FORWARD THINKING
AI Shopping — Finally, Digital Discovery?
AI shopping is here — and it changes everything about how people discover and buy. With ChatGPT now handling the full journey inside the chat window, digital retail finally gets...
The Cost of Contempt: How Adobe’s made room for Canva and Figma
After decades of monopoly, Adobe’s Creative Cloud empire is under threat. Canva and Figma aren’t just building better tools—they’re building better relationships. This is the story of how customer contempt...
Living Heritage: How to Modernise Nostalgia Without Getting Stuck in the Past
Every few months, another beloved brand "modernises"—and forgets that heritage isn't a problem to solve. It's an unfair advantage waiting to be re-energised. When done with care. Learn why protecting...
Ad Age: Pizza Hut’s new logo—what designers like (and don’t like) about the refresh
While Pizza Hut fiddles with typography, Domino's owns digital ordering, Papa John's owns quality, and local pizzerias own craft. Each competitor has clear intent driving every decision. Pizza Hut has...
Crocs: the $4 Billion Strategy of Ugliness
Crocs were mocked as the world's ugliest shoe and ranked alongside asbestos as one of TIME's worst inventions. Instead of redesigning, they doubled down on what made them different. The...
The Founder Advantage: Why 2% Brands Are Stealing 39% of Growth
Brands with less than 2% market share captured 39% of all incremental category growth in 2024. Up from 17% in 2023 and just 6% in 2022, according to Bain's research...
Sriracha: When Category Creation Becomes Competitive Suicide
David Tran built an empire on authenticity and product obsession. But when sriracha shortages hit, shoppers like my wife grabbed any red bottle with a green cap. That’s the danger...
Starburst — A Joyful Redesign That’s Perfectly Squarish
For Starburst, authentic brand truth was hiding in plain sight—those perfect squares fans instinctively stack, mix, and reimagine into personal flavour combinations. We watched people turn candy into self-expression. That...
The Accidental Consumer Brand That Needs Intentional Love
ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer brand by accident. Now OpenAI must make intentional brand decisions to protect love and trust....
