The 50 most inspiring people and companies, according to industry creatives

‹ › × (Click image to enlarge) Credit: WorkingNotWorking Talent platform Working Not Working, which earlier this year was acquired by Fiverr, has unveiled a list of the 50 people and companies cited by creatives as their biggest muses. Among the 25 individuals who made the list are director Melina Matsoukas of Prettybird, McCann VP-Creative Director Gabrielle Shirdan, artists Derrick Adams, Jade Purple Brown and Lisa Congdon and Apple creative Lia Koo. The businesses highlighted in the list include agencies such as Highdive, Joan, Maximum Effort, The Martin Agency, Mischief, Mojo Supermarket, Translation and Uncommon, as well as brands including Ben & Jerry’s, Headspace and Liquid Death. Working Not Working conducts an annual poll to check the temperature of its nearly 100,000-strong community, yielding fascinating insights on creative professionals’ inspirations and motivations. One of the most anticipated findings of the survey each year centers on which companies creatives want to work for most—organizations at which even committed freelancers say they would want to work at full time. According to Working Not Working Co-Founder Justin Gignac, the results on that question this year came out virtually identical to 2020’s list, making for a pretty unsurprising lineup. “You don’t need us to remind you that companies like Google, Nike, Apple, Wieden+Kennedy, Netflix, Disney, and Droga5 are all at the forefront of creativity,” Working Not Working explained in its announcement this morning—thus, the shift in focus this year to inspiring people and companies. The list reflects a combination of people and companies Working Not Working members cited as their biggest inspirations, as creators of the year's most impressive work and under-the-radar talents and firms that should be household names. Working Not Working’s 2021 survey also asked creatives’ thoughts on their work environments, in light of the struggles, changes and uncertainties of 2020. The study discovered that 72% of the members surveyed would relocate for the right job. The majority of respondents, 58%, said they wanted a hybrid routine of working from home and going to the office, while 38% were fine staying completely remote. Only 4% said they wanted to return to the office full time. See the full list of most inspiring people and companies below and read more about the survey results in Working Not Working magazine. People Derrick AdamsLeandro AssisTishk BarzanjiCaterina BianchiniJade Purple BrownMona ChalabiJeremy CohenLisa CongdonOriel Davis-LyonsKwasi FordjourThibaut GrevetSai HeJoyce N. HoEric HuDeun IvoryLia KooMelina MatsoukasCarissa PotterHassan RahimEli RezkallahPablo RochatAmber SchaeferGabrielle ShirdanMichelle WattEdward Yueng Companies Arts & Letters Creative Co.Ben & Jerry'sFISKThe FuturHeadspaceHighdiveIlloJOANLiquid DeathMamag GroupThe Martin AgencyMaximum EffortMischiefMojo SupermarketMOUTHWASHNot Impossible LabsPalette GroupPASSERINEPLAYLAB, INC.Porto RochaPulse FilmsSempliceStudio MorossTranslationUncommon

The 50 most inspiring people and companies, according to industry creatives

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