Birthdays are meant to be celebrated, and for our magazine's second anniversary we will again feature our Wall of Fame to showcase our Suite 16-the individuals who are making a difference in our local design world, as well as garnering a national and international presence for themselves and our area.

In a city such as Chicago, known for its rich architectural and design legacy and its current breadth of innovative design professionals , this was not an easy task. Yet after many sleepless nights and countless hours of reviewing call for nominations and debate, we managed to cull the tremendously talented field here to a mere 16. Fortunately, with four more issues to be published this year, there is plenty of time--and many more pages--to showcase an overflow that is no less worthy. So as you enjoy the talented people projects and products presented here, keep your eyes ready to enjoy more noteworthy results in the coming year.

But back to our winners, who were photographed by Jill Paider in an equally artistic, novel way. We let Jill have her make-up artists and assistants show them in their best light; we also let her place them in settings that reflected how they work, where they work and what they produce, which meant in some cases a warehouse, recycling center, an auction house....and even a major rock star's home. Teri and I tried to keep up with Jill and her team as we raced all over town, and the frantic pace was worth the effort; We have 32 pages of portraits that would make Annie Leibovitz envious. You'll see a lot more of Jill's work gracing these pages now that we've made her an official member of our i4design team. She may not have been an official winner but in our hearts we know that any celebration includes those who stand in the limelight as well as those who work quietly but diligently on the sidelines. She deserves kudos for her design-the-scenes presence.

In addition to the special Wall of Fame, we asked graphics artist Rick Valicenti of Thirst/3st, who also sits on the Board of Governors at Chicago's Harrington College of Design and has received recognition from Print Annual, to give us a pictorial essay on the state of contemporary communicative design. Rick devoted nine pages to “Five Easy Steps to Living a Creative Life.” We can all be more creative, if we follow his lead.

In addition to enjoying this issue, get ready to enjoy a host of activities throughout the city in the coming months. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Art Chicago has come back to life, thanks to Chris Kennedy of the Merchandise Mart and his loyal team. They took this event from near- death two years ago and have turned it into an international city-wide celebration of art that is now respected throughout the world. In this issue you will find several departments dedicated to this subject. Be sure to mark this date on your calendar; April 24th-26th.

Finally, our two-year anniversary issue is a wonderful testament to the dedication of our staff, support from our advertisers and loyal reading by many of you--our devoted readers. We strive to be not just another shelter magazine but a voice for the professional design community in the Midwest and beyond. Though the 'Coasts' believe that everything starts and stops there, we know that the middle of the country is where we get to the heart of the matter and make lasting, true decisions. We're just a bit more modest about. After all, just ask some of our country's important political pundits where two candidate's stars really zoomed into orbit.