How to Fill a Warehouse with Story.

Being a strategist, designer, marketer, and illustrator means you never know what you’ll be working on next. Which I love. So when I got a call from the local dog care experts at Skipper, I knew the universe was throwing me a creative bone I could really chew on. (See what I did there?) Their plan was genius. Skipper was already giving pets a loving, rewarding day when their owners couldn’t be there to supply it in person. Skipper’s smartphone app lets dog owners share in their pet’s experience in real time with photos at walk-time, pics of drop-off and other fun activities. But now, they wanted to create an amazing “together experience”.

The bar would be the focal point of this enormous space. And once we nailed the concept, the bar almost designed itself. A pub-like structure (faux brick below, dark green wood up top), tall and open but visually complete thanks to the hanging windows. The bar served beer for dogs, as well, so of course the bar’s logo would be a water dish with a mug handle full of suds. Customers would order on an app and be notified when to FETCH their drinks. How fun is that?

The bar would be the focal point of this enormous space. And once we nailed the concept, the bar almost designed itself. A pub-like structure (faux brick below, dark green wood up top), tall and open but visually complete thanks to the hanging windows. The bar served beer for dogs, as well, so of course the bar’s logo would be a water dish with a mug handle full of suds. Customers would order on an app and be notified when to FETCH their drinks. How fun is that?

Skipper bought a giant warehouse space in a neighborhood that’s about to be chock-o-block with upscale apartments because they wanted to make it the ultimate doggy bonding destination. A couple of dog bars already exist here, but they’re smelly, unkempt, and furnished with cheap tables and plastic chairs. Skipper wanted to create a mind-blowing, immersive EXPERIENCE. In addition to a bar, the building would also house a kennel, exercise yard, and a new HQ for Skipper’s operations (a super smart way to expand your office space needs, capabilities, and profit margin). Exciting on so many levels.

Even though the building was purchased and the architects were hired, the concept itself was still in exploratory mode. They knew generally where they wanted to go, but they wanted to see what was possible, if it was viable, and most importantly, if it was affordable. And it had to happen fast. So how do you make a giant, cavernous dog bar/kennel/tech biz a destination? We understood the existing audience and their needs. We knew plenty of Instagrammable destinations existed out there, but after one or two visits, they became tired thematically. What we needed was a good story. One that could freshly serve daily customers, frequent visitors, and out-of-town sightseers. One that was fun to work at every day. Oh, and one that would fit the brand. Easy.

Meet the competition. Yes, this is a dog bar in the same town. You can almost smell the urine.

Meet the competition. Yes, this is a dog bar in the same town. You can almost smell the urine.

Now this. This is how you fill a space. I visited a LOT of big spaces when I was doing the advance thinking for our workshop. Lowe’s Foods not only filled their giant space, they did it with style and story and without a lot of expense. That structu…

Now this. This is how you fill a space. I visited a LOT of big spaces when I was doing the advance thinking for our workshop. Lowe’s Foods not only filled their giant space, they did it with style and story and without a lot of expense. That structure to the right is in the wine section. You can pour a beer and sit in this little container fort and pretend you’re not hanging out in a grocery store.

In our brainstorming workshop I taped up a handful of “starter themes” that we could riff around. I also posted up sheets to keep up on task – areas we’d need to consider, amenities and services offered, company mission, etc. It’s funny, but we sort of sputtered and stumbled around until we got to what was originally the Dog Hotel theme (remember, it was a kennel, too, so it made sense). Once we turned it into a town, it came to life in front of our eyes. It’s was really exciting!

In our brainstorming workshop I taped up a handful of “starter themes” that we could riff around. I also posted up sheets to keep up on task – areas we’d need to consider, amenities and services offered, company mission, etc. It’s funny, but we sort of sputtered and stumbled around until we got to what was originally the Dog Hotel theme (remember, it was a kennel, too, so it made sense). Once we turned it into a town, it came to life in front of our eyes. It’s was really exciting!

