Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenn David Connolly.
Hi Jenn , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always been into art since I was a kid, and as soon as I took my first graphic design class in high school, I instantly knew what I wanted to do for my career. Working with type and images, and with a specific objective—I just fell in love with it. I went on to major in studio art with a concentration in graphic design at Connecticut College, with a semester-long, full-time internship at Bergdorf Goodman’s in-house advertising agency in NYC. This well-rounded education made my design work more dynamic, helped me hone other skills for business, and gave me a jumpstart on real-world experience in the graphic design industry.
After working with an advertising agency and then a graphic design studio in Boston, my now-husband and I uprooted and drove a moving truck across the country to San Francisco, where I started to freelance and set up shop as Jenn David Design. I worked couple years with Williams-Sonoma’s in-house brand packaging team, and also partnered with La Tourangelle to design their now-iconic artisan oil packaging for their US launch.
When we left San Francisco to move to Southern California, my portfolio was all high-profile food packaging design. That’s what I became known for, and as my business grew over the years, I built a team and specialized in working exclusively with food and beverage brands.
Twenty-three years after I founded Jenn David Design, we continue to design bold, iconic food brands that achieve outstanding success. It’s fun to see our food packaging design in pretty much every grocery store I go into.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Is starting your own business ever easy?! I’ve learned a lot of things the hard way along the way, like any entrepreneur. I think it’s a necessary part of the process. I learn from every lesson, and figure out how to improve going forward. This has only strengthened my business over the years.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Jenn David Design?
We work exclusively with food and beverage brands, doing everything from brand strategy, brand and product naming, brand identity design, logo design, packaging design, website design and development, and more.
We differentiate food and beverage brands as distinctive leaders in their categories through solid strategy, a curious mind, and exceptional creativity. What also sets us apart is our deep knowledge of the food industry, FDA guidelines, industry trends, and consumer values and desires. We utilize packaging as the product’s most important selling tool—by making it strategic and functional to motivate sales. Our strategic approach informs all the work that we do, to fully differentiate our clients from competitors, create outstanding design, and achieve dramatic results.
Our work routinely helps open doors for our clients—such as expanding their reach into regional or national chains, entry into stores such as Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Sprouts, Sam’s Club, Publix, Whole Foods, etc., and markedly increasing sales.
We work with food and beverage brands from startups to large corporations, for all types of food and beverages, and all types of packaging.
I am incredibly proud of all the work that we do, however some notable partnerships have been La Tourangelle and Vevan:
We established La Tourangelle’s iconic tin can design back in the early 2000s for their US launch, and it became an instant success, retailing in nearly every major national grocery store. After almost 2 decades in market, we subtly evolved the design to keep it fresh for decades to come.
We named Vevan and designed the branding, packaging, and website to be different from the ground up—to represent this revolutionary dairy-free cheese made by artisan cheesemakers. It quickly gained traction and market share, standing out wildly from competitors. After many years in market, we also subtly evolved this design to position it for even more future growth.
Any big plans?
I’m looking forward to helping even more food and beverage brands going forward. Each project and brand we work with is an opportunity to do something amazing, to challenge our design skills to new levels, to create powerful partnerships, and to achieve dramatic results for our clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jenndavid.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenndaviddesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenndaviddesign
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jenn-david-design
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jenndaviddesign
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenndavidconnolly/
Image Credits
Photo of Jenn David Connolly by Salisha Malin / Storybook Photography
