Iya, I’m Daniel (Not Dan and defo not Danny)

A 30-year-old, Manchester-born design agency founder. 

I started Noramble because I was frustrated seeing so many brands looking, talking, and feeling the same. Decision-making when shopping for a product becomes impossible and a chore, resulting in chasing the lowest price or the best deal.

At Noramble, we refuse to add more noise to the sea of sameness. Over the years, we have crafted a process to help brands rebel against their category and grow through proper differentiation that gives consumers a reason to give a crap.

Daniel Poll

On a shelf full of bottles. Be a big f***ing tube.

The haircare shelves are stacked with the same old, same old:
- Generic bottles
- Bold colours
- Scent-focused claims

Yawn. A shelf like this tends to become a price war because everything looks and sounds the same.

Unless you're brand loyal. Which newsflash, most shoppers aren't these days.

The answer? Throw them category cliches out the window and put your product in a HUGE tube.

being haircare stopped me RIGHT in my tracks with this exact strategy.
- Different packaging format
- Typographic creative direction
- Functional-focused claims

It spoke to me. It excited me. I took it to the till.
And I wasn't even shopping for haircare.

Bravo being!

Founder @ Noramble | Brand + Packaging design that rebels against category cliches

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Packaging design fail? 🫠

Now, I love M&S.

But I saw this in their store the other day, and it bamboozled me.

There are three fundamental goals of packaging design:
- What is it?
- Who is it for?
- Why should they care?

This answers NONE of the above.

I had zero idea what it was. Who it was for. Or why I should care.
Is it skincare? Is it make-up? Is it some new protein product?!

It also lacked context because it was outside the fitting rooms.

I ended up doing a Google search to actually find out what it was.

Like I said, I LOVE M&S.
They're smashing it at the moment.

Feels like everything they touch turns to gold.

Not this, though. Soz.

Any guesses as to what it is?

Here's a 101 on how to create DISTINCT packaging from Esplosivo.

Most chilli sauce brands come in:
- Glass jars
- Bold labels
- Chilli graphics

Which is farmilair right? That's what consumers would look for on the shelf.

So, how would a brand ditch the cliches to stand out?

Simple. By reframing it.

Esplosivo still use a glass jar and chilli graphics, but they've framed it within a paper wrapper to look like a bomb.

Why does it work?
- It's still familiar
- It distinctive
- It looks more premium compared to its competitors
- It's memorable
- It looks fu*king mega

I sadly didn't buy it becuase it looked like it would burn through my jugular.

But it stopped a consumer in my tracks, and that's 80% of the battle in stores these days.

🔥 NEW WORK 🔥

A clean look for a new edible gummy range

10X ATHLETIC X Noramble

With a new product range of edible gummies, 10X Athletic reached out to us to help create packaging that set it apart from their current brand and helped create a more premium position in the category.

We created a clean visual with crisp typography and bold colours. We featured the brand's big 'X' icon in the background to lean into the brand's equity. Whilst also utilising bold colours to signal the flavour profile of the gummy products.

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⚡️ We design branding and packaging that goes big when everyone goes home | Founder @ Noramble

I started Noramble on the frustration of seeing so many brands and looking, talking and feeling the same. Decision-making when shopping for a product becomes impossible and a chore.

The team and I refuse to make more noise in the sea of sameness. Over the years, we have crafted a process to help brands find their zag and amplify, defend and grow their business.

We've worked with numerous brands from around the globe of all shapes and sizes to do just that.

We refuse to add more noise to the world without reason. So, we take brands through our Zag framework. It's that one element within your business that genuinely sets you apart. It's ownable. It's intangible. It's defendable. It's radical. It's laser-focused. And it's the thing that once we find it, we amplify it within your brand to make your brand magnetic.

What We Do - Noramble

We're Noramble, a brand and packaging design studio helping brands find their zag when everyone zigs. Since 2020, we've worked with clients of all sizes from all corners of the globe who stand for something bigger and refuse to blend into the sea of sameness.

Who We Are - Noramble

Noramble is a brand and packaging design agency in Manchester that helps brands zag when everyone zigs.

Noramble Website

10X ATHLETIC

Noramble

D2C packaging should be a brand experience. Not a sales tool.

