There can be no debate that the product design and architecture industries have for centuries (or arguably, since the beginning of time) been dominated by men. Granted, it's been only in the past millennium that women established professional roles in the working forces of our societies. However, even in the past few decades it's been the Frank Gehry's, Rem Koolhaas's and Frank Lloyd Wright's of the world who have dominated architecture, while the likes of Marc Newson, Ron Arad, and Tom Dixon have held court over personal and home décor product design. Even the overtly feminine world of fashion design was the realm of male couturiers, from Dior and De La Renta to Saint Laurent and Lacroix.

As Bob Dylan famously penned; Times they are a'changing. Changing indeed. Today some of the most celebrated designers and architects of the moment are female. At Voice Of Color, we would like to celebrate four women in particular who are altering the design landscape as we know it: architect Zaha Hadid, interior designer Kelly Wearstler, product designer Patricia Urqiuola and legendary ceramist Eva Zeisel.

In architecture, there is no doubt that Zaha Hadid has become a prominent figure. Her deconstructivist design concepts and aesthetics challenge spatial quality whether they be buildings, product, interiors or furniture. A one-time partner of Rem Koolhaus, Hadid's pioneering and theoretically influential works are visually riveting and often described as "ground breaking”. Completed projects -- such as the Peak

in Hong Kong, the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany, and London's Aquatic Centre for the 2012 Olympics are fantastic examples.

Known as the Diva of the design world, Hadid’s fluid spatiality is made up of dozens of varying perspectives, ensconced in geometric shapes and dark shadows -- thus, mirroring the chaos of modern life. Fluid and geometric are seemingly opposing states, but somehow both come together under Hadid's steadfast vision. To date, one of her most notable works is The Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, Ohio, an architectural feat manipulating space and perception that caused the New York Times to declare it "the most important new building in America since the Cold War." Hadid is currently a professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and holds the prestigious title of first woman to ever receive the Pritzger Architecture Prize in 2004, the architectural equal of a Nobel Peace Prize.

It-girl interior designer Kelly Wearstler is the ying to Zaha Hadid's yang. Wearstler, principal of House of KWID (Kelly Wearstler Interior Design), describes her decor style as "classic modern with an unexpected element like color texture or juxtaposition" – otherwise known as cheeky, eclectic, and bold. She successfully parlayed a brief modeling stint into a title in the design industry as an influential tastemaker, two massively popular coffee table books (Modern Glamour and Domicilium Decoratus), a role as series judge on Bravo TV's "Top Design" show, creative eye to her husband Brad Korzen's Kor Hotel Group (which owns the Viceroy boutique hotel chain), coveted projects with style establishments such as Bergdorf Goodman in New York and decorating luxurious residential homes of the shamelessly rich, as well as expanding her already-burgeoning home line to include exclusive bedding, dinnerware and table linens this year.

While Wearstler's tastes can be categorized as high-brow (one need only take a look at her affinity for ballgowns, Louboutins and $2000 dish sets), they still strike a chord with the masses, mainly because her glamorous flair for taking the traditionally familiar and reincarnating it into something everyone will covet (Case in point: high-backed armchairs reupholstered in white patent leather). Wearstler is traditional meets modern, sprinkled with a big helping of old and new Hollywood pixie dust -- but with this decor dame, "anything goes".

Patricia Uriquola -- born in Oviedo, Spain -- studied architecture at several well-known architecture educational institutions in Europe before beginning a career as head of product development with De Padova in Milan, a cutting-edge Italian furniture company that has been on the home decor scene since the 1950s. Urquiola credits Maddalena De Padova -- the company's visionary founder – as a key influencer in her approach to design to this day.

Uriquola has since moved on to launch her own eponymous studio in Milan, and has received numerous awards for her creations. Much of her popular buzz of late has been a result of her work with Moroso, another Italian furniture house through which she has masterminded items such as the Smock chair, Shanghai Tip seating and the B-Side shelf.

Like Hadid, Uriquola is known for her direct attitude and fiery spirit -- she does not shy away from the fact she is all the former, and possibly more. In the design world, where products are often too design-intelligent or too commercial, she walks a fine line between the two extremes. Her work is not confined to a specific look, however it is classic with curve and conservatively domestic. Her chassis of choice is steel, dressed up with unexpected materials and synthetic, industrial finishes. Each contract produces a different look and evokes a different feeling -- the designer prefers not to duplicate the essence of a previous collections.

Uriquola's past and present collaborations include some of the design world's biggest names: Moroso, Agape, Alessi, B&B, De Padova, Driade, MDF and Kartell, all of whom trust her in-tune capabilties.

Last but never least, one of the most admirable women in 20th century design is Eva Zeisel, a Hungarian industrial designer who just turned 101 years old this past November. Though she wanted to pursue painting, she was swiftly persuaded by her mother to get into a more logical profession, hence her entrance into the guild of potters followed by a position designing for the Schramberger Majlikafabrik in Germany. Her aesthetics were mainly geometrical and clearly influenced by the Bauhaus art school. She worked in England but eventually settled (and continues to reside) in New York, where she founded the ceramic arts program at the Pratt Institute.

Zeisel's distinct, fluid and delicate ceramic designs are deliciously curved in a decidedly modern manner. Her

earlier works have become somewhat of a Holy Grail for collectors and many of her works are nestled in the permanent collections of The Brohan Museum in Germany, The British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The MoMa. Her first designs in the US appeared in Sears Roebuck, eventually expanding internationally to Norleans Meito in Japan, Phillip Rosenthal in Germany, Mancioli in Italy and Hall China. Zeisel's illustrious -- and enviable -- design career has been acknowledged with numerous awards, accolades and an honorary doctorate (from the acclaimed Rhode Island School of Design). In addition, some of her earlier works were re-introduced in new color palettes and glazes, while Crate & Barrel launched her "Classic Century" dinnerware in 2004 -- it turned out to be the company's best-selling dinnerware to date. The idol and inspiration for today's it-designers -- such as Karim Rashid -- Eva Zeisel changed the course of design consumption by making it accessible and appealing to the masses, long before retailers like Target and Wal-Mart came into the consumer eye.

Women in design is not so much of an anomaly these days, but there are a select few that make a mark within the industry, the design-savvy and the public. Zaha Hadid, Kelly Wearstler, Patricia Uriquola and Eva Zeisel are four such women that prove there is no such thing as a glass ceiling -- and that there is no such thing as creative limits.