Vilalta works in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He adopts and updates traditional design principles to construct modern buildings that truly suit their environment.

As host of the long-running podcast "Design Matters," Debbie Millman illuminates the creative processes of some of our era's most intriguing artists, designers and icons. She is the founder and chair of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.

In her book "Gamestorming," Sunni Brown shows how using art and games can empower serious problem-solving.

TED Fellow Brandon Clifford mines knowledge from the past to design new futures.

Aarathi Krishnan designs institutions and systems that help us imagine equitable futures for all.

Elise Roy thinks that designers have the capacity and responsibility to address and resolve human problems on micro and macro scales and contribute to social well-being.

David Carson is the "grunge typographer" whose magazine Ray Gun helped explode the possibilities of text on a page.

Operating at the intersection of design, nature and technology, Natsai Audrey Chieza is an internationally recognized leader in the rapidly emerging field of biodesign.

Drawing inspiration from frugal innovators in emerging markets, Navi Radjou helps businesses with limited resources discover unexpected ways to succeed.

Tristan Harris helps the technology industry more consciously and ethically shape the human spirit and human potential.

President of Monitor Institute, Katherine Fulton is also a strategist, author, teacher and speaker working for social change.

Thomas Heatherwick brings together design, architecture and urban planning to create soulful and interesting places that spark emotion and celebrate complexity.

Alex Steffen explores our planet's future, telling powerful, inspiring stories about the hard choices facing humanity ... and our opportunity to create a much better tomorrow.

With astronaut eyes and ethnographer curiosity, Tricia Wang helps corporations grow by discovering the unknown about their customers.

Educator + Innovator

Architecture + design entrepreneur

Architect

Designer

Doctor + activist

Digital strategist

Artist Researcher, Aquabatics

Rural infrastructure innovator