One thing that brands seem to get wrong is treating D2C packaging like a sales tool:

Artwork full of benefits
Features
Marketing messages

But, newsflash. The end user has already bought, the job now is to keep them coming back and get excited to open what they've bought.

Something that Purdy & Figg do really well.

On-brand and clean artwork
Organised internal structure
Consise 'How to' graphics
User-friendly product placements

They just get it!

Easy. Simple. Enhancing my experience.

Not trying to ram marketing down my throat.

Lovely.

People love to say the market is “oversaturated.”

It’s a handy excuse.

But markets only feel crowded when you play by the same rules as everyone else.

They all follow the same category cues.
They all look the same.
They all feel and sound the same.
They all offer the same thing.
They get locked into price wars.

The boldest brands in even the most crowded sectors don’t chase the category clichés.
They pick a fight.
They plant their flag.
And they make people choose sides.

Think Graza. Think Surreal Cereal. Think Oatly.

Brave brands stand out because strategy beats “sameness” every time.

You’d be amazed at how much room there is at the top for anyone willing to stick their neck out.

One of our favourite projects of last year tbf

PickandMix.com X Noramble

Pick&Mix approached us to help with their next phase of growth by creating a new bag design for their brand to establish them as the market leader in this category.

We created a completely unique bag for the brand, featuring a split colour block in their brand colours to create a bold and impactful visual that looked good both on screen, on social media, and in the hands of their customers.
We gave their back of pack the same treatment by creating a nice hierarchy that was not only easy to read and consume, but also visually appealing to help grow the brand's customer retention rate.

My goal is to build a business so good that when people leave said business, 


they put "Ex-[brand name]" in their headline 🤝

We launched our new website about 3-months ago. Here's how it's going 👇

We started working on the new Noramble website with MadeByShape about 6-months ago for various reasons:

- To position us better as a studio
- To attract the right sort of clients to us
- To communicate our value better

It finally launched at the start of October 2024, and it's been mega.

Feedback from current and past clients, and even from people within our industry, has been mint.

On average, since the new website launched, we've had;

- Had a 9% increase in enquiries
- We converted 60% more of the enquiries we had
- 7% increase in revenue YTD

They're not HUGE numbers, but it's pushing us forward, and it's very exciting to see after only a short amount of time.

I think it's important to talk about the honest numbers behind a business; people are so quick to sugarcoat things on social media.

'Appeh Friday. One from the archives.

Cane X Noramble

Cane is a new entrant to the toothbrush market. The brand saw a gap in the market and offered a new sustainable toothbrush for the eco-conscious consumer.

We did away with the typical market cues to help cut through the noise. We paired a bold typeface with a brash colour palette; we put the product centre stage on the packaging with a simple illustration to help communicate the product from the outset.

Not sure about anyone else, but I actually can't be productive without music 🎧

LinkedIn gurus will tell you that to be productive, you need to:
👉 Wake up at 4:00
👉 Drink blended kale
👉 Be in the gym 27hrs a day

I do NONE of the above and yet maintain rather high productivity levels.

My secret? Music.

Get me a good playlist and a pair of sick headphones, and I'm a productive animal.

That's literally it.

'Appy Friday.

P.S. My preference is a Whitney Houston playlist. Old but gold.

Cheers January. It's been mega. It's been a whirlwind.

Not sure how it's already February, but we had a smashing start to the year.
- Had 16 new enquiries
- Onboarded 5 new projects
- 2 new projects started with current clients
- Sent 14 new proposals
- Drank loads of Earl Grey tea

It's times like these, where you see the hard work pay off.

The sweat, blood, tears and sleepless nights become worth it.

Cheers January 🥂

My first design role almost ended my career before it had even begun

Fresh from graduation, eager to realise my dream of becoming a packaging designer.

I found myself stepping into my first job as a junior packaging designer at a cosmetics company.

The pay was crap, but my excitement was through the roof - I'd finally made my way into the industry.

Fast forward three months...
“𝙄 𝙛*𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩"

I quit my dream job for one reason.

𝗠𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼

The lessons:
👉 Work where you're appreciated. It's a non-negotiable
👉 If it doesn't bring joy, f*cking change it.
👉 Love what you do or re-evaluate.

