Great design isn't about following a formula. As Don Watt's work has taught us, great design is about doing what works best for the brand, and if you master those insights, brilliant work will result.
But as in fashion, interior design or any other creative industry, it's only natural that certain trends emerge. Strategy takes a look at a few of these recent trends - a hand-made renaissance, designs that can adapt, and agencies that are getting in on the product innovation game - and who is making them work brilliantly.

*Trend: organic design

The Carlton Hotel - Taxi adds character to Carlton

Rage against the machine
"I call it anti-technology or anti-machine," says Dave Watson, CD design North America at Taxi, referring to a recent proliferation of seemingly hand-crafted design - found on everything from magazine editorial pages to movie credits (think Juno). "Designers are really yearning for the days of yore when print was king...Sometimes when you look at design, especially modern design, although beautiful, it could be considered a little cold. I think people are looking for warm communications and something that speaks to them on an intuitive level."

Setting the Carlton apart
After New York's Carlton Hotel underwent a multi-million dollar architectural and interior design facelift, Taxi was brought in to bring the branding up to par - and set it apart.
"Everyone thought the Carlton was part of the Ritz Carlton, which they have no affiliation with whatsoever," Watson explains. "Ritz Carlton had been using gold in the past, and this was just a small thing, but the Carlton Hotel letterhead had been using gold, so it was a pretty easy, simple fix [to change the colour]."

Carlton, the character
Walking into the Carlton Hotel after the renovations, Watson says the first word that comes to mind is "warmth." The challenge was to personify that feeling while keeping with the 1920s-style luxury of the hotel.
Inspired by small, black and white illustrations hanging on the walls of the hotel, Watson took "personify" literally and created a fictional, hand-drawn hotel ambassador named Carlton, a doorman who is "a little bit British, so he's prim and proper, which speaks to that part of the hotel, but also a little New York, so he's going to tell you exactly what he thinks."
After trying unsuccessfully to find out who drew the original illustrations (they even had an art expert come in to try and decipher them), Taxi found the next best thing - Brussels-based artist Benoit, whose interpretation of Carlton was exactly what they were looking for. The end result was a whimsical yet refined spokesperson, accompanied by a logo that appears to be the result of paintbrush strokes.

Illustration at your service
You can find evidence of the hotel's new branding on everything from doorknockers to laundry bags to pens. Carlton himself is seen doing a variety of tasks, such as carrying a tray or even carrying a guest in his arms.
Online at Carltonhotelny.com, created by Denver-based FL-2, Carlton's presence is felt on practically every page, with quotes from the character such as "I'm honored to tell you about the hotel's history, somebody please draw me some goosebumps." There's even an "Ask Carlton" section where visitors can type in their queries about New York and get responses in Carlton's voice.
"The idea is that the epicentre of New York is the Carlton - or Carlton himself," says Watson, "and there's nothing he doesn't know."