PRESIDENT/HEAD OF STRATEGY, RETAIL VOODOO, SEATTLE WA
David Lemley is a seasoned brand strategist, creative marketer, and design practitioner who leads Retail Voodoo, a U.S.-based brand strategy firm that specializes in food, beverage, wellness, and fitness. He has experience in creating, growing, and evolving brands across consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories, such as water, snacks, soda, ice cream, supplements, and seafood.
Lemley is passionate about helping brands connect with their consumers and deliver meaningful innovation that drives bottom-line growth. He has a proven track record of restoring growth to declining brands, developing new brands, and accelerating growth on established brands.
He has worked with leading CPG companies, such as Pepsico, P&G, KIND, REI, and Walmart, as well as emerging and challenger brands, such as Essentia Water, HighKey, Derma E, and Sahale Snacks. He is also a published author and speaker who shares his insights and expertise on branding, packaging, and marketing.
As we pivot into a post-pandemic era marked by societal challenge and change, are you optimistic about the future of Graphic Design in supporting and shaping 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 am optimistic about the future of graphic design because it is always about solving problems. There will continue to be no shortage of them in our world. The challenge: the role of design is changing. Simultaneously more commoditized and more important than ever.. The opportunity: design professionals who want to make an impact can attack how the role of designer is changing as though it were a juicy design challenge. I feel this way because that is what I see happening in our world at Retail Voodoo. The Curious get stronger and smarter (and blow up categories), the Complacent end up making a lot of pretty stuff that the world may never see.
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?
The importance of package design in our commerce driven society cannot be underestimated. It is here to stay, even if forms changes, channels dissolve and AI becomes part of the team. Packaging is often the only brand interaction a prospective customer has with a brand. It has to work hard to break through the clutter. As far as trends, it is our policy to avoid them like yesterday’s sushi. Which is way harder than it sounds.