I got my happily ever after by founding my own packaging design studio.

P.S. I was blessed with some mega tea-making abilities tbf. So, if anyone fancies a cup of Earl Grey, I'm ya' man!

Last year, we had a cash flow issue. Even though we had £40,000 in our pipeline.

I'm always open when things don't go quite right for us at Noramble
This is no different.

Around April last year, on paper, we were flying.
- Landing new projects
- Loads of enquiries
- Producing some mint work

But, we had major cash flow issues becuase we worked on a 50/50 basis with our clients. 50% upfront and 50% before final delivery.

This felt normal for the industry, but when a project takes 3-6 months, the cash flow takes a beating.

Which meant we were always chasing the next client. Also not ideal.

After some digging, I found that we had around £40,000 in our pipeline that we couldn't actually invoice for yet because the projects were still ongoing.

So, in May, we switched it up. For any new project we onboarded, it followed a new invoice schedule:
- 50% upfront
- 25% on concept sign-off
- 25% on final delivery

Honestly? It was a win-win.
- Our cash flow transformed overnight
- We had a new, clear sign-off for clients
- Clients had smaller invoices that actually helped with their own cash flow.

Thinking back, I can't believe how simple the change was, and the impact it had.

Sometimes, the smallest changes have the biggest impact. Fact.

If you’ve ever looked back at a job and realised it shaped who you are, you’ll get this.

Back in 2015, when I was at Uni, I used to work for Apple in the Trafford Centre.

I'm not gonna lie, it funded my vodka-fueled nights out mostly, but it was mega:
👉 Class pay (for my age at the time)
👉 Fab discounts on the products
👉 Great team

However, there was ONE thing I was taught, and I still do it today, over 10 years later.

“𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.”

That’s it.
8 words, drilled into us from day one.
If you didn’t know the answer to a question, you didn’t bluff.
You didn’t waffle.
You said it straight.

When I started my business, I was always told to 'fake it till you make it':
If a client asked me something
👉 Make something up
If you don't understand what the client is on about
👉 Pretend you know and figure it out later

It was advice I chose not to listen to, becuase that's not me. I'm naive and curious.

If a client asks me something I haven’t got a clue about, I say the same thing I said in that shop a decade ago.
“I’m not sure, but let’s find out together.”

If a client talks about their business, and it's something I don't understand?
"Ooo, can you explain this like I'm a five-year-old?"

Pretending to have all the answers is overrated.
Being honest builds more trust than any BS ever could.
Clients respect you more for admitting what you don’t know—and digging in to learn with them.

So cheers Apple. Not only for funding my wild uni nights but for changing my mindset for the better.

I think balancing branding and selling on packaging is something most packaging gets wrong.

Your packaging has a big job on its hands:
- It's seen by 100% of your customers.
- It runs 24/7, 365 days a year.
- It creates millions of impressions a week.

It's got to communicate swiftly:
- What is it? [𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴]
- Why should I care? [𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴]
- Why should I trust it? [𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱]
- Why is this over a competitor? [𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱]
- Who is this for? [𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴]

As you can see, your packaging is a balance between brand and selling.

With both having different jobs.

Selling is all about clarity and persuasion:
- Eye-catching product images
- Clear benefits and features
- Key details like colour or flavour

Branding is the trust builder:
- Memorable logos
- Catchy taglines
- Engaging mascots

The balance between these two depends on your brand, how long it's been around, your goals and your category.

Pringles nails this balance.

We all talk about brand consistency, right? But what's more important is brand and product alignment 🤝

I'm a firm believer in product and brand going hand-in-hand.

They can't exist without each other.

Not only can they not exist without each other, but they have to be aligned.

You can't have a luxury feeling brand selling sub-par products.

There's nothing worse than buying a product because the brand and packaging look a certain way.

Only to open it to be met with something completely different.

You end up setting the wrong impression with customers, leaving a bad taste in their mouths.

Your brand perception must be aligned with the products you sell.

Signed,
Consumers everywhere ☺️

At what point do we stop starting emails with "Happy New Year..."?!?!

Asking for a friend.

I'm the friend.

Happy New Year.

We pressed reset on a client project, and charged NOTHING for it.

