BMW
Futuristic vehicles were all the rage this year, and German car brand BMW stayed ahead of the curve by embracing hybrid and electric technologies with innovations such as the i8 sports car. It also impressed readers by releasing a shape-shifting concept car that can predict your every move.
Swarovski
Microsoft
Apple
It's a surprise to find Apple outside the top 10, and even more so to find the tech giant trailing IKEA in our brands ranking. Yet while a few years ago our readers couldn't get enough of Apple, we've detected a waning of interest recently.
Corten steel
Corten steel is the only trademarked material to make it into the top 100 of our Hot List. A perennial favourite thanks to its rusty patina, Corten is a form of weathering steel.
Audi
Number 82 in our Hot List is Audi – the German car brand that has fended off competition from upstarts like Tesla and Apple, created a 3D-printed fashion collection and marked itself as one of the megabrands that stole the spotlight at this year's Milan design week.
Uber
After launching in 2009 as a black car service for 100 friends in San Francisco, Uber has transformed the taxi industry and is 94 in our Hot List. It hit the headlines this year after announcing that it is testing driverless car technology and prompting a wider debate about the future of transportation in cities.
Aesop
Melbourne-based skincare brand Aesop is well-known among Dezeen readers for its outlets around the world. The brand works with different architects almost every time, meaning no two stores are the same.
Nike
Sportswear brand Nike fails to qualify for our Dezeen Hot List top 20 by a whisker. With this being an Olympic year, the brand was particularly active, unveiling a raft of new high-performance products at a lavish ceremony in New York in the spring and following this up
Kickstarter
Crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has evolved in the past year to become a powerful tool for financing architecture and infrastructure projects. This new route to getting large-scale projects off the ground was given a boost when Bjarke Ingels launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a smoke-ring-blowing chimney at
Tesla
IKEA
IKEA is one of the world's most innovative and dynamic retailers – although our two most popular stories about the Swedish furniture giant over the past year were about designers who hacked their products.
Lexus
We began writing about Lexus last year, when the Japanese car brand started to release unusual ideas for concept cars. We featured a fully drivable vehicle made entirely out of cardboard and the LF-FC concept model, which was explored further in Italian duo Formafantasma's installation for the brand in Milan this year.
Moooi
Eclectic Dutch furniture brand Moooi has been through a period of dramatic growth and change, opening a flagship store in New York, appointing a new CEO and launching a carpet brand and a range of soaps and shampoos for hotels.
Omnipresent Google pops up all over Dezeen in a variety of guises: as a pioneer of self-driving cars; as a creator of virtual-reality painting software; as a rebranded company with a new logo.
IKEA beats Apple and Google to the Brands Hot List top spot
IKEA is the design brand that has the most influence on the most people. But beyond selling flat-pack furniture, it also is highly active in the design space, collaborating with leading figures and embarking on social projects including its refugee shelters programme (not to mention the odd court
It seems Instagram's ability to show the world sneak-peaks of high-profile buildings under construction has earned it a place in our Hot List.
Lego
Danish toy company Lego caught the attention of readers when its kit aimed at architects went viral on Dezeen's social media channels after it was included in our 2015 Christmas gift guide.
Muji
Japanese design brand Muji is best known for its unbranded goods but behind the scenes it has long worked with a number of very well-known designers.
Hay
Danish brand Hay is one of the most dynamic in the sector at the moment, expanding aggressively and engaging in a range of eye-catching initiatives and collaborations.
Vitra
Aristocratic brand Vitra makes the top 50 of our Hot List not so much for its furniture but for a warehouse it built to house its furniture.
Airbnb
Positioned at 79 in our overall Hot List and 18 in our ranking of brands, rental website Airbnb has changed the way we holiday and design our homes.