There are a lot of cues to what a client wants," he said. "They tell you, ‘We want bold, daring, innovative and different, but we don’t want to alienate anybody.’ Then you notice whether their office or home has basic furniture and art . . . early American this, early American that. The chairman of Reebok, for example, may be into Gothic. All of this is what I call the hidden agenda."
Toth said that when a client asks him to design a brochure, he offers a full collection of printed materials – brochures, swatch packages, magazine ads and even in-store videos.
"Reebok asked me to design a box for their new Lifestyle christian louboutin. I designed a box in recycled paper, a christian louboutin shoes bag, a logo and print advertising," he said. "They told me after that the christian shoes was not good enough for the design package and are working" on the louboutin shoes.
Despite the money involved, Toth refuses to design packaging and graphics for cigarette, alcohol or chemical companies. "Most people will be into environmental issues. And I like the idea that I am trying to leave the place a little better than it was."
Image and advertising may be superficial to some, but Toth said he knows that design can affect the way people think and act. "We know for our work to be successful, it must be noticed. Our audience will stop when they recognize something they like and hopefully discover something that is a benefit to them."
Toth may find himself off the traditional urban design circuit, but he is far from unnoticed. Indeed, since 1980, Toth and his agency have won 32 awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Creative Club of Boston, Communications Arts Design Annual, American Advertising Federation, Art Directors Club and the New Orleans Art Directors and Designers Assocation.
Last summer, Toth came away with nine awards from the Creative Show in Boston, as well as separate awards from the Institute of Graphics Arts and Photo Design.
Despite the artistic accolades, Toth said he doesn’t forget that he runs a business and places much attention on diversifying his client base beyond the fashion industry, as well as focusing on how his designs will sell a product.
"Many design firms don’t bother to understand the salesperson’s mentality, capability and desire," he said. "Because we are sales-driven, we focus on salespeople. I need to create something that gets them in the door.