Last week, we offered to restart a client's project at no cost.

"But Daniel, are you mad? Think about the money you're losing"

The client is in a start-up phase and has encountered some manufacturing issues.

This meant they had to restructure their business and strategy.

- New positioning
- Different products
- New audience

All the packaging and brand design work we’d created?
Out the window and completely irrelevant in one swift turn.

The client was already on a tight budget with looming deadlines.

So we handed them a lifeline.

We offered to start again.
No extra cost.
Zero.
Nada.

That’s not something you’ll find in a “how to run an agency” manual.
But honestly, it just felt right.

It proves that starting a business isn't easy; It’s messy.
It’s unpredictable.

I know what it’s like to have the rug pulled out from under you.

But sometimes it's not about pushing pixels.
It’s to help founders get back on their feet when the universe throws a curveball.

Did we lose money?
Short term, yes.

But you know what.
We gained trust, and that lasts far longer than a project reset fee.

This was the best bit of business advice I ever got 👇

"𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟬 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘀"

I used to be terrified of failure:
👉 I'd never reach out to potential clients
👉 I'd never show my work
👉 I'd never post content

This bit of advice has stuck with me for the past 6 years.

Imagine you knew how many failures you were away from getting your next 'yes' or big break.

How quickly would you start?

How quickly would you try and fail?

It changed my mindset massively, and now I make decisions really quickly and actually see failure as a step closer to the next 'Yes'.

Hi, I’m Justin 👋🏼, Founder of Cool Kids Design Studio.

I help food & beverage CPG founders build shelf-ready brands that actually sell.

Because the truth is:

→ Looking good online doesn’t always translate to the retail shelf
→ Most packaging blends in instead of standing out
→ And when sales are slow, it’s hard to know what’s not working

That’s where we come in.

We work with founders 1:1 to redesign their brand and packaging—so it’s clear, differentiated, and built to perform in retail.

Whether you're trying to land your first wholesale account or improve sales in stores you’re already in, we can help you figure out what’s missing—and fix it.

Not sure if your brand is ready?

Start with our free Retail-Ready Brand Checklist—DM me “checklist” and I’ll send it your way.

→ Want to work together? Book a call through my profile.

P.S. I share weekly tips on branding, packaging, and retail readiness. Hit follow so you don’t miss them.


👉Want to connect?
——————————————————————————
📧 Email: justin@coolkids.studio
💻 Visit: www.coolkids.studio
📍 Based in San Francisco, working with brands across the U.S.

Justin Uyemura

I took December off.


Not from life, but from posting on social media. 

I'll admit, sometimes (most of the time?) it feels like a chore. 

Chores to me are things you have to do but absolutely dread doing.

And when it starts to feel like that you start to make any and every excuse possible not to do it.

In all honesty I like posting things here and sharing my professional and personal experiences.

So what did I do while I was staying away?

I went to Disneyland.

I went on a cruise.

I celebrated my birthday (yes, I'm a December baby and all my life people have been 'combining' my bday with Xmas).

I went up to Lake Tahoe.

And I celebrated New Years Japanese (American) style.

Now I'm back.

Not that you missed me or even noticed I was gone.

2026 is going to be about consistency for me.

That's not a 'New Years Resolution'. 

If it was, you wouldn't see any more posts from me after January.

Justin Akira Uyemura

Brand & Packaging Design for emerging CPG Food & Beverage | Turning great products into shelf-ready brands | You’ve built something great — now let’s package it for the world | Ready to scale? Let’s connect

Cool Kids Design Studio works with CPG founders in the food and beverage industry.


But that doesn't mean we NEVER take on projects outside of that.

In fact, we do.

Not often, but if the project is right, if it fits our mission, if we're excited about what the brand can bring to the world, we love taking on projects in other industries.

This is Flagstick. They're a golf performance analytics platform designed for passionate golfers—both competitive junior athletes and serious hobbyists—who want to improve their game through data-driven insights.

Work

I'm going to be honest with you: No one really wants your product.


Sorry. That was a little harsh. I'm sure your product is delicious, healthy, full of pronounceable ingredients.

But do you think that's why customers buy it?

No.

They want the outcome your product gives them.

The feeling. The transformation. The solution to a problem.

You’re not selling a bottle of wine.