The whole place would be filled with gags and little surprises. I especially like how the Firehouse is siren-free. Those clouds up there? I thought it’d be nice to do some sound baffling in a way that helped the story. :-)

The whole place would be filled with gags and little surprises. I especially like how the Firehouse is siren-free. Those clouds up there? I thought it’d be nice to do some sound baffling in a way that helped the story. :-)

Remember, it’s a town built by dogs for dogs. So the entrance is the town’s Tourist Center. You just walk your dog up that ramp to check you both in (you’re his/her guest, after all).. Once you’re checked in, you’re in the town square (complete with…

Remember, it’s a town built by dogs for dogs. So the entrance is the town’s Tourist Center. You just walk your dog up that ramp to check you both in (you’re his/her guest, after all).. Once you’re checked in, you’re in the town square (complete with a stature of the founding pooch). From here you have a commanding view of the town. Hungry, visit the indoor-outdoor market where you’ll find snacks for dogs and humans.

I toured the space with the CEO and listened to her describe every detail, every wish, hope, and desire regarding the vision. Then I spent a couple of days coming up with some jumping-off points that we could talk around in a brainstorming workshop. And despite it being the dead of winter, we spent a couple few hours hammering out ideas in an unheated, on-site conference room. We filled the walls with good, bad, and ugly ideas until it was clear we had a winner.

The idea was simple. Create a town, founded by dogs, built by dogs, and governed by dogs (with assistance from their human partners). The space, as I said, was huge. If it was only filled with tables and chairs, it’d be overpowered by space, echoey and lame. Scale was our enemy. So I planned to fill the space with town buildings that would serve as little “forts'' to hang out in. A firehouse. An art museum. A town Hall of Fame. Since the town was built by dogs, everything from the signage to the tiniest bit of extra credit would be misspelled hilariously in enthusiastically sincere “dogese”. The entrance where you (human) and your Master (dog) checked in was the town’s Welcome Center (and, of course, Gift Shop). There was even a dog’s Farmers Market where all kinds of treats were sold (along with a human food food truck right outside the roll up garage door). My favorite part was the bar with the pub facade. You’d order drinks (including legit dog beverages) through the app and, when ready, you’d get a text. Not to pick up your order, but to FETCH it. And all of this detail came about in that two hour workshop including all the other ideas.

Knowing your audience and your service to them is important. But the story. Ugh, the story is the difference between being another dog bar and being something on a whole different level.

DAVE SOPP – Creative

Yep, that’s me. I’ve got over 20 years of marketing strategy, graphic design, advertising art direction, and illustration experience. Want to use some of it? Email me at dave@davesopp.com

 

How to Make the Most of an Hour.

There’s a story I love to tell, and I can’t remember who told me, but it goes like this – Pablo Picasso is walking through a park and a woman recognizes him and asks him to draw her portrait. He says, “Sure.” (Maybe in Spanish) and he starts sketching. A few minutes later, he hands her the drawing. It’s amazing. It captures the very essence of her character. Then he says, “That’ll be $5000, please.” The woman is dumbfounded. “$5,000!? But it only took you five minutes!”, she says. Picasso simply looks at her and says, “No, madam, it took me my whole life.”

Now, Pablo Picasso is known to have been kind of a jerk, and by most any definition, I’m no Picasso. Most creatives use this story to explain why experience should cost a lot. But I like to tell it to explain how quickly good work can be done by someone who knows what they’re doing. I typically work with clients in one of three ways – on retainer, on projects (short and long), and by the hour. And, unlike Picasso in that story, my hourly rate is not $60,000.

This is that dog bar thing I’m going to tell you about. The brainstorming workshop was so fun. We were just throwing out ideas and I was sketching them out like mad on a giant pad. At the end of a couple of hours the walls were FULL of these sheets and it was clear which one was the “winner”. A town for dogs, built by dogs. That’s why everything is spelled adorably wrong. On the right are my drawings for the architects and investors showing what “buildings” would occupy the enormous space.

This is that dog bar thing I’m going to tell you about. The brainstorming workshop was so fun. We were just throwing out ideas and I was sketching them out like mad on a giant pad. At the end of a couple of hours the walls were FULL of these sheets and it was clear which one was the “winner”. A town for dogs, built by dogs. That’s why everything is spelled adorably wrong. On the right are my drawings for the architects and investors showing what “buildings” would occupy the enormous space.

