Few young designers have shone quite so brightly as the UK’s Lee Broom, a man who has made a habit of winning prestigious awards since the tender age of 17. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, Broom’s designs draw inspiration from the world of fashion, and his impact has been compared to that of Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford. Winner of the British Designer of the Year Award in 2012, Broom is in high demand, whether designing for his own eponymous label – which he launched in 2007 – or creating dazzling pieces for other brands. Also renowned for his innovative and frequently award-winning restaurant and bar interiors, Broom is one of the industry’s most exceptional talents.

As the creative director of Bocci, a contemporary design company with offices in Vancouver and Berlin, Omer Arbel brings an experimental and technically brilliant perspective to the world of lighting design. Israel-born Arbel finds inspiration in natural phenomena and transformations, and is fascinated by the intrinsic chemical, physical and mechanical attributes of materials, from molten or blown glass to sand-casted brass and draped porcelain. This leads him to devise products that resemble alien technology, subatomic reactions or, perhaps, the wonders of the cosmos. “There is some sort of mysterious transcendent quality that must be considered when working with light,” he says. “Lighting design is best done by those who tend towards the mystical.”

Brooklyn-based lighting design firm Roll & Hill is known for collaborating with a roster of highly inventive independent designers, and none more so than Bec Brittain. Using sumptuous materials and cutting-edge technology, the New York-based designer pushes the boundaries of lighting forms, creating pieces that possess a unique geometric beauty, both as sources of light and as elegantly crafted objects. “Lighting is so much less about touch than other design,” says Brittain. “It is so truly visual, both in how the piece is configured as well as in how the light it gives off is perceived and changes our perceptions. It's an interesting design problem to remove touch from the equation, yet still encourage interaction.”