5 Modern Design Icons You Should Know

From the photographer who shaped how mid-century architecture was communicated to the furniture designer whose work is synonymous with the "space-age pop" aesthetic, we profile five icons you should know.

Slideshow

Aarnio turned 75 in 2007, but the commissions continue to flood in.

Eero Aarnio

Eero Aarnio’s persistent quest for functional forms and manufacturing processes has been at the center of his iconic and prolific career. He gained notoriety in the early ’60s, coinciding with an era of political progressivism, economic expansion, and rapid urbanization and industrialization in Finland. Aarnio's Ball chair catapulted him to international fame; however, the designer’s consistent pursuit of simplicity and functionality has made him a timeless, and tireless, innovator.

Taschen Does Art & Architecture

Iconic photographer of mid-century modernism Julius Shulman may or may not have been a pack rat. What he was: a collector of the equally significant '40s-'60s design Bible Arts & Architecture.
Lina Bo Bardi

Architect Lina Bo Bardi, born Achillina Bo in Rome in 1914, made an indelible mark on mid-century Brazilian architecture and design after emigrating there following the destruction of her office in…
Design Icon: Greta Grossman

Greta Grossman, for a while relegated to the footnotes of design history, is finally getting the deserved recognition as one of the pioneers of mid-century modernism in both Sweden and California.
Design Icon: Julius Shulman

Julius Shulman was a famous American photographer known for his residential photography of modernist residences in midcentury Southern California.
Design Icon: Charlotte Perriand

Many innovators helped usher in the Modernist movement, but French architect, furniture maker, and interior designer Charlotte Perriand turned lofty ideals into revolutionary living spaces.
Rewind: 7 Great Designs from the Past

From Breuer's dorm furniture to a forgotten mid-century airport in Newfoundland, we draw from the Dwell archives of oldie but goodie design content.
Fascinating Risom

Jens Risom is enjoying his place in the canon of mid-century furniture designers while also distinguishing himself as a great contemporary designer.
A Look Back at Lina Bo Bardi

Happy birthday, Lina Bo Bardi! The influential modernist architect would have turned 99 this week, so we celebrate her anniversary with a look at Yale University Press's new monograph of her work.