My hourly rate is $120, which comes to $960 per day (8 hours). And, believe me, if I’m working hourly, I’m making the most of every minute. Truth be told, you’re not just buying just an hour of my attention because I’m not a robot who can turn off thinking about your challenge after 60 minutes. I love what I do, and I’m going to be thinking about your business while I’m at the gas station, while I’m in the shower (sorry, but it’s true), when I’m doing housework on the weekend, and when I’m sleeping. I’ve literally dreamt up solutions to projects before. How could I ever charge you for being interesting enough to not be able to think about!?

So what could I do for you in mere hours? Lots. I’m a bootstrapper’s delight. I had a client who wanted a theme for a dog bar and couldn’t afford much. I figured out that the most affordable way to go was to let me do a handful of hours of lead thinking and together we’d throw down for a couple of hours brainstorming ideas against that structure. In the end we nailed a direction with all the details, and for another handful of hours, I worked those details up into drawings and a presentation she could show her team, investors and architects. (Another benefit of being a strategist, designer, marketer, and illustrator). So those handfuls of hours resulted in the ability to fully explain and present an experience that didn’t exist before we started working together.

Another thing done in just a handful of hours. The designer knew he wanted a lawn chair and a cooler to represent a Day Off for Fall River Brewing. I threw some his way, he chose one, we refined it together (had to replace that angry lady in the background with an abandoned lawn mower), and a beautiful beer can was born! Go buy some!

Another thing done in just a handful of hours. The designer knew he wanted a lawn chair and a cooler to represent a Day Off for Fall River Brewing. I threw some his way, he chose one, we refined it together (had to replace that angry lady in the background with an abandoned lawn mower), and a beautiful beer can was born! Go buy some!

Hey, look! More dog stuff! Same dog bar client, different thing. They wanted a new name and had a list of contenders but didn’t know how to proceed. Their budget didn’t allow for the process I apply to projects like this, so they bought a few hours …

Hey, look! More dog stuff! Same dog bar client, different thing. They wanted a new name and had a list of contenders but didn’t know how to proceed. Their budget didn’t allow for the process I apply to projects like this, so they bought a few hours to see what was possible. I sketched out a ton of possibilities that matched the nature of their business and offered some ideas they hadn’t thought of.

So what could you and I do in just one hour? Lots. Talk, for one. And by “talk” I mean YOU talk. I can listen to your hopes and dreams and recommend ways to get them into action. But I do more than listen well.

Strategy: Run your existing plan by me. Use me as a sounding board. Or tell me what your partners hate about your vision and I can advise you on a plan to compromise. Hire me to present your vision to the board. Or investors.

Design: Share challenges with product, packaging, sourcing, or sales materials. Hire me to design a poster or two for your event. Make your product instruction manual easier to follow. Clean up your brand identity a little. Make branded email signatures for everyone.

Advertising:  I can do some creative writing for you. Maybe punch up some existing copy. Help you set a social media content schedule that makes sense for your brand and audience. I could lay out a template for your print or digital ads to occupy. Come up with a handful of taglines to consider.

Illustration: I could draw up some product ideas you’ve been kicking around. Or maybe do a few illustrative cartoons for a presentation you’re giving. I could create one-off illustrations for packaging, your blog or website, or even social media.

I’ll be honest here, most creatives with my experience don’t do hourly. But I love it because it’s the first step to great projects. Not for me, for you! Every hour we work together will get you closer to realizing the big goals you’re trying to achieve. And you don’t need Picasso for that. 

DAVE SOPP – Creative

Yep, that’s me. I’ve got over 20 years of marketing strategy, graphic design, advertising art direction, and illustration experience. Want to use some of it? Email me at dave@davesopp.com

 

How to Know I'm the Right Person to Work With.

Weird for a marketing guy to say, but I’ve never been comfortable promoting myself or my work. Because to me, the most interesting part of what I do has always been identifying and solving the core challenges of my client partners. It’s kind of like how your favorite movie is your favorite movie because of the story and not because of who the executive producer was. So I’ll rip off the band-aid and tell you as quickly as I can why I’m uniquely qualified to work on your business. 

