“We aim to craft experiences that go beyond a transaction.” Date of Birth lets us in on its process

Date of Birth, the Melbourne-based branding and design agency, knows what makes a product stand out on shelves and what helps it linger in consumers’ minds. The practice has been bringing its keen insight to its projects, leaning towards what the team calls ‘consumer branding.’ Since the agency was set up in 2015, it has found a voice in the retail and product space, carving distinctive paths for brands in Australia and beyond. Branding for consumer products – which can be an aggressive space – poses unique challenges, such as helping a product shine amongst a crowd of competitors. It can also be rife with pitfalls, such as brands mimicking the visual formula of a successful contemporary, or more worryingly, becoming very copyable themselves. Date of Birth’s experience helps them see past and beyond such faux pas, and craft not just a look for a new product or idea, but an entire experience around it that goes “beyond a transaction,” says Founder & Chief Creative Officer John Mastro. As we connect with Mastro looking to get a glimpse of the inner workings of the studio, he tells us about being in the “memory business” and reveals their secret to creating easy-to-ID brands that are hard to forget. RB: Hi John, what’s been keeping you busy and sane these days?