The multidisciplinary trend spotting group, Trendincite Xchange, will be making a visit to MSLK’s studios this evening for a presentation and round table discussion on the future of social media. Trendincite Xchange is an independent group of professionals in the fashion and beauty industry who meet once a month to discuss trends they see emerging in product formulations, scents, colors, fabrics, materials, marketing, retail, and overall consumer behaviors. Participants include qualitative researchers, trend spotters, product developers, retailers, independent brands, and marketing professionals. If you’d like to join our round table group tonight, or in the future, please contact us at mslk@mslk.com.

Despite the frigid cold after a giant snowstorm, a glimpse of spring was in the air today as I walked by the Anthropologie flagship in Rockefeller Center. Their store window displays were not only spring-themed, they also have a wonderful eco-theme, too. They’re made from plastic bottles collected from their customers.

Scrap the idea of getting a celebrity to endorse your next campaign. Instead, consider puppies, kittens, baby pigs and butterflies. Oh, and throw in a few rainbows and roses for extra points. The newest trend to work it’s way up from the blogosphere is the use of cute animals to market and sell everything from lotto tickets to high end fashion.

In case you missed the HBA Beauty Conference last month, Affordable Luxuries, are clearly the buzz word of the season and if you follow MSLK, you heard it here first! In this month’s WWD Beauty Biz, I caught a brief article touching on some of the trends we outlined. The article begins

 Elevated packaging design is transforming some ordinary necessities into extraordinary little luxuries.

They go on to tout Moxie femine hygenie products and the ingestible liquid nutrients found in the new product SoU. Sounds totally in line with our recent webinar, on this subject. If you haven’t checked that out yet do so immediately and get in the loop!

Everywhere we turn we’ve been hearing and seeing the topic of “Affordable Luxuries” in the news. Most recently it’s the cover theme on this month’s Bazaar, summing up their cover stories on Best Bargains, Smart Shopping, Runway Report, and Hot Beauty Buys. Are we on trend or what? With the tools discussed in our webinar, you too now know the secrets to what separates these items from the rest of the pack.

Affordable Luxury Webinar 5/6/09 from MSLK on Vimeo.

Thank you to everyone who joined us today for our first webinar on “Positioning Your Brand as an Affordable Luxury” . I really appreciate all of the great feedback, pointers and responses we’ve received thus far. It seems that many of you agree with the positioning opportunities that we’ve defined and I truly hope that our insights provided you with a new lens of how to view the marketing initiatives  you see all around.

This coming Wednesday I’ll be presenting an online webinar with our colleague and research expert, Roben Allong of RealityCheck, on “Positioning Your Brand as an Affordable Luxury.” This is the first presentation in what we hope will become a series of quick, bite-sized lunchtime lectures full of inspiration for marketers, business, owners and creatives alike.

If you haven’t attended a webinar before they are a great way to attend business lectures from the comfort of your desk. There will be audio sharing research statistics, and trends we have identified, as well as imagery showing innovative strategies marketers are using right now to capitalize on these trends. Plus, if you sign up and can’t attend the lecture itself you will also receive a link to watch a recording of the event whenever you’d like.

Don’t miss out, sign up here.

Every year, big name fashion designers and architects create Christmas trees to be auctioned off for charity in Paris at the “Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs” event. The participating designers this year included Louis Vuitton, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Gucci, Stella McCartney and Paul Smith. Zaha Hadid’s tree was the most sought after, fetching 46,000 euros (or about $66,000) at auction. Each tree has its own unique theme, many correspond to the core values of the brand that created it. Read more to see some of the best designs from this year.

Tis’ the season once again, 5th Avenue’s holiday windows are up and beckoning you to come inside. Drawing upon their summer windows, an evolution of Gap’s 2007 holiday windows, Louis Vuitton is tickling my fancy yet again with the perfect blend of branding, whimsy, and cheer. I’ve always been on the fence over their white checkered window treatment/skin. Finally this design incorporates that texture. The twinkling monogram LEDs compliment the gridded texture and only add more layers to a brand steeped in heritage.

Thank god the windows are beckoning me into their brick and mortar storefront because their online shopping experience is a bit of a dinosaur. Sadly you can’t take any of your 5th Avenue holiday shopping experience home with you for after hours online shopping. At Louis Vuitton, somethings are still better enjoyed in person.

A design firm’s holiday card had better be great — “good” simply will not do. We’ve had a great track record over the past few years, and always seem to receive many compliments with each year’s mailing, with many eagerly anticipating our next one.

That’s why each year we kick-off our holiday card early with a brainstorming session in the middle of the summer. After a lot of hard work, I can proudly say that this year’s card is no exception, although it was radically altered at the last minute.

That’s right: even the best-laid plans need to be open to revision if need be. And boy, did we need it.

The following details  our design and production process.

As practically everyone is predicting, this holiday season is shaping up to be a doozie for retailers. Now more then ever, companies need to set themselves apart from the competition. One retailer who has always been at the forefront for unique shopping experiences seems to be translating some of their in-store techniques to their online marketplace. The Fa-La-La Filter from Anthropologie breaks the monotony of online shopping with a simple, game-like interface that allows users to sort and  a selection of ornaments in a playful way. It somehow resembles the spirit of decorating a tree. It’s imaginative, whimsical, and fun. Even better, it actually is a useful sorting tool.