For starters, I have more than a decade of experience working at, for, and with, advertising agencies – from the impossibly huge conglomerates to the adorably tiny boutiques. (I was even a managing partner at an agency in San Francisco for a number of years). Then I quit agency life to start a business of my own. Designing all kinds of products, sourcing manufacturing overseas, expensive trade shows, private label manufacturing for department stores...the whole shebang. It became incredibly popular from the get-go, and stayed profitable for more than 20 years. (It still is, actually.) Through that business I wrote and illustrated a little book about parenting that became a perennial best seller, a globally recognized meme, and the first-born of a number of other publishing projects (There’s a new one launching October 2021). And while I was doing all of that, I began working directly with clients of all sizes, on projects ranging from event posters to multi-million dollar corporate rebrandings. I even served client side as a full-time CMO for two years. 

This is a really simple exercise I sometimes share in presentations. Which place would you go for fresh eggs? How about skydiving lessons? This, in a shell, is why my portfolio is so full of vastly different visual and verbal communication. I’m always working toward the perfect solution to every individual challenge.

This is a really simple exercise I sometimes share in presentations. Which place would you go for fresh eggs? How about skydiving lessons? This, in a shell, is why my portfolio is so full of vastly different visual and verbal communication. I’m always working toward the perfect solution to every individual challenge.

Ok, I’m glad that part’s done. Because now I can get to my favorite part – how all of that history benefits you. I’ve got a lot of experience at being more than a creative. And the lessons of those broad experiences inform the solutions I bring to you. Look, a lot of people can generate fun, creative ideas. But it takes years of broader experience to be sure those ideas check all the boxes required for the best chance of success. Does the solution fit the budget? Does it make business sense? Is it embraceable by your employees? Is it sellable by your sales team? There are so many considerations, which is why I self-edit most solutions before they ever make it to a presentation.

While my process is the same for every project, it’s also wildly different for every project. That probably doesn’t make sense, but I can explain. Each project, client, business, and challenge is unique. I never, ever, ever, give anyone a #43. So here are the process tenants I apply to every project I work on:

Understand a client's business, professional aspirations, personality, and audience, as quickly and completely as possible

This is something I loved about working at/with/for ad agencies.You had to get smart about every business you worked on...FAST. From NFL teams to really complicated tech. It helps to be a quick study, but also a good listener who asks the right questions.

Boil down the challenge to a single, simple action item

You can’t find a solution until you succinctly identify the problem. While this is a lot of what I learned working in advertising, it took being a business owner myself to truly understand which questions identified the elements of a problem (or hidden solutions to it). Once we all agree on the actual challenge, only then can we work together to solve it.

Concept multiple disparate approaches to the specific challenge that can be executed within the project parameters

There are a thousand ways to skin a cat. And this is my favorite part of the process. You’ll get an array of vastly different, smart, creative, and affordable solutions to every challenge. And if you aren’t currently getting this treatment, you’re going to love this part as much as I do.

Execute quickly and efficiently

This is where the rubber hits the road. And it’s where my love of checklists reigns supreme. Good planning and being organized is the only way to avoid costly surprises so we can stay within your budget.

Capitalize gains. Adjust when necessary

Being a fellow business owner, I know (believe me) nothing is assured. You have to be flexible and always ready to capitalize on the best outcomes, but be completely prepared for the worst. That’s probably the most vital aspect of my being so uniquely qualified to help you. I see your business as my business.

DAVE SOPP – Creative

Yep, that’s me. I’ve got over 20 years of marketing strategy, graphic design, advertising art direction, and illustration experience. Want to use some of it? Email me at dave@davesopp.com

 

HOW TO DESIGN A BOOK TO NEVER SIT ON A SHELF.

I’ve designed and illustrated a handful of books like the silly Safe Baby Handling Tips, Mysterio’s cute picture book, and more. But this was the first book I was asked to design that was, well, an actual BOOK. Like, a book you could spend more than 5 minutes reading. It had more than 1000 words in it, for crying out loud! What made it even more special was that it was penned by my talented writer wife and partner, Kelly Sopp. Which I’m thinking might be how I was lucky enough to get this very different assignment? Maybe.

