I began working at Sweet Leaf Tea as an intern when the company consisted of less than a dozen employees—and yes, we drank as much free tea as we wanted. Eventually, I became the Senior Art Director and I was fortunate to lead an amazingly talented and enthusiastic team. Together, we transformed Sweet Leaf Tea from a local ‘mom and pop’ brand into a national household name, and saw the company’s ranks grow to over 100.

The packaging underwent evolved quite a bit during my tenure. The label underwent several generations of updates, and we created new custom bottles with the help of Vitro Glass and Amcor Plastics. We developed and launched aluminum can offerings (printing on aluminum is about 1,000 times more interesting and challenging than I had ever imagined). We did it all while carefully safeguarding the brand’s original, homegrown authenticity.

The No. 21 Air Force car debuted in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, driven by Jon Wood.

You’re probably thinking, “fighter jets and a race car… it doesn’t get much cooler than that.” That’s what I thought, too. But wait! Remember Matchbox cars!? Matchbox cars were a huge part of my childhood. So I when I found out that the NASCAR wrap I worked on was being made into a die-cast collectible, I was considerably more excited than I was originally about working on the actual race car.

Developed for Texas Legend Foods, the Native Texan brand has something for everybody. It has included (at one time or another) as many as 15 salsas, 5 varieties of queso, 6 BBQ sauces, 3 different beans dips, and a handful of other specialty and seasonal products. Each label features carefully crafted romance copy in a plain-spoken and uniquely Texan voice, developed exclusively for this brand. Each description's type is meticulously set to reinforce the copy's cadence and character. A 'poster' style transforms text passages beyond the predictable paragraph and makes the layout itself the visual heart and soul of this brand. If you're not hungry yet, you should probably adjust your screen.

Photos by Adam Voorhes.

Marketing a marketing agency is just plain fun. The idea is simple: creating mixtapes is a deeply personal way to send messages—and generally demonstrates a rich understanding of the recipients. That’s exactly the kind of thoughtfully-tailored connection mixtape marketing aims to establish with every client and each of their unique audiences. Whatever you do, don't capitalize their name. They just like it better that way.

The Norwegian Pearl is home to the world’s first bowling alley at sea. When the NCL executives decided to announce this feat of marine sporting innovation, they came to GSD&M for help with a team shirt that was only meant to be worn for a promotional video. They loved it so much that they decided to put an embroidery machine on board the ship, too. These days, passengers can get their own “Freestyle Rollers” shirts (among other branded designs) in a variety of colors from the pro shop on the Pearl.

Silicon Labs approached mixtape marketing for help with a comprehensive campaign to launch a series of new maker-friendly IoT sensor devices and get them into the hands of industry leaders. Influencers were sent a pinewood derby car kit complete with the Thunderboard sensor chip, instructions for cloud-enabled data tracking (custom smartphone app), decal sheets, and a challenge to trick out their cars and race them at an event dubbed “Days of Thunderboard” in downtown Austin. Additionally, mixtape built a custom microsite to track and publish sensor readings in real time from around the world.

This project sparked a long-term collaborative relationship with Silicon Labs.

When the founders of Chameleon Cold-Brew came to mixtape marketing, they didn’t have a name. They were also struggling to explain what “cold-brewed coffee” is — at the time, there were only a handful of obscure regional brands trying to sell cold-brew, and none of them were doing a great job of distinguishing it from “iced coffee.”

We named them, created the lovable reptilian character they affectionately dubbed “the dude,” built graphics to teach consumers about the benefits of the cold-brewing process, and crafted their first several generations of labels.

Standing out in a crowd can be challenging, especially when the whole crowd is trying to stand out. The world of CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) is fraught with obstacles that can trip up even the most motivated entrepreneurs with the very best products. Planning ahead for opportunities and pitfalls in this minefield requires a unique set of skills (and experiences helps, too).

Often, CPG clients are forced to update or completely rebrand in order to stay relevant in the retail space. Included among the images below are several “before & after” examples.

When founder Anna Claire Eddington came to mixtape marketing with her chai tea concentrate, originally called “Basic B Chai,” we were blown away by the product and the person. There’s not a thing we could have done to make a better product, but we were able to help her with a brand that better fit her her personality — including a name that retail buyers could get behind.

Photography by Shelby Tsika Marquardt.

Every spring, Austin is home an amazing city-wide music festival. For ten years—purely by coincidence—mixtape marketing hosted an annual music showcase known as Make Fuzzy Tracks around that same time. Let me be clear: they were completely unrelated. In my official opinion, it was Austin’s greatest unofficial party.

My experience as a photographer is mostly limited to those times when a friend who owns a decent camera says, “Here, hold this.” (Thanks, Matt Rainwaters.) Although I don’t have any ambitions of becoming a professional shutterbug, I am proud to have captured a few gems.