Rise lab #SpeakSessions proudly hosted its first masterclass live from our Dunshaughlin Hub on 23^rd February.

The masterclass was hosted by our EXPERT John Fitzgerald; the Founder of Pixel Ink with 20+ years’ experience in the design industry.

Pixel Ink is an agency that was set up in 2011 with the sole purpose of providing branding and packaging design solutions to food manufacturers, produce suppliers and supermarkets to help them realise the commercial ambitions of their products. They look after everything that’s involved with launching your product – “From sketch to shelf!”

This Masterclass took us on a deep dive into the role of branding and packaging design in helping Food & Beverage companies realise the commercial ambitions of their products. Understanding the importance of the ‘Creative Brief’ – its structure, content, and implementation in the design process.

Before Pixel Ink, John had worked in design consultancies that focused on FMCG specifically for Food & Beverage companies where he was Account Director and he also fulfilled roles in Design & Project management.

We were taken on a journey so we could have a clear understanding of each of the below five areas.

1. What branding is and the role it’s strategy plays.
2. The importance of the creative brief and it’s key components.
3. How words are translated into design elements which are then used in the development of packaging design (amongst other customer touchpoints). 
4. What the packaging design development process is.
5. How to define design value and ‘Return Of Investment’ (ROI).

The masterclass was crafted by a true professional whose knowledge and passion for what he does came shining through. The knowledge imparted to the room was amazing and sparked some interesting side conversations. The deeper understanding into brand and strategy left quite a few with a lot to think about when they left the masterclass yesterday.

For me my key insights were that a brand may have been assumed to be a logo or a mechanism for selling a product. It soon became a personality, a purpose, strategy, with a meaning and a clearly defined consumer.  It wasn’t just left on the shelves at a supermarket to do its thing. That alone is a product with a brand. It a living thing that needs to be nurtured and developed. I found those insights powerful and the link between customer and service provider was very clear.

Thank you to all who made it to the masterclass, I hope that you enjoyed all the insights and to John many thanks for your time, and passion. It was infectious and much appreciated for all the team in Meath Enterprise.

By Helena Hughes