CMF Strategy & Visualisation · Newell Brands / Sistema NZ · 2025
CMF Strategy & Visualisation
Across three concurrent projects, I was the design authority for Sistema's front-end innovation function — defining colour and material direction, shaping the visual language for a 1,500+ consumer validation study, and holding design leadership within a new manufacturing capability that advanced as a $20M cross-brand initiative.
What this work represents
The contribution
Operated as the single design authority across CMF, Insights, Brand, and R&D — with no dedicated design team and no design brief handed to me. Owned colour and finish decision-making from palette definition through physical tool trial sign-off. Set graphic direction for a new production process and made brand-critical palette calls that determined how Sistema showed up in two markets.
The result
Heatables 2-tone designs achieved Instant Connection across all consumer segments in both AUS and UK — a top-tier result. CMF directions are embedded in Sistema Brand Plans for 2026–2028, and the IML range is a Tier 2 initiative valued at $20M USD over 3 years.
1,533+
Consumers tested across Australia and UK
$20M+
USD — Kids IML Tier 2 initiative projected over 3 years
200+
SKUs rendered across Heatables, Kids IML, and Back to School
3
Projects — Heatables CMF, Kids IML, Back to School
Project 01 — Heatables CMF Consumer Validation
Design authority for a cross-market consumer validation study — defining colour direction across 1,500+ consumers in AUS and UK.
01 — My role
Visual design ownership · Palette authority · Tool sign-off
Owned the visual design language for the validation study — defining colour, finish, and rendering quality across 28–30 stimuli in Keyshot from SolidWorks CAD. Co-authored the colour palette with the CMF team and held sign-off authority on physical tool trial samples, ensuring accuracy between digital render and physical material.
02 — The study
28–30 designs · 1,533 consumers · AUS + UK
Renders used as stimuli in an implicit response study testing Appeal, Uniqueness, and Purchase Intent across Family First Chefs, Gen Z, and Millennials in AUS and UK.
03 — Outcome
Directions in Brand Plans 2026–28
Heatables 2-tone designs achieved Instant Connection across all segments in both markets. Core palette confirmed: Light Stone, Santorini, Scuba.
As per CSI team and third-party agency reviews, 2024–2026.
Heatables — colour directions validated through consumer testing
Alpaca
Lazuli Daydream
Mussel
Lazuli Daydream
Green
Mussel
Heatables soup mugs (left 3) and rectangular food storage (right 3) — colourways developed for consumer validation
Core food storage — colour palette
Clear and tinted designs dominated. Light Stone, Santorini, and Scuba confirmed as top-performing core colours across AUS and UK.
Project 02 — Kids Designs & In-Mold Labelling
New IML process. Design and R&D lead across tooling, graphics direction, and cross-brand rollout.
I led design within Sistema's first IML programme — a new production capability that required design, R&D, and Engineering to work in a way the business hadn't done before. IML (In-Mold Labelling) embeds printed graphics directly into the product lid during injection moulding. Spanning 3 food container SKUs and 2 bottle formats across 6 colourways and 2 brands, this advanced as a Tier 2 initiative ($20M USD over 3 years) cross-branded across Sistema and Rubbermaid.
01 — My role
Design authority · Technical specifications · R&D lead
Defined the graphic direction for the kids demographic and commissioned character artwork against brand and consumer criteria. Authored all IML technical specifications for Engineering and held design authority within the R&D development cycle — tracking milestones from concept approval through first-off samples via MS Projects.
02 — The product
5 SKU types · 6 colourways · 2 brands
Bento Cube, Sandwich Box, and Multisplit food containers — plus Screw Top and Sip Top drink bottles — across Space Kitty, Dragon, and One Eyed Alien character graphics in 6 colourways.
03 — Outcome
New manufacturing capability established
IML tooling developed as a first-time production capability for the business — progressed from concept approval through first-off samples against a stage-gate timeline. Range advanced into development across both Sistema and Rubbermaid.
