Preflight Creative

05/06/2026

Please stop judging your packaging in isolation.

Instead go and pop it on shelf next to your actual competition and see if it can hold its own. That is the real test. No need to feel daft doing this, I do it all the time 😅

You’ll feel a lot more daft committing to a solution that doesn’t sell believe me.

If it can’t grab attention in the space you’re going to sell in then it’s not ready yet.

If straight talking tips is what you’re after you’ll find more detailed and insightful (hopefully) nuggets of gold in my weekly shelf talker email.

Link is in bio if you want in, or head to www.preflightcreative.co.nz

02/06/2026

Think you need to be based in New Zealand for us to work together? Absolutely not. I've got all the tools to make working with overseas clients a breeze.

Time Zones be damned, there's no need to have crazy meeting times so we can cross over. It's all quite achievable.

I recently worked with Moso Natural based out of America on who were bringing an external brand they had purchased into their fold and redesigning the existing packaging to realign with their brand.

Here's what Julie had to say about our recent work together 👇

25/05/2026

These 3 minutes of hard truths are to save you 3 months of headaches believe me.

Your first product isn’t just a new product. It’s the serves as the cornerstone for your next 5 products.

Many treat it like a one-off design job which is a mistake, because what happens when opportunity knocks faster than you think?

Do it once, do it right. Say yes to opportunity baby and hit me up if you want it done right. Links are in bio 🥳

21/05/2026

Got back from my trip to Brisbane for Magic round in the early hours of Tuesday.

Second year in a row I've made the trip over and it did not disappoint with a full takeover of Caxton Street, the poor broncos fans didn't know where the heck to go but the ribbing was all in good jest. They sold $500k of merch in just a few days, didn't get my coin though, not because I didn't want to give it, the line was about 200 deep to get into the merch store and never got shorter!

Anyway I've dived right into the wahs brand building to analyse just how they turned this brand around from almost financially failing multiple times in the early 2000s to their resurgence from 2022 onwards.

Ultimately the wahs don't sell footy, they sell a sense of belonging and that right there is the creme de la creme.

If you're sitting here wondering how on earth does this apply to my brand? Well best you give it a read, because there are many methods they've used that can give you insights to building your brand and grow brand loyalty.

Link in comments to the full blog ✌️

13/05/2026

I’m diving into brand building on my shelf talker list and breaking down what the do so well to inspire the loyalty of legions of fans and the tidbits you can take when building your own.

The all blacks may have history but the wahs have all the momentum in terms of brand power and I’m going to break it down in an easy 3 min read and then expand on it in a more extensive blog post coming next week.

Head to the website and sign up to the shelf talker list and you’ll be first to read it!

06/05/2026

Brand design systems, they’re not that complicated to implement if considered and created from the word go.

They’re crucial to ensuring your brand can scale at speed and build that all important trust and authority as you go.

05/05/2026

Better late than never 🤭
The breakdown you were secretly all waiting for eh? And I reveal my favourite of the bunch!

Last years are shown at the end if you want to see those and how they compare to this years range.

01/05/2026

Such an honour to be featured on World Brand Design ☺️

Which Anzac product have you grabbed? The tins are always a winner. The propoganda cartoon one is my favourite of the lot

RSA Anzac Limited Edition Collection 2026 The RSA Anzac Range is a limited-edition collection of metal tins, a plastic bucket, and an exclusive packet design for The Warehouse created to raise funds for the Royal New Zealand RSA. A portion of every sale goes directly to the RSA, with the range distr...

23/04/2026

There’s a tax nobody warned you about when you started your business.
It’s not GST. It’s not your cost of goods blowing out.
It’s the cost of looking like everyone else on shelf.
You went with the rinse and repeat cookie cutter logo and the canva packaging. It looks fine and that’s actually the problem.

Fine doesn’t get ranged. Fine doesn’t get picked up. Fine sits there quietly bleeding you dry while the brand next to you, you know the one with the worse product walks out the door under someone arm.

In this economy every dollar has to work. Your packaging is either earning its keep or it really isn’t, there is no inbetween.

If you want to actually pick a fight with your competition you know where to find me - links in bio folks

15/04/2026

Most designers will tell you they do beauty and skincare packaging.

Few of them have actually helped get a product onto a pharmacy counter. Far too many designers are selling an aesthetic portfolio dressed up as packaging experience and then know nothing about compliance (or that there might even be any 🫣).

The packaging has to work harder, and it has to get it right first time. No chance of a do-over.

Sticky Lift is a NZ-made product sitting proudly in Life Pharmacy counters across the North Island. Getting it there meant nailing the product & display unit and the shelf presence. All at once. No second chances.

If you're launching into health or beauty retail, your packaging will either open a door or slam it in your face. I can tell you which before it costs you a production run.