Kelly’s book is titled Hey, I Love You…and it’s beautiful, simple, and remarkably (you’ll appreciate the pun in a minute) unique. It was written to give couples practical marriage wisdom, along with an effortless way to exchange heartfelt words that need to be said, or unsaid, or aren’t said often enough. It’s different from any book in the Relationship and Marriage section of your last remaining bookstore for a lot of reasons. But the most brilliant reason is the way you use it. Any book can tell you what to say, how to act, or what 25 rules to follow to reach happily ever after. But Kelly’s book has a simple, built in system that, when applied, will literally keep dust from collecting on the book AND your marriage.

The final cover of Hey, I Love You…: Bookmark your way to a Remarkable Marriage by Kelly Sopp. We did over 30 covers for this, can you believe it? And they were all this simple and they were all in white, black, and this charming yellow. That byline on the front on white? That’s a removable sticker. The book is meant to be personal and we didn’t want people looking at marketing stuff every time they wanted to use it.

The final cover of Hey, I Love You…: Bookmark your way to a Remarkable Marriage by Kelly Sopp. We did over 30 covers for this, can you believe it? And they were all this simple and they were all in white, black, and this charming yellow. That byline on the front on white? That’s a removable sticker. The book is meant to be personal and we didn’t want people looking at marketing stuff every time they wanted to use it.

SO MANY WORDS! It was actually fun managing the typography. I hadn’t dealt with having control over this much copy for a while and it was so fun. Of course there more to this than this one spread, silly. Oh, and tabs. I was able to include finger tabs for each of the 5 chapters so you could find what you wanted to “say” really fast.

SO MANY WORDS! It was actually fun managing the typography. I hadn’t dealt with having control over this much copy for a while and it was so fun. Of course there more to this than this one spread, silly. Oh, and tabs. I was able to include finger tabs for each of the 5 chapters so you could find what you wanted to “say” really fast.

It’s so REMARKABLY easy (paying off on that earlier pun now): the bulk of the book is composed of bookmarkable sentiments that you can use to offer words of romance or encouragement to your spouse. Just find the feeling you want to share, pop in the supplied bookmark, and hide the book in a fun place for your partner to find. Under their pillow. On top of the coffee maker. In the fridge. Get creative! Every page is a love note to be left to deliver a soft, unexpected reminder to your spouse that you’re there and thinking of them.

But the book is especially helpful to any and every marriage because it accounts for reality. Everything’s not all romance, all the time. There’s a section for when you have disagreements and tough times. There’s even an array of thoughtful ways for you (or your spouse) to sincerely apologize for any discretion. In these cases, it’s less about starting a makeout session. It’s more concerned with getting you two discussing what might be out of whack in a kind, constructive way so you can get back to the makeout sessions.

Most of the book is like this. And this is how it works: “Oh, something is bookmarked for me!” (top right). “Awwwww!” (left) “AWWWW! (bottom right) Do I really need to tell you what happens next?

Most of the book is like this. And this is how it works: “Oh, something is bookmarked for me!” (top right). “Awwwww!” (left) “AWWWW! (bottom right) Do I really need to tell you what happens next?

This isn’t just a book to instigate cuddles. It’s got everything you’ll need during your decades together. Seriously. It can even help you tackle some pretty serious stuff. My article on doing the book illustration goes more into the challenges that…

This isn’t just a book to instigate cuddles. It’s got everything you’ll need during your decades together. Seriously. It can even help you tackle some pretty serious stuff. My article on doing the book illustration goes more into the challenges that posed to the tone of the book.

I’m not trying to sell you the book. If you’ve read any of my articles on strategy, design, marketing, and illustration, they all dive into this much background detail. Because no work can be evaluated by the work alone. That’s literally why they say, “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover.”! Because the cover may not reflect the spirit of the writing. I had a brilliant creative director tell me once that the fastest way to kill a bad product is with good marketing. It’s so true.

So when I got Kelly’s final manuscript, here were my take-aways:
Upbeat. WAY out of character in the genre (in a good way). Funny where appropriate and keenly adept at bringing a sensitive positivity and kind understanding to the serious bits. It reads like lavender scented, soft wool dryer balls. Romantic if you’re in that mood, comforting if you aren’t.

The book’s content was a complicated thing (the topic of marriage) broken down into its simplest form and delivered with a kind smile. So that was my direction. Get out of the way of the words and just deliver them, gently. The font is Abrade. It’s got, like, 1M variants and its Light version fits the tone of Kelly’s writing like a wedding ring.

All this is from the initial pitch to our publisher (Running Press). Pretty similar to what was published, no? Hahaha. It’s because we presented such a detailed, thought out vision of what this book could be. But there were some changes. (Clockwise) At first we thought it’d be really nice if the hardcover was cloth covered (instead of a book jacket). But that turned out to be too expensive (and in the end it was fine ‘cause it’d probably get really dirty with use. This is a photo of the book I ‘shopped up for the pitch. The books visual language was thought out at the beginning, too. We even included a series of patterns to use and that was just for the endpapers. The HEY logo as so important that I did a ton of versions before landing on what we chose, here on that bookmark. And finally a ‘shopped image of the book where one might find a spicy sentiment waiting for them!

All this is from the initial pitch to our publisher (Running Press). Pretty similar to what was published, no? Hahaha. It’s because we presented such a detailed, thought out vision of what this book could be. But there were some changes. (Clockwise) At first we thought it’d be really nice if the hardcover was cloth covered (instead of a book jacket). But that turned out to be too expensive (and in the end it was fine ‘cause it’d probably get really dirty with use. This is a photo of the book I ‘shopped up for the pitch. The books visual language was thought out at the beginning, too. We even included a series of patterns to use and that was just for the endpapers. The HEY logo as so important that I did a ton of versions before landing on what we chose, here on that bookmark. And finally a ‘shopped image of the book where one might find a spicy sentiment waiting for them!

Alternate covers! So many covers. I mentioned we looked at over 30 subtle and not so subtle variations, but that didn’t even include versions of what shape the cover sticker was or what would be on the bookmark or what if the cover was cloth with an…

Alternate covers! So many covers. I mentioned we looked at over 30 subtle and not so subtle variations, but that didn’t even include versions of what shape the cover sticker was or what would be on the bookmark or what if the cover was cloth with an acetate jacket!? I don’t know if this is how much thinking goes into every published book, but it’s what goes into the ones I design.

This is where to keep this book. Everywhere. The best design aspect is the concept itself. That the couple who owns the book uses it as a fun communication device, passing it back and forth as desired or needed.

This is where to keep this book. Everywhere. The best design aspect is the concept itself. That the couple who owns the book uses it as a fun communication device, passing it back and forth as desired or needed.

I mentioned at the beginning that this was more of a “book-like” book than I’d ever designed in the past. It’s true, but it’s “more-than-a-normal-book” because of the interactivity baked into the concept. So even the writing of it was part of it’s design and I collaborated with my author from the outset. We divided the content into bite-size, intentional bits. We made it easy to digest. And the final layout is a natural extension of that.

The bookmarkable spreads are visually sparse to give the sentiments the attention they deserve. The lead message is positioned large as a sort of headline at the top left with an accent illustration above for colorful, emotional seasoning. At the lower right are brief, carefully chosen words of support, positioned to not be blocked by the supplied bookmark. Easy squeezy, light and breezy.

One of my favorite quotes is one that I cannot for the life of me remember so I’m going to go with something similar that I found on the interwebs - ”The definition of being good is being able to make it look easy” That was from one of the great thinkers of our time, Hugh Jackman. I happily did over 30 cover designs for this thing to be sure I got it right. Yeah, the cover is important, but 30!? Published authors, did you get 30 versions to consider? I also did 250 more illustrations than was called for (or paid for in the advance). I explain in my article about the illustrations that it wasn’t because I had to because I was married to the author. It’s just the book needed it. Which didn’t make it the easiest project I’ve ever tackled but it was just as rewarding in the end. Because I LOVE going the extra mile(s) for something (and someone) I deeply believe in.

DAVE SOPP – Creative

Yep, that’s me. I’ve got over 20 years of marketing strategy, graphic design, advertising art direction, and illustration experience. Want to use some of it? Email me at dave@davesopp.com

 

How To Be First.

We’d been making funny onesies at Wrybaby since we created the category in 2000. When things blew up during the first year, they blew up big. Our designs were featured in the NY Times, Newsweek, People, USA Today, Time, and TV Guide, to name a few pubs. They were even seen on VH1, Today Show, and Live with Regis and Kelly. It’s still unconfirmed, but witnesses swear to seeing David Letterman hold up the funny onesie we sent him on his Late Night comedy show. That kind of exposure is great, but it also creates a giant, burning-man-style beacon that screams, THESE PEOPLE ARE ON TO SOMETHING.

Meet Valencia. She’s rocking the world’s first Super Snapsuit.

Meet Valencia. She’s rocking the world’s first Super Snapsuit.

If you’re a designer or an entrepreneur, you need to hear the very first thing our very first screen printer told us before things got crazy –“People will rip you off. Stay ahead of them.” He wasn’t lyin’. It wasn’t long before we were inundated with competitors, knock-offs, rip-offs, or all three at once. While Von Maur, Buy Buy Baby, and FAO Schwartz were ordering our funny onesies from the source (us!), Target and Sears were ripping us off wholesale. While our company was doing private label projects with Barneys and Cost Plus World Market, thousands of small businesses were stealing our designs right and left. Café Press was full of people hawking wrybaby designs. When the company started, there was just one little place in the south that offered blank onesies to print on. Eventually we started having garments custom made overseas (way better cotton and fit), and while we did that, garment supply companies started carrying lots of blank onesies domestically. It got really easy for people to do what we were doing, so we decided to go back to making baby things that were hard to make.

Our concepts and designs up top, and below is how Target ripped us off. I appreciate that they doubled the cost of a “Photo with Baby” while undercutting the cost of our original onesie by 75%.

Our concepts and designs up top, and below is how Target ripped us off. I appreciate that they doubled the cost of a “Photo with Baby” while undercutting the cost of our original onesie by 75%.

We made fun bath towel sets (that’s what we ended up doing with World Market), we made travel cases for pacifiers, and we made stacking blocks for toddlers among many, many other things. We even made pillowcase covers for new parents! All of these did fine, but nothing ever matched the baby-shower-gift perfectness of the funny onesie. It’s a magical combination of being a product for a very focused age range, that’s useful, provides good theater at a baby shower, and is really affordable. So how would we keep making funny onesies that could be recognized as OUR funny onesies?

In 2007 no one was as bananas for super heroes as they are today. Seriously. Just like there were NO funny onesies in 2000 before wrybaby made them. There were only a couple of people making super hero capes for 8 year-olds, which you’d think would be amazing business. It wasn’t. The problem was this – no one wanted to kill a kid with a cape they made, and no one wanted their kid to die in one. It’s pretty understandable from a parent’s perspective. And, yeah, it’s freaking scary making kids clothes much less SUPER kids clothes. We figured these added up to a pretty HUGE barrier to entry that we could rub our brains on and solve.

OK, nevermind for a sec that they were hard to make. If no one were ape shit for comic book heroes, why would anyone want to buy a super hero onesie? The short answer is because it’s ridiculously hilarious. Look, you’ve got this non-communicative blob who doesn’t even have enough strength to hold its own head up, much less fight a giant menace from planet Krapnoid. Can you imagine strolling a super-infant into a Starbucks? Knee. Slapping. Hilarious. You could even have fun over a bottle of wine with your spouse imagining your child’s future super-powers. There were all kinds of reasons to take on the how-do-we-not-kill-the-child-problem. The answer was surprisingly simple and available all along. It was just hard to make. Take a standard, lap-shoulder baby t-shirt and sew a cape into the shoulder seams. The neck would be SUPER loose. And a baby 0-12 months isn’t THAT squiggly, so as long as you made the cape short enough to not get sat on, you’d be good. As an extra safety precaution we tacked the cape down to the back of the bodysuit in three places, which kept it nice and close. Then, to make it even harder to replicate, we used this cool puffy ink to print on the front. 

The idea for a Super Onesie actually came from the baby journal we wrote for Running Press, The New Parent’s Fun Book (left). You can see where we incorporated the cape into the shoulder seams. And although a baby’s going to do nothing but lay on i…

The idea for a Super Onesie actually came from the baby journal we wrote for Running Press, The New Parent’s Fun Book (left). You can see where we incorporated the cape into the shoulder seams. And although a baby’s going to do nothing but lay on it, we even did the extra credit of embroidering a star on the cape!

How fun is that puffy ink!? I made it so only some parts were puffy. Like on Super Cute, only the type outline and starts were puffy so the design didn’t get to heavy. Who wants a sweaty baby?

How fun is that puffy ink!? I made it so only some parts were puffy. Like on Super Cute, only the type outline and starts were puffy so the design didn’t get to heavy. Who wants a sweaty baby?

Aside from the darn thing being SUPER safe to wear, there were so many other minut details that we poured over to make this garment from scratch. From fit to color to a cape that wouldn’t end up a wrinkled mess. What a pain!

Aside from the darn thing being SUPER safe to wear, there were so many other minut details that we poured over to make this garment from scratch. From fit to color to a cape that wouldn’t end up a wrinkled mess. What a pain!

NPH!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to have even the smallest guest appearance in his awesome life. The Super Snapsuits were SUPER well received (sorry, I’ll stop doing that now). For a while they were, at least.

NPH!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to have even the smallest guest appearance in his awesome life. The Super Snapsuits were SUPER well received (sorry, I’ll stop doing that now). For a while they were, at least.

The packaging was on point and the pitch was perfect. When all was said and done we had a SUPER safe, SUPER fun new baby shower gift to offer our boutiques. We eventually added a new Super Snapsuit to the mix – “Super Bad” for kids that may desire a different path to worldwide notoriety. Our invention made it to People.com, but our pride and joy was when Neil Patrick Harris showed pics of his twins wearing them while he was co-hosting Live with Regis and Kelly. Another point of pride was when Ohio State University asked us to donate Super Snapsuits to help reward families who were participating in a study to battle SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). No one bothered trying to copy our Super Snapuits. And most importantly, no one got hurt. Total win. At least until the super hero craze started. Which you’d think would HELP our sales, but it did not. The opposite happened! Consumers wanted licensed product, no matter how shitty that product was constructed. And, man, they were terrible. They didn’t even have capes, for crying out loud! But that’s people. Sigh. Eventually our Super Snapsuits were attacked online nationally as an affront to women somehow. So when we sold out of our last batch, we retired the style for the time being.

We did so well with those first two styles, we decided to add a villain to the mix. Initially these came locked away in little window box packaging, which in hindsight was kind of dumb because you couldn’t see the cape right away.

We did so well with those first two styles, we decided to add a villain to the mix. Initially these came locked away in little window box packaging, which in hindsight was kind of dumb because you couldn’t see the cape right away.

We also made everything so bigger kids could be super, too.

We also made everything so bigger kids could be super, too.

That sounds like a sad ending, but it’s totally not! This story is titled “HOW TO BE FIRST”, after all! Hahaha. While the Super Snapsuits were on the market, we were still innovating. A onesie with just a QR code on the front, for example. When the curious scanned it, it would bring up a fake online shopping website saying that that baby had been added to their cart. We invented a baby mystic who offered blind-boxed fortune telling baby t-shirts (you wouldn’t know which incredible future you’d get!). We’re still innovating. You can get free, shareable goodies every month, or you can print our styles on your own with services like Zazzle. This is how, for more than 20 years, wrybaby has stayed profitable. By being first.

DAVE SOPP – Creative

Yep, that’s me. I’ve got over 20 years of marketing strategy, graphic design, advertising art direction, and illustration experience. Want to use some of it? Email me at dave@davesopp.com