The problem with running a packaging agency

It’s December.
My agency, Mind Control, officially launched in February.
And the year has been a blur, the good kind.

I’ve had a weird tension with sharing my own work.
Supergoods was built on analysing other people’s brands, not spotlighting my own.
I think I’m finally starting to realise this imposter syndrome doesn’t serve anyone.
Not the team, not the work, and not the founders who trusted us with their brands.

But the problem with running a packaging agency is that the print world is painfully slow.
You can finish a project and wait 6 months before anyone actually sees it. You do the work, obsess over the details, ship it… and then wait. And wait. And wait.

By the time it finally hits shelves, you’re already buried in the next wave.

So here are five live projects I’m genuinely proud of - the ones that hit shelves, made noise and unlocked something important for the client and for us.

1. ZÜÜM: Packaging Design

Züüm were one of the first real clients to put their trust in us. As a long-time caffeine addict, I’d been watching them from the sidelines before we ever worked together.

The job was simple in theory, difficult in execution:
Make the new product clearly different without losing the brand’s edge.
Sharper, stronger, instantly recognisable at shelf.