You’re selling connection, celebration, a moment to unwind after a long week.

You’re not selling an energy bar.

You’re selling the fuel behind that championship moment—when the team storms the field, trophy in hand, and everything they trained for pays off.

Your product is just the tool. The gateway.

So don’t just stop at selling your product.

Sell what your product makes possible.

What would you rather buy?

In my last post I talked about the most important information on packaging.


And not only what they are but in what order to communicate them.

Let's take a look at a real life example we did here at Cool Kids.

This is a photo of packaging we did last year for a hot sauce brand.

A little context:

Rooster & Rice is a fast casual dining concept based in the San Francisco Bay Area. They serve several Thai chicken concepts including Khao Mun Gai (chicken & rice).

Their homemade hot sauces have gotten so popular that they decided to bottle it.

In designing their labels it was important to note that Rooster & Rice is new to CPG.

Shoppers don't know who they are yet.

Their logo means very little at this point.

So we followed the What > Why > Who format.

Shopper: Where are the hot sauces?
What: Habanero Hot Sauce

Shopper: Ooh, Habanero hot sauce thats spicy and tangy. AND it has all natural ingredients.
Why: All Natural, Slightly Spicy, Super Tangy

Shopper: Who makes this?
Who: Rooster & Rice

Dr Brown's soda cost me and extra 20 minutes and an extra $3.00.


I walked into the grocery store wanting a root beer.

Like usual these days there were tons of options.

When it comes to root beer I'n not into the new fangled options.

I just like the good ol' brands.

They had the usual suspects: Mug, Dad's, and of course - Dr Brown's.

I grabbed a Dr Brown's, paid for it and headed back to my car and drove home.

When I got home I realized that I grabbed a cream soda by mistake (f*********k meeeeee!)

Not that I don't like cream soda. I do. But I was craving a root beer.

So, what had I done back at the point of decision-making?



I used color to identify a flavor.



I didn't take the time to read the label because 1) I'm lazy 2) Dr Brown's is a legacy brand that I'm fairly familiar with so I didn't need to read the label (or did I?).

There were two errors I think that were made (three if you count my not reading the label):

1) Dr Brown's uses two colors that are too similar to each other (and not only that, shouldn't root beer be the darker brown??)
2) The similar color weren't place next to each other

Like myself, sometimes customers try to expedite decision-making by using color to identify certain things.

By using colors that are too similar, buying the wrong SKU is seemingly inevitable.

And had the two similar-colored cans been placed next to each other, it would've forced me to investigate further and read the label.

Ultimately I have only myself to blame.

But this, I thought was a good lesson in buyer habits and design choices.

Have you ever bought the wrong thing by basing your choice on something other than label copy? Put your tail between your legs like me and let me know what it was you mistakenly bought and why! 💬 ⬇️ 



P.S. I still can't believe root beer is in the lighter brown can. Shouldn't something with cream in it be lighter?

You already know about the three things.


The three things you have to communicate to shoppers in that famous 5 second window that you have to capture their attention and capture their hearts.

Who. What. Why.

Who you are, what you're selling and why it should matter to them.

But there's one thing that most brand designers, strategists, managers and everyone else fail to mention:

The order matters.

I'm referring to the order in which they see the three things.

Why?

Because it depends on who you're talking to. 

And it depends on how well-known you are in a particular category.

Been selling for years?

Then this is your order: Who > What > Why.

People love your product. They're walking down aisles looking for your logo. 

'Where is (your brand)?' people ask themselves as they walk down the aisle.
'There it is!'.
'I love this stuff.'

New to a category?

Then this is your order: What > Why > Who.

Shoppers don't know who you are so that piece of information is the least important (for now). 

'Where is (your product category)?' people ask themselves as they walk down the aisle.
'Oh, here they are.'
'Hmm, this one looks interesting. It's has no added sugar AND they don't use plastics in their packaging.'
'What brand IS this?'


What order is your packaging communicating?

Picture this...


You have zero empathy. 

Zero compassion. 

You don't care about what people think of you.

You could say anything and just go on with your day ( I actually know some people like this).

I'm gonna be this person for a second.

(just for a second, because it makes me cringe).

Happy Tuesday!

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The Battle

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