Well here we go..Tim Horton's is the news again...but not for positive reasons. After being taken over by Brazilian conglomerate 3G Capital the iconic Canadian brand has been plagued by a consecutive string of terrible management decisions. This is a link to the article that discusses Tim Horton's challenges. The steady demise of a Canadian icon

John Miziolek is a branding and marketing expert from Reset Branding, a strategic branding and design firm in Toronto. John is also a co-founder of The D Event.

Recently, John Miziolek, of Reset Branding was interviewed by National Post writer Hollie Shaw about Tim Horton's brand issues. You can find the full article here. Basically, Tim Horton's has been attacked in the media and by employee's and franchisees over pay, benefits and operation costs. In the opinion of brand expert John Miziolek, the situation has not been handled well by the iconic Canadian brand and is risking a delicate attachment Canadian's have with Tim Horton's. Read more here.

General Mills recently lost a court battle over trademark rights. They were trying to trademark their famous yellow box but the court decided that too many other cereal boxes also use yellow and consumers are used to seeing that color. The loss will likely not affect sales of Cheerio's but it raises an interesting dilemma for brands. How can we protect the visual identity of our brand? Is the market over saturated with brands and products?....of course, but this case highlights the need for innovative ideas in the CPG space to help differentiate brands and provide insulation from trademark infringement. Not an easy task, but one that needs to done.

If you'd like to read the whole article you can find it here.

Copyright for imagery belong to Adweek.

This is a brilliant example of cross promotion and utilizing technology to build consumer experience. Tostitos teamed up with Uber and with the help of their agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, created an interactive chip bag that will actually tell you whether or not you're too drunk to drive. If you are, you can scan the UPC code of the bag into your Uber app and get $10 off your ride. The goal is to get 25,000 cars off the road during the Superbowl and ensure everyone gets home safe. A truly great example of technology, branding and cause marketing.

Check out the post on The Dieline here.

*We do not own the copyright to the image, we are only sharing it.

I have been a designer for more than 20 years and in that time I have had the pleasure of working with several different types of clients. One of the most interesting types, from my perspective, is the client that cannot visualize ideas. Often, my team and I sit in meetings where we discuss ideas, even scratching out rough drawings on any piece of available paper....or a handy napkin. The client sits and waits for this collaboration to subside and then simply states "I can't see it". This post is about "Visualization", a term being used in the design industry right now to describe the rapid development of visual ideas that look so real, not even the client can tell the difference. Check out a great article from The Dieline here.

Whatever it takes to help the team and your clients visualize the solution you're proposing is well worth the time, money and effort spent.

(image is from the story posted on The Dieline, we do not claim any ownership rights)

We're proud to present this great post from The Dieline.com. These are some wonderful examples of packaging concept work that would really create some excitement on the shelf. So, why can't concepts like this make it to the stores? Usually, clients are excited about this type of work but also scared of the risk associated with design that obviously pushes the envelope of mediocre acceptability. Luckily we have forums like this to feature such outstanding thinking in the design industry! Click here to see the full slideshow.

John Miziolek, from Reset Branding, and host of Design Masters Canada, recently had the opportunity to interview David Usher on location in Montreal. David is the lead singer of the rock band Moist, has sold more than 1.4 million albums worldwide, sung in 3 different languages, and has a best-selling book called "Let The Elephants Run". In 2015 I met David at a Canadian Marketing Association event where we were both giving keynote speeches. If you ever have the chance to see David's speech, I would highly recommend it.

John talks with David about some very interesting topics like the environment and David's passion for climate change, his new book and of course music.

Tune in to the most recent episode of DMC!

John is also the co-founder of The D Event, a high-level design think tank with the mandate to elevate the practice of design as a strategic business tool.

Design student Marina Volodina who attends Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry has designed a beautifully simple concept for LED lightbulbs. Her concept can be found on the website called Packaging of the World. You can see more of her work by clicking here.

Marina explains her concept "The range consists of E14 and E27 screw bases and 5 bulb shapes which are clearly visible through the transparent packaging that helps immediately understand what type of a LED bulb you need. The packages are coded with 3 colours depending on color temperature in Kelvin: white packaging colour is for natural light, yellow colour is for warm light and the blue one is for cold light. Also the typography on the front side of the packaging supports the idea of transparancy and includes the short main information about the LED bulbs: a LED type, color temperature, a screw base and watts. On the reverse side all the technical characteristics are written in detail."

 John Miziolek, from Reset Branding says "This concept is a wonderful use of materials that really adds some visual interest to a commoditized category. It simplifies consumer choice and provides clarity for sku differentiation."

John is also the host of Design Masters Canada, an iTunes featured podcast that focuses on the best design and branding talent across North America.

John Miziolek, from Reset Branding and Cofounder of The D Event, is proud to present this wonderful example of packaging from a design student in Italy. The student's name is Kristina Nikaj and you can find more images from her interesting design here. 

The key to Kristina's wonderful packaging is how she incorporated a very unique structural design that you wouldn't typically see on a pasta package, including color schemes that suggest a premium modernity. Great work Kristina!

John Miziolek is the host of Design Masters Canada, a free podcast featured on iTunes that features the top branding, marketing and advertising talent from across North America.

This week's feature comes to us from The Dieline and is inspired by Hallowe'en, which is just around the corner. All of the designs are inspired by black; the dark, mysterious colour that elicits such interesting emotional responses from consumers. My favorite from this group is blk. water. Take a look at the photos and see what happens as the water decreases in the bottle...brilliant! A great example of using the actual product to build a design story.

This post was developed by John Miziolek, an award-winning branding expert and highly sought-after resource for the media. John is also the host of the iTunes listed podcast Design Masters Canada, and founder of The D Event, a high-level design think tank event for the CPG industry.