Toronto’s Spin Productions has added the well-known New York-based director and graphic designer David Carson to its roster of talent. The move furthers Spin’s position in the graphics branch of the industry, having signed representation deals with design shops BarkinHotStudio and Paul Sych earlier in the year.

With exclusive representation in Canada for the widely acclaimed Carson, Spin continues to amass a fine talent pool for its graphic design division – and it may not yet be done.

To say that Carson is merely acclaimed, however, is like saying Pamela Anderson or Brad Pitt are kind of good-looking (depending on your taste, of course). Carson was named ‘Art Director of the Era’ by London’s Creative Review and Ray Gun Magazine has described his efforts as ‘the most important work coming out of America.’

Having made spots for big name clients like Nike, Mercedes Benz and Microsoft (for which Carson art directed and designed the 1998 campaign), Carson offers a bizarrely unique, sometimes extremely intense and ultra-visual brand of commercials. Having never had any formal training (or perhaps because), his achievements in filmmaking are remarkable.

‘I never learned all of the things I am not supposed to do,’ says Carson. ‘I take more of an intuitive, subjective and personal approach (to filmmaking). That’s why it does hit that nerve with people. It does get to that place.’

Carson, who has never been repped in Canada before, is the author of two (soon to be three) graphic design books called The End of Print and 2ndSight. He also speaks on design frequently and conducts workshops, but not necessarily to teach people to do what he does.

‘I try to get them to personalize their work,’ he says. ‘I hope to teach them to open up to who they really are. If you’re a funny person, there should be humor in your work. If you are from a certain part of the world or of a certain culture, I think there should be a lot of that – that is who you are as a person.’ It was on one of his speaking occasions at the last Broadcast Designers Association conference in San Francisco where Carson was approached by Spin president Connie Dercho.

‘Hearing him speak, I was really intrigued and had a notion of having him tied in to our productions,’ says Dercho. ‘I had the notion in my head and then after hearing David speak and [seeing his] work, I approached him after the conference.’

Carson says that one of his favorite spots to make was the 30-second ad he directed for rock band Nine Inch Nails, which first aired on the 1999 mtv Video Music Awards.