Dan Rocha

Graphic design. Design Team Leadership. Print + Packaging Expert.

How do we get from here to there? This is a question I love helping to answer! My career has been full of organizational change and opportunities to lead creative teams through change. The graphic and packaging design world constantly changes and requires an innovative leader with a talent for looking through the chaos to the end goal. I am a seasoned Graphic Designer and Manager who brings direction to creative teams, design and packaging projects and deliver expected results to my clients.Below are some highlights from my over 25 years in design and packaging management and operations.

  • Trained designers and built a network of in-house design studios in West Coast corrugated packaging plants

  • Extensively traveled in SE Asia qualifying print and packaging suppliers

  • Built a production design team for an in-house creative team that increased the brand's speed to market

  • Set up an ISTA packaging testing lab staffed with engineers and designers in the US and oversaw the creation of a mirrored lab in China

  • Spent some time as a solopreneur building my design agency from zero to $100,000 in billing in 18 months

  • Partnered with a fading printing business bringing new segments inhouse and increasing revenue from $450,000 to $1,000,000 in three years

Scroll down to view some selected work samples. I would love to talk in depth about these projects and others and how I can help your business grow through design management and operational efficiency!

Selected work

brand design

brand refresh

A historic small-town business operating since 1935 needed help relaunching in 2022. Honoring the name and its roots I refreshed the logo and rebuilt the website. The result is fresh branding and a new website with solid SEO that greatly expanded the reach and growth of this business.

scope

  • Graphic Design

  • Website Design + SEO

  • Brand Voice

  • Rebrand Launch

Brand Design

brand identity and website

A force in economic development in Columbia County needed a rebrand and consistent message. I assembled a team including a copywriter and a web design agency. Led by me, we built a new brand identity, created a consistent voice, and developed a brand-new website.

scope

  • Art Direction

  • Logo + Brand Design

  • Account Management

  • Project Management

Packaging design

retail packaging

A growing powerhouse in personal audio was ready to move its product line out of plastic clamshell packaging into something more environmentally friendly that still showcased the product. Working with the brand my team designed, prototyped, and launched fiber-based packaging across their retail line. The result is easy to recycle packaging and increased sales.

scope

  • Design Management

  • Production Design

  • Color Management

  • Supplier Qualification

brand design

non-profit campaign

Columbia Pacific Food Bank was looking for help launching a capital campaign. Funds raised would be matched with a grant to fund a new building. We focused on the root of what they do, FEED the community. I created a logo and collateral. The logo which features elements from the community, has gone on to be used for an annual fun run, pride month fundraiser and other events. They met their capital campaign goal and to date, the fundraisers have raised thousands of dollars to fight food insecurity.

scope

  • Logo Design

  • Collateral Design

  • Socail Media Graphic Design

  • Fundraising Strategy

brand design

catalog, tradeshow and packaging design

I built a production design team for the action-sports brand DAKINE when it was based oi Hood River, Oregon. My team took on catalog production, trade show booth design production, product specifications and more. Working directly with Product Line Managers and our overseas factories we decreased the time to prototype approval by creating comprehensive design packages for each product.

scope

  • Brand Design

  • Packaging Design

  • Catalog Design and Presschecking

  • Tradeshow Booth Design

  • Photoshoot Direction

  • Product Development

  • Presschecking

packaging design

sustainable packaging

The main goal in redesigning this grill company's accessory packaging was to eliminate plastic. Of course, the pack counts, and shelf space had to remain the same. I led my team in creating a packaging design that used micro flute and SBS board. In many cases, we increased pack counts. We worked with the overseas factories to ensure the pack-out process would not add cost. I also established color standards to match brand colors across multiple print suppliers. Besides eliminating plastic, we improved shelf presence, decreased inbound freight in some cases, and increased sales.

scope

  • Packaging Design Management

  • Production Design Management

  • Color Management

  • Supplier Qualification

  • Presschecking

website + brand design

real estate

A veteran in the residential real estate market came to me looking to increase her online presence. Specifically she wanted her own branded website that featured her listings and let visitors search the entire RMLS catalog. I created a personal brand, built the site in WordPress and connected an MLS services. Our SEO strategