Design is the excellent differentiator we often take for granted. It takes a product that would otherwise be a mere commodity and gives it a shot at becoming an icon that transcends and even redefines the category it slides into. Apple's iPod was beautifully designed, not only in its sleek, elegant look, but in its simple user interface, packaging, and advertising push. All elements work seamlessly as one, sending an unwavering, unstoppable message of cool-as-all-get-out design that makes you want to hold one, touch one, hear one--oh, and buy one.

Design seeps out of every pore at Apple, and it's not surprising its products do damn well in prestigious international awards such as Design and Art Directors (D&AD) or Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA, from the Industrial Designers Society of America).

Design is the new black. Firms from all around the world are cutting through. Nike Inc.'s Considered shoe from the United States demonstrates design innovation through a combination of styling and environmental benefits, while another brand, Solemates, makes a shoe in India from recycled paper and at fifty cents a pair is both cheap and crazy disposable.

Design works in even mundane categories to develop product must-haves. There is, for instance, the Spring Roll fetch toy for puppies from WETNoZ Inter-national, ultraknown makers of designer pet toys, which honestly looks like a big spring roll! Or the stylish and overpriced BYO Lunch Bag from design-focused accessories company Built NY Inc., that keeps your food cool while making you look cool too as you schlep it.

One toilet design has made its designers flush from a run of success! The Purist Hatbox Toilet includes an electric pump within its minimalist casing so it doesn't need to be plumbed into the water pipes and can be placed anywhere in the potty area or perhaps in the living room as a conversation piece (or stopper).

Another award-winning bathroom fixture is the Revolution showerhead by Moen Inc. Moen's team of designers, engineers, anthropologists, marketers, and managers found that people wanted distinctive shower experiences whether in the morning, the evening, or after sports, and so they included a dial that gives the user a choice of shower sensations. For their all wet research, dudes spent hours watching people showering (in swimsuits, they said).

A major winner in those 2005 IDEAs was the coveted Motorola Razr V3 mobile phone. It is as thin as a razor and has the keypad etched onto its metal casing, which is made from "aircraft grade" aluminum and magnesium. The antenna is incorporated into the mouthpiece, and a built-in camera uses a chemically hardened lens. This tremendous design helped the Illinois-based Motorola out of a really horrible slump to smash Nokia into second place and make it the number one handset seller in the United States in 2005.* Cingular--the cell service provider that carried the first Razrs-introduced the exclusive piece and rose above the din to pull in customers who had stuck with their competitors (it helped that their own lobby efforts to get "porting" succeeded just then).