Brand & Packaging Agency Built for Growth.
A Sydney-based brand strategy and packaging design agency specialising in food, beverage and FMCG brands.
For over 20 years, we’ve helped ambitious businesses sharpen their positioning, build distinctive brand systems and design packaging that performs in market.
What We Do
We combine strategy, design and storytelling to build brands that are commercially sharp and culturally relevant.
Talk to us about:
Brand Strategy
positioning, brand architecture, portfolio thinking and innovation workshops
Brand Identity
logos, visual systems and guidelines built to scale
Packaging Design
range architecture, NPD and retail-ready execution
Brand Rollout
ensuring consistency across touchpoints as brands grow
We don’t design for decoration.
We design for recognition, memory and long-term value.
Who We Work With
We partner with ambitious brands across:
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Food and beverage
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High-growth FMCG
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Retail and private label
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QSR and hospitality
From challenger start-ups to established category leaders, our clients come to us when they need clarity, consistency and commercial impact.
We understand shelf dynamics, private label pressure, fast innovation cycles and the realities of scaling into new markets.
Tony Ibbotson
Founder & Creative Director
Tony leads our branding agency with sharp creative direction, strategic branding and a deep understanding of what makes great brands actually great.
After being exiled from his family’s wine estate for “insufficient grape appreciation,” he travelled the world working with major brands – then returned to Sydney to start The Creative Method in 2005. Now he’s one of Australia’s go-to creatives for brand identity, brand design and packaging design across food, drink, FMCG and QSR. Brief too tough? Tony’s already halfway through cracking it.
Nicole Rippey
Managing Director
Nicole leads with a calm, steady confidence – combining strategic clarity with genuine care for the people and brands she works with. She brings teams together, aligns vision with practicality, and ensures every project moves forward with purpose and precision.
With a deep understanding of how successful brands grow, Nicole turns complex challenges into clear, achievable direction. Clients value her thoughtful leadership, collaborative approach and ability to create an environment where great work and strong partnerships thrive.
Martin Mason
Non Executive Director
Martin is the strategic backbone behind The Creative Method’s growth – a senior business consultant with over two decades of experience in business strategy, commercial planning and organisational performance across global markets. He brings a deep understanding of how successful businesses scale, evolve and sustain long-term momentum.
Martin guides our leadership team through key decisions on strategic growth, operational structure and commercial direction. His ability to simplify complexity and turn insight into clear action ensures our creative ambition is matched by strong, sustainable business foundations. Thoughtful, pragmatic and highly experienced, Martin plays a crucial role in shaping the next chapter of the business.
Craig Ham
Brand Strategist
Craig is our resident brand strategist – a master of brand positioning, strategic thinking and uncovering consumer insight that actually matters.
With experience across 20 countries, he brings a deep understanding of cultural behaviour, category opportunities and brand communication strategy. Craig shapes brand architecture, strategic design and creative solutions that align with business objectives, strengthen audience engagement and drive positive change.
Irma Del Mundo
Brand Strategist
Irma brings nearly 30 years of brand experience across Asia-Pacific – from P&G and Johnson & Johnson to consultancy roles spanning FMCG, finance, fashion, government and more. She’s shaped strategy for some of the world’s biggest brands and solved just about every kind of brief along the way.
She combines rigorous insight with a people-first, pragmatic approach. A trained workshop facilitator, Irma excels at turning complexity into clarity – across creativity, innovation, brand purpose and portfolio strategy. Driven by a deep belief in People and Purpose, she’s passionate about building brands that matter and helping teams realise their potential.
Lee Nicol
Creative & Copywriter
Lee’s modelling career ended when the world refused to embrace his Mad-Magazine-sized ears. Design, thankfully, welcomed him with open arms.
A master of visual identity, brand communications and dangerously clever wordplay, Lee builds brand worlds people actually want to engage with – across campaigns, brand identity, digital content and graphic design. From Scotland to London to Sydney, he’s crafted distinctive identities for diverse industries and is still waiting for one client to dislike his jokes. And yes, he’s grown into the ears.
Jacqueline Christian
Senior Designer
Jacq is a creative with a strategic brain – the kind who sees the bigger picture while crafting the details that make a brand truly stand out.
She blends insight and design thinking to create brand identities and packaging that feel smart, intentional and quietly bold. Jacq doesn’t just make things look good, she makes them work. If you want work with clarity, character and just the right amount of edge, she’s your go-to.
Elli Lahti
Senior Designer
Elli’s work as a graphic designer is so cool that the hottest thing about her might actually be her love of saunas. She’s Finnish – so honestly, we’re not surprised.
She began her career in Finland creating motion graphics for TV commercials, and while she still dreams of seeing her name in movie credits one day, she shifted into graphic design after moving to Australia more than a decade ago. Her Finnish roots show up in everything she does – thoughtful, beautiful, functional design with a quietly clever aesthetic.
Indigo Philip
Illustrator & Senior Designer
Indy is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator – but more importantly, she’s an only child. Which means she grew up with a big imagination, a lot of creativity, and absolutely no interest in sharing her felt-tip pens.
She brings that same playful spirit into her work, always looking for the fun, personality and spark that make design memorable. Whether it’s branding, illustration or anything in between, Indy’s goal is simple: create work with enough legs to jump into the world and stand out.
Lucy Ryan
Marketing & New Business
Lucy is our connector of dots – and people. As Marketing & New Business Manager, she brings clarity and momentum to how The Creative Method shows up, turning strategy into stories that land, and relationships into real opportunities.
With a decade across London and Sydney spanning branding, digital marketing and brand communications, Lucy knows what brands need to grow – and how to get them there. She leads our marketing and new business engine, shaping our voice, sharpening our positioning, and building the partnerships that fuel what’s next.
Kirsty McDonald
Account Director
Kirsty is the calm Kiwi in the creative storm – an Account Director who brings clarity, structure and momentum to every project. With deep experience in branding, packaging and campaigns, she knows how to guide a brief from ambition to execution without missing a detail.
Kirsty works closely with clients to align goals, keep communication clear and build the strong relationships that make great work happen.
Michelle Snaidero
Senior Account Manager
Michelle is the steady hand and sharp mind every project wishes it had. As Senior Account Manager, she keeps things moving smoothly – balancing timelines, stakeholders and creative ambition.
With experience across branding, packaging and integrated campaigns, Michelle brings clarity, communication and a strategic eye to every brief. She works closely with clients to understand their goals, translate them into action, and make sure the work lands exactly where it needs to.