Becoming a Special Projects Agency

During Capsule’s early evolution, design was experiencing a tsunami of relevance not experienced since the mid-century modern era of furniture, car and brand design. In the 2010s we enjoyed the warm glow of this movement, balancing great design with thoughtful research and strategy. 

At the same time, brands like Apple, Target, P&G and even Pepsi Co embodied a new equilibrium: design and innovation brought together into a cordial relationship that could inspire culture and reshape industries.

As design flowed into more board rooms, the conversation sometimes lost its balance. Design alone couldn’t sustain the movement. It needed equal footing with research, strategy, and marketing perspective. 

Our pairing of great design with rigorous research continually proved bountiful for our clients. We used research that respected both customers and the creative artifact, while our design discipline used education and systems thinking to help clients improve solutions teams could actually implement and sustain. This mutual respect between insight and creativity formed a culture of balance, creativity, and humility that would remain Capsule’s hallmark. 

This was the firm called to Patagonia in Venture, California to solve a global packaging challenge which was attempted to solve twice previously. We fit in like a recycled cashmere quarter zip: adaptive, comfortable, and confident. Together with the Patagonia team, we navigated complex questions of belief systems, culture, and responsible brand behavior– it was about much more than a packaged container. . 

Then, at a picnic table over lunch, a Patagonia team member offered a simple phrase:  

“you’re like our special projects firm.” 

It was an offhand comment, not much else was said, yet the phrase pinballed in our heads and across our firm for years, quietly shaping how we saw ourselves. 

In time, that mirror our client had unknowingly held up revealed a new reflection. 

It echoed what we had told our clients for years: 

“Don’t just be distinctive, be distinct,” as our close friend James Damian proclaimed many times. 

And we have always been aware of the phrases, “a doctor is the worst patient” and “a lawyer is the worst client.” For us, the challenge was taking our own medicine and embracing change head-on. 

This insight woke us up, like a brisk walk into a glass door: 

It is always more about the team and process than it is about the deliverables. 

Yet nearly every firm described themselves first by their deliverables. 

While molding the idea in our heads like warm clay we decided to take a bold step, building a prospect presentation framing our value as a Special Projects Agency. The first prospect– a large convenience chain– became a client the next month.

With that decision, Capsule became one of two Special Projects Agencies in the world. 

A dramatic change from the crowded pool of 2000 Brand Design, Packaging Agencies in the US alone. 

So, now we stand, nearly alone, in a place where we were meant to be. It takes an abundance of courage to find yourself alone while still knowing this is where you were heading all along. 

We’ve always believed in designing change. 

And now, we’re designing for it.

We’ll explore what defines this model, how it works in practice, and why it’s changing how clients think about creative partnerships.