Make room for doodling.

Extracting the desires, likes, and dislikes from a client is sometimes best done on a hundred bits of paper—in a room with an assortment of colorful Sharpies and a delightful plate of charcuterie. We had three hours to workshop mood boards and ambient brand visuals to pinpoint the feeling of Side Delights and its potato offerings before getting into hardworking packaging executions.

Our collaboration involved candidly X-ing out ideas that felt “off” to make room for what raised eyebrows (and digging—no pun intended—to the bottom of why). It’s an effort we will never forget—crucial to supporting our client when market research simply wasn’t enough.

Making it work in the real world.

After establishing ambient visuals, our focus shifted to practicality and flexibility in production. How could we create a packaging design system that seamlessly accommodated various potato varieties, sizes, and weights without sacrificing brand consistency? This required rigorous stress-testing and the development of a highly adaptable design framework.

We utilized a robustly versatile typeface and color palette that could accommodate multiple potato types—both in the difference in word count and product description. We also devised a scalable layout system for solid adaptation across packaging sizes and formats. By stress-testing our design approach at each feedback round, we ensured that the packaging could accommodate future product expansion and changes in market demand.

Potatoes are fun.

The end result appears simple, albeit getting there was anything but. We took a vibrant color scheme, a playful peekaboo polybag concept, and some seriously stylized photography to transform Side Delights potatoes from a seemingly staple grocery item to a must-have on the shelf. It's all about making that instant "gotta have it" connection with consumers.