About me

Thank you for reading my profile.

I'm a brand design specialist with over 30 years experience, creating, re-positioning and extending brands for both corporate legends and smart challengers.

I specialise in packaging because I'm fascinated by its unique role in branding: Simultaneously part of the product as well as a communication medium. This gives it unique power.

My career started in Marketing at Unilever before I switched sides to join a new agency called Design Bridge. After playing a leading role in that agency's development, including 7 years as Founder and Managing Director of the Amsterdam office, I set up Osborne Pike 17 years ago. Usual story - keep it small and add direct value to clients and their projects.

The 3 most important things I've learnt in all those years are these:

1) A brand works by telling a story that consumers want to participate in, because it builds their own personal narrative.

2) Design (for packaged goods read: Packaging design) is the single most powerful source of signals that tell your brain you're in the right story.

3) Don't ask consumers how they make their choices. You'll get a reply from the rational 'System 2' part of the brain, which was barely involved in that decision.

I expand on these points in articles I've posted here (more on Linked In).

The art of branding is to (re-)create the stories and signals, that our brains link with life-saving, comfort-enhancing, mate-finding goals that we carry around in our deepest subconscious.

This calls for insight, analysis and a deeply meaningful creative connection. That's what I, and my company, are here to deliver.

Specialties: Brand design strategy, design consultancy, brand positioning, creative direction, account direction, training and speaking.

Skills

Branding, Packaging, Packaging Design

Sector Experience

Food & Beverages

Clients

AB inbev, Coroos, Danone, Friesland Campina, Lovechock, Lutosa, Mondelez International, Nestlé, Peperami, Wilbers & Wilbers