A while ago I wanted to do packaging for a boutique coffee shop downtown. They were located inside a trendy hotel with a quiet little nook-like vibe. I delved into the world of coffee - furiously researching other types of packaging, the essence of the coffee house, the owners’ story. I even watched a documentary on Peruvian coffee the night before I met with them! Turns out it was a place that attracted writers and trance fans alike, but my preparatory methods were all in vain.

I went to the meeting ready to present them with what I thought was a hip new image for the company coffee and instead disregarded a very important factor: they were also big environmentalists.  Instead of focusing on how eco-friendly the packaging could be, I was looking at the project as a surface design problem. It’s not to say that this mistake was unavoidable… but I thought it was an interesting insight into our own superficial mind set. Immediately we look at the exterior for answers but when it comes to design, it's almost always a problem that has to be solved from the inside out. Analyzing and deconstructing the subtleties of the brand rather than immediately focusing on what the public will see in front of them. Let’s not be so ignorant as to keep interpreting on such a mediocre level, it can make things really uninteresting. Do the grind work and look deeper. The outcome of the work will inevitably be more gratifying and you will constantly be challenged. I didn’t get the job. Alas, live and learn.