TORONTO—What were the best design projects of 2012? For our Design Edge year in review, we called up 10 of Canada's leading designers to pick the project that, in their well-trained eyes, stood out from the rest.

Here's their rundown of the year that was.

Matthew Allen
Revolve, director, partner, senior brand creator
Halifax, NS

Favourite project: Daniel hotel identity branding
Designed by: Moodley Brand Identity
Country: Austria

"Every detail is well crafted. The writing style, visual treatments, interior/exterior design and material choices from antique to contemporary all work exceptionally together through a seamless design vision. Smart luxury and smart design drive this brand."


Claire Dawson
Underline Studio, partner and creative director
Toronto, ON

Favourite project: "Vegetables from an Italian Garden"
Designed by: Astrid Stavro
Country: Spain

"Everything about this book is perfect, from the production techniques and selection of papers to the use of typography and colour. Nothing falls short or disappoints."


Diti Katona
Concrete Design Communications, partner
Toronto, ON

Favourite project: Ultra Asian
Designed by: Dentsu
Country: Japan

"It's a series of posters called the Ultra Asian and they are the most beautifully intricate yet powerful pieces I have seen in a long time. The irony is that I usually take the approach of [thinking that] big, bold, and simple images have a great effect and immediately communicate, but these posters went totally against that idea. The amazing thing is that with all the little intricacies they still are big, bold, interesting and effective. Love them."


Zahra Al-Harazi
Foundry Communications, chief executive officer
Calgary, AB

Favourite project: Austria Solar, "The Solar Annual Report 2011"
Designed by: Serviceplan Munich
Country: Germany

"An annual report created for Austria Solar company, where all the pages are blank, printed with a UV-activated ink, so the reader must be outside with the sun's UV rays to read its content. It's a brilliant idea that conveys a strong message in the client's favour—beautifully executed. A true experience for the viewer, along with great design."


Tom Murphy
Target, creative director
St. John's, NL

Favourite project: Austria Solar, "The Solar Annual Report 2011"
Designed by: Serviceplan Munich
Country: Germany

"The Austria Solar annual report is not just a tribute to the importance of pure design, but it's about as innovative as it gets. The idea not only breaks through the clutter it breaks new ground, which is why I applaud the client for having faith in the creative people who obviously earned it. It’s proof once again that there is, indeed, something new under the sun. Quite literally in this case."



Ian Grais
Rethink, creative director
Vancouver, BC

Favourite project: Redesigning Canada
Designed by: Bruce Mau Design
Country: Canada

"One project that caught my eye was Bruce Mau Design's Redesigning Canada project. This solution is so simple, strong, elegant and memorable. I wish I did it."



Vanessa Wyse
The Grid, creative director
Toronto, ON

Favourite project: Bloomberg Businessweek covers
Designed by: Richard Turley and co.
Country: USA

"One of the things I have been most excited about this year are the weekly covers of Bloomberg Businessweek. Each and every week Richard Turley and his team never fail to come up with a really smart and simple conceptual cover. Being that creative and consistent on a weekly mag is really difficult."


Chris Dallin
Karacters, director, Branding & Design
Vancouver, BC

Favourite project: Diane's Lingerie business cards
Designed by: Dare
Designer: Heather Akins Jalbout
Country: Canada

"Clean front, patterned back and perforations that allow a simple business card to be an interactive expression of the brand. Great thinking, well designed, relevant, coherent and participatory. And cheeky!"


David Gillis  
Teehan+Lax, partner
Toronto, ON

Favourite project: Clear Mobile App
Developed by: Impending studio
Country: USA

"Clear is one of many to-do/get stuff done apps that you can download for your mobile phone. But its designers took a totally different approach with the UI, that leverages multitouch gestures and delivers a dynamic, playful and highly engaging experience. By stripping away a lot of the clutter and "visual administrative overhead" common to most apps, the content itself becomes the interface."



Eric Karjaluoto
smashLAB, creative director
Vancouver, BC

Favourite project: Google UX
Designed by: Google
Country: USA

"The mobile Google Maps UX is what design was meant to be: clean, simple, intuitive, and really fast. The Google+ network (in spite of how little traction it has gained) has really played with its mobile UX, and feels more usable and utilitarian than the Facebook environment. Meanwhile, even its core search service has become increasingly sparse. Apple could take a page from this kind of restraint and user-centric thinking."


What caught your eye in 2012, Design Edge readers? Let us know in the comments section below.