CO-FOUNDER/CO-CREATIVE DIRECTOR, BEXBRANDS, SAN DIEGO CA
With a career spanning over 20 years in design and advertising, Becky Nelson Dahl is a force when it comes to the world of food and beverage. After a decade working with top agencies throughout Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego, she started BexBrands with her husband, Jeremy Dahl in 2012. Together, they’ve changed the game when it comes to branding and design, pushing the boundaries of packaging, and celebrating purpose-driven brands throughout the industry.
Inspired by innovation and how to design for change, Bex integrates a whole-team, whole-brand approach in everything they do. From start to finish, strategy permeates a project; inviting designers in to understand the unseen forces that shape a brand. For Bex, it’s about not only creating beautiful visual identity systems and packaging, but solving for that point where form meets function.
Bex’s clients have included: Suja Juice, Once Upon a Farm, Dr. Praeger’s, Chameleon Cold Brew, Back to the Roots, and many more. Their work has won multiple design awards and they are continuously grateful for the enduring nature of the brands they’ve built. Bex is proud to say every project is a passion project.
As we pivot into a post-pandemic era marked by societal challenge and change, are you optimistic about the future of Graphic Design to support and shape commerce, culture and causes? Why do you feel the way you do? Are you optimistic about the future of your own design career or business?
I’m an unashamed optimist so I am, of course, optimistic. However, I do think there are two significant forces we have to consider as we look toward the next 10 years of graphic design. The first is AI, and the second is our post-pandemic social behavior. I definitely don’t think AI will completely take away my job, but I do think it’s going to be used increasingly. At BexBrands, we use it to cut down on tasks that can potentially take a lot of time. It never replaces a real person for us, though. After all, you notice when there isn’t a human touch. In terms of social behavior, it’s changed a lot for all of us since 2020. I think it’s made a lot of people appreciate genuine connection and real-life community. Personally, I think we’re naturally social creatures and that the pendulum is swinging back toward a team-work frame of mind. For us, our best creative work comes from collaboration and that’s exciting.
We are seeing an increased focus on Package Design to advance the brand, tell the story, amplify the experience, forge an emotional connection. Do you agree with this observation and, if so, what advantages does packaging have over other graphic communications?
Trend #1 — Bright colors and “Goopy” type. Somehow this has been applied to everything from oatmeal to chips to kombucha. It just lacks originality and distinctiveness.
Trend #2 — Sustainable Packaging Structures. The cost of more sustainable packaging options is becoming more realistic and suitable for consumer packaged goods. This is a win for everyone.