Full range — 6 colourways · 5 SKUs each
Food containers (Bento Cube · Sandwich · Multisplit) and drink bottles (Screw Top · Sip Top) shown per colourway.
Popsicle
Bento
Sandwich
Multisplit
Screw Top
Sip Top
Cucumber
Bento
Sandwich
Multisplit
Screw Top
Sip Top
Watermelon
Bento
Sandwich
Multisplit
Screw Top
Sip Top
Fairy Dust
Bento
Sandwich
Multisplit
Screw Top
Sip Top
Natural White
Bento
Sandwich
Multisplit
Screw Top
Sip Top
Laguna
Bento
Sandwich
Multisplit
Screw Top
Sip Top
Full Kids Designs range — 6 colourways × 5 SKUs (3 food containers + 2 drink bottles). IML graphic applied during injection moulding.
Project 03 — Back to School
Brand-aligned palette decision from CMF inputs. Complete visual design ownership for cross-market retail activation.
With two trend-led colour direction boards from the CMF team as input, I made the brand-critical palette decision — determining which three colours were right for Sistema's brand architecture, the cross-SKU range, and the Back to School retail context. I then owned all visual design output for the ANZ and EMEA activation — from colour brief through retailer-ready renders across On-the-Go, Heatables, and Hydrate lines — delivered in close collaboration with Brand and Marketing.
01 — My role
Palette decision-making · Visual design ownership
Made the brand-critical palette decision from CMF inputs — determining which 3 colours aligned with Sistema's brand architecture, cross-SKU coherence, and the Back to School retail channel. Held full design ownership from colour brief through to final retailer-ready renders in Keyshot.
02 — The work
3 colourways · ANZ + EMEA · Sales activation
Aster, Fairy Dust, and Seafoam selected from the CMF direction boards. Renders produced for Back to School activation covering On-the-Go, Heatables, and Hydrate product lines.
03 — Outcome
Deployed in retailer sell-in and Brand Plans
Renders delivered directly into ANZ and EMEA retailer sell-in presentations as part of the Win Key Seasons commercial activation. Selected palette and colour story embedded in Sistema Brand Plans 2026–2028.
CMF direction inputs — from CMF team
Jellified Haze (left) and Sun Bleached Calm (right) — CMF team trend direction boards used as inputs for colour selection
BTS product renders — new colourway palette
Aster, Fairy Dust, and Seafoam selected from the two CMF direction boards — evaluated against Sistema's existing brand architecture, cross-SKU coherence across the On-the-Go, Heatables, and Hydrate lines, and appropriateness for the Back to School retail channel.
Aster · COLORO 128-61-22
520ml Hybrid
800ml Sip n Swig
1.1L Ribbon
Fairy Dust · COLORO 138-70-21
520ml Hybrid
800ml Sip n Swig
1.1L Ribbon
Seafoam · COLORO 082-86-10
520ml Hybrid
800ml Sip n Swig
1.1L Ribbon
Aster · COLORO 128-61-22 | Fairy Dust · COLORO 138-70-21 | Seafoam · COLORO 082-86-10 — selected palette for BTS ANZ activation
Design Leadership
Design authority across the full front-end pipeline — from R&D to commercial activation.
Three projects. Three different design problems. Each one requiring a senior design perspective that could operate across disciplines — without a team, without a brief, and without a precedent. The CMF validation study needed someone who could bridge visual craft and research rigour. The IML programme needed a design lead fluent in both engineering and brand language. The BTS activation needed a designer who understood brand architecture well enough to make commercial palette decisions independently.
In each case I was the design authority that front-end commercial teams relied on — setting direction, holding quality, and making calls that moved the business forward. That breadth of ownership wasn't assigned — it was earned through consistent delivery across every function that needed a design decision made.
Design leadership here wasn't about managing a team — it was about being the design authority that R&D, CMF, Marketing, and Brand could depend on across strategy, craft, and delivery. I built the capability, owned the output, and made sure the work landed.