Director of Brand Provocation,
Elmwood, London
Greg Taylor became founding partner in global brand design consultancy Elmwood in 1989. Born in Leeds, Elmwood now has additional offices in Edinburgh, London, Chicago, New York City, Melbourne and Singapore and remains the world’s most effective brand design consultancy having won more DBA international Effectiveness Awards than any other agency in the history of the scheme.
Now Director of Brand Provocation, Greg is the creator and facilitator of Step Change™, Elmwood's strategic tool for moving ideas forward. Clients include ASDA, Wal-Mart, Arla Foods, BBC, COI (Defra and DfT), Cable&Wireless, Comic Relief, Debbie & Andrew’s, Durex, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, McCain, and the Met Office.
Greg is also author of a blog, ‘The Daily Poke’ and a columnist on PopSop. Outside Elmwood, Greg has been a board director of the Design Business Association, chairing the DBA's International Design Effectiveness Awards strategy group.
There’s a natural relationship between the style of our daily surroundings and how we feel. A great space can make us feel better, more hopeful and even more productive. And we often use our own space to express a vision of ourselves.
The ‘thumb gutty principle’. Over the years, this simple phrase has ear-wormed its way into our daily conversations, becoming a shorthand for ‘that feels right’ or ‘that’s the right thing to do’.
Constantly being bombarded by brand extroverts making the most of their newfound ‘transmedia’ opportunities? These days, it’s almost impossible to escape the various digital demands of ‘your community’ or the intrusive molestations of brands.
More and more new-bloods don’t give a stuff anymore about working for someone else. We could be about to witness the emergence of a new creative peer group, one that’s prepared to do it for itself. The idea that ‘doing it for yourself’ rather than doing it for ‘the boss’, the establishment, the company, is one that new-bloods are quickly embracing.
“For an average consumer the value of branding is down to making the right choice”

Sara Jones, Creative Director at brand development and packaging design agency Anthem Worldwide, shares her round up of the top five print innovations, which have the potential to create real standout, as long as they’re used to enhance –- rather than ‘be’ -- the brand idea.
If you had to choose the ultimate business super power, what would it be? Big budgets, global reach, an innovation pipeline full to bursting, a PR machine capable of generating positive press 24/7? Without hesitation, I answered “agility.”
Cheryl Swanson, Head of Toniq, once again explores the consumer trends for different age groups in the USA.
Before we had Apple Macs, Photoshop and a myriad of other programmes, design centered on tradition and craftsmanship, on the physical and the tactile. Yet now, we see the worlds of digital design and physical craftsmanship joining to create new expressions and celebrations of the power of making.
There’s a natural relationship between the style of our daily surroundings and how we feel. A great space can make us feel better, more hopeful and even more productive. And we often use our own space to express a vision of ourselves.

