DESIGN LEAD, HELLO PRODUCTS, MONTCLAIR NJ
Denise Delany is focused on creating a distinctive brand world with a unique vibe and clever moments of magic sprinkled throughout. The magic happens alongside a brilliant group of curious and friendly team members spanning each category of the hello brand who seek to elevate the everyday in oral and personal care routines. As the new kid on the block at Colgate-Palmolive, hello is in the midst of exciting growth and change. Inspired by the abundant energy, close collaboration and the entrepreneurial spirit of the team, Denise is excited to continue transforming the brand in sophisticated and unexpected ways.
Her love of crafting compelling brand stories through innovative packaging design for some of the world’s top beauty, food and beverage brands spans 20+ years. From cereal box redesigns to custom fragrance bottles, Denise has consistently led with a clean, modern aesthetic and true passion for bringing brands to life. Prior to joining hello, she spent 12 years with Bath & Body Works, where she drove thoughtful, strategic design across the brand’s largest body care portfolio, including many iconic fragrances such as Japanese Cherry Blossom. As a team leader, Denise imagined countless new fragrance launches and oversaw the redesign of the entire Signature Collection, including new structure and visual identity.
She is constantly in search of new ways to approach design, always inspired by the world around her and truly committed to making a brand shine.
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?
Absolutely. Design influences and informs everything around us. It has the ability to teach us through clear, concise messaging, it can capture our attention with bold, unexpected mashups and it can simply make us smile with a witty graphic or a clever design wink. The power of design is truly endless. At hello, our passion for the brand is a constant source of inspiration and drives us to be curious, brave, and bold in our decisions. It is truly a pleasure to go to work each day to see what we can dream up next.
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?
Brand and packaging design are truly my first love. It has always been fascinating to me that a brand’s essence and personality can be conveyed through one single package. That one package has the power to stop a consumer in their tracks, invite them to pick it up and begin a journey with a new brand, simply by a vivid color choice, a unique pattern, a fun name or even a clean, simple and sophisticated tube like hello. I strive not only to deliver a memorable package design, but also create moments of magic by adding some yay into the everyday, which is needed now more than ever in these hazy post pandemic times.