Here at MSLK, we have a special place in our heart for design that is both beautiful and informative. In fact, we’re soon to unveil a unique online sort system that we hope both engages users and helps them find the perfect product. Style and substance at its best!

Marc, Sheri and I all attended the Chanel Mobile Art exhibit in Central Park this past weekend. To be honest, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I had heard more buzz about the structure (a Zaha Hadid “mobile gallery”) than the exhibition itself. Though not all of us agreed, I thought it was an interesting experience and a unique way to view art. On a whole, it seemed to fall somewhere between attending an exhibition at gallery in Chelsea, and attending a red carpet event.

Am I crazy, or is there something a little too similar about the MINI, Bentley, and Chrysler logos? Obviously the winged metaphor is great for a car and all, but this is a bit much.

If you have a passion for quilted leather hold onto your handbags, next month Chanel will be rolling into town their roving art mobile with an exhibit dedicated to artists’ work inspired by the elements that give Chanel’s quilted handbags their unmistakable identity.

The real star of the show will most likely be the mobile building itself. Designed by Zaha Hadid, this is no ordinary vehicle. It seems to be a cross between the Starship Enterprise and a snail shell.

The vehicle has already been in Hong Kong and Toyko. It will land in New York on October 20th and stay through November 9th, before heading off to London, Moscow, and Paris. Tickets to the show in New York are free and became available this morning. I suggest booking yours immediately here.

Being of small stature, shopping for clothes which fit well has always been challenging for me. Once I find a brand that fits, I become loyal for life.

Luckily, English label Ben Sherman, has never let me down. Beyond fitting ideally, their clothes are based on the best elements of London style — from 1960s Carnaby Street to Punk — and are always incredibly well-made.

After just buying a shirt to wear for a friend’s wedding, I was surprised to find at the bottom of the bag… a Rubik’s Cube.

Online ads annoy me. The passive ones are never very effective. They’re all formatted the same, packed with as much information as possible. The “guerilla” ones are even worse, bombarding the screen with flying objects and making it impossible to look at a site. Leave it to Apple to find a better approach. While the subject matter of this ad is nothing revolutionary, the idea is brought to life in the context of the New York Times, camouflaged by the format and design of the online paper. Part of the strength comes from Apple’s established Mac Guy/PC guy roles. If you’ve ever seen any Mac ads in the past few years, you know the routine. Even without sound, it’s successful. Better yet, the ad doesn’t continue to play. It simply cycles through once, leaving you to read the paper without further distraction. In all, a refreshingly witty approach to online advertising.

My beloved old Saab finally kicked the dust a couple weeks ago. After some debate, I’ve decided to look into some options for replacing it. My search led me to the Volkswagen dealership, where I couldn’t help but notice the classic Doyle Dane Bernbach ads from the ’60s and ’70s plastered around the place. I was surprised to see that the charming, witty, iconic ads that transformed the original Beetle from an ugly duckling to America’s sweetheart, are still selling cars today. Even more surprising is how effective and relevant they still are. See some of my favorites after the jump.

Last weekend at Terrain I spotted a line of beauty products by Akhassausa that are beautifully designed. Their two small lines, nature and retreat, are differentiated by accent color. The floral graphic on the bottles is part of Akhassausa’s identity and helps to brand the company while adding a nice graphic touch. I was immediately drawn to the “wooden” tops — they looked especially great in Terrain’s spa section amongst the aged wooden displays tables (see image in-store below). I was disappointed when I realized that the tops were actually printed woodgrain on plastic! I suppose real custom wood tops would drive the production cost far above the products’ price point, but still what a bummer! Although environmentally speaking, which is worse, plastic tops or wood?

What does it take to stand out in the crowd or on the shelves? Personality. A memorable hook. Being remarkable. So then how do you become remarkable? Most companies spend their time chasing after the competition with a game of “me too” or “more of this” and “better that”. How dull.

I think the better way to stand out is to be yourself. You are after all inherently unique so why wouldn’t the business you create for yourself and the products/services you provide be just as unique? Case in point when our friend Malcolm wanted to start a wine label he didn’t just run out and throw another set of fancy fonts over burgundy paper, he actually married the two things he loved most, wine and modern art into the core of his brand. Thus Nicholls Wine, fine wine, fine art was born.

They are out there. I have been hearing a lot about this BMW X6, but had not seen it in person… until recently. I spotted one by my house a couple days ago, and I love it. I love SUVs (sorry environmentalists) and I like sports cars . X6 combines the silhouette of the 6 series coupé and the compact SUV class making it an SAV (Sport Activity Vehicle), which means “a sports car for active lifestyles.” Bold Design! Even better – they’re planning on releasing a hybrid version of this in the future. Ellen, I think you should get this to replace “Saaby.” Not very gas friendly, but you could fit MSLK in it and still be sporty. Click “Read More” to see more pictures.