INSPIRE + DELIGHT

Our work involves team alignment, consumer research, audits, strategy, messaging, naming, brand identity, packaging structure and graphics, retail and online presence.

We start with a conversation: We believe in garnering team alignment among the key stakeholders and marrying that with consumer wants and desires.

We then craft your unique POV: With a clear vision of where your brand is and where it’s headed, we create a compelling story and image to inspire and delight your consumer.

Then we bring your brand to life! Using the brand story as the foundation for design, we develop a visual language which connects with and engages your consumer in the form of a distinct, ownable graphic palette. This palette can be used across a broad spectrum of brand touch points.

NATALIE JACOBS

Left-leaning right-brained.

That’s the succinct way of how I’d describe myself. There’s never been a time I haven’t wanted to create something. I was drawing full bodies with toes, eyelashes and even a belly button at 3 1/2 years old. From that point forward, it was pretty obvious I was going to be a creative. Here’s the twist: I ask a LOT of questions. I once had a review which included the note: Natalie asks a lot of why’s and how’s. It might also explain why I love to cook vs. bake—baking is too scientific and exact; cooking lets you play and create with freedom to explore.

It’s in my nature to want to understand every facet of something. The more I understand about a product, service, consumer, client’s needs, the better I feel I can create what makes sense in the context needed. I’ve learned over the years that it’s in my client’s best interest to create things which can serve them well on multiple levels—be it flexibility of identity, working within production parameters, and finding creative ways to solve design problems while taking into account the technical aspects of a project.

DEIRDRE TIGHE REDEL

“Write a list of 100 things you could do with a wire coat hanger”. This was an assignment given to my Communication Design class at Syracuse University over 25 years ago. It was one of my favorite because of how it exposed the commonalities of initial responses and continues to guide how I approach creative projects today. Discovering new ways to look at the problem and challenging myself to find unexpected solutions that still fit within parameters of a project—that is what I love to do! Using this process has provided my clients with a broad range of distinct creative options that also satisfy their brand’s strategic needs. (I’ve been known to create a lot of options, so editing is crucial!)

Platypus Strategic Creative was formed using the expertise Natalie and I gained while working for renowned design agencies in NYC. Since we use a design philosophy rooted in strategy and we’re not focused on a particular style, we are able to develop ideas for broad spectrum of clients that include concept strategies, naming, brand identity and packaging development, as well as complete brand experiences. Collaborating with creative talent from around the country with whom we’ve worked with for over two decades—that’s the icing on the cake!

PETER LEVINE

specializes in working with brand teams and consumers to bring a compelling vision and distinctive brand voice to life. Levine served as Principal, Executive Creative Director and Director of Creative Strategy at Desgrippes Gobé in New York for 21 years where he crafted dynamic positioning and design solutions for brands such as IBM, Godiva, Weight Watchers, Pfizer, Merck, Abercrombie & Fitch, Coca-Cola, Estée Lauder, Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor, Peugeot and the esteemed French newspaper, Le Monde. The cornerstone of Levine’s pioneering work at Desgrippes Gobé centered around unleashing a brand’s powerful emotional connections. He created myriad visualization and innovation techniques aimed at helping brand teams tap into their DNA to refresh their voice and vision and bring new products to market. He was also the Creative Director and Principal of Luxury Brand Forum, a boutique consulting firm specializing in the Luxury category with a focus on brand positioning, design and consumer research. With LBF he crafted strategies for Chase Sapphire Card and the ultra-luxury skincare brand La Prairie. He also served as Chief Creative Officer at the tabletop brand Mikasa where he was responsible for consumer research, brand positioning, product development, packaging and the visualization of all brand communications for specialty retail, wholesale outlets, web and catalogue. Levine holds a B.F.A. in Design from the California Institute of the Arts and an M.F.A. in Design from Yale University.

A&P Foods
Bare Essentials
Bath & Body Works
Blow Hair Dry Salon, NYC
CBI Laboratories
Coca-Cola
Colgate Palmolive
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
ESO Solutions
Esteé Lauder
Eucerin