“Being named to Interior Design's top 100 list means you are among the powerhouse firms currently doing the biggest, most cutting edge projects around the globe,” according to the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Cindy Allen, who invited the entire list of designers to join her in Palm Springs, California, for the annual three-day celebration.

Cindy Allen runs the Giants through a preview of the 2014 “Big Ideas” issue

More than 90 of the 100 Giants of Design attended. They heard from speakers including Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture & design at MoMA; David Macaulay, architectural author; and Mark Strauss, publisher of Interior Design Media.

Video highlights from the first few hours at Giants of Design

"Proprietary research chooses [who makes the list],” said Allen. “Firms submit an audited questionnaire to Interior Design with statistics on the projects their firm worked on during a specified time period. The top 100 firms with the highest project billings and most active projects make the list."

Todd Heiser of Gensler, Julia Monk of HOK and Carol Jones of Kasian Architecture and Interior Design

This year’s Giants of Design, and attendees of the conference, included Jayne and Joan Michaels of 2michaelsdesign, Chris Sheffield of SLDesign, Janet Rogers of Ziegler Cooper Architects, Barry Richards of the Rockwell Group, Primo Orpilla of Studio O+A, Sara Olm of Flad Architects, John Boyland of Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Carlos Martinez and Colin Burry of Gensler, among others.

President of Interior Design Mark Strauss, Richard Mark of Jacobs Klingstubbins, Lisa Simonian of Vornado Realty Trust, and Jennifer Busch of Interface

"Giants of Design brings together my most favorite things,” said Allen. “It's an intimate gathering of design leaders and friends—old and new; featuring speakers designed to inspire and challenge thinking—professionally and personally; all in sunny Palm Springs, the mecca of mid-century design. It's pure design bliss.”

Photo Credit: Kevin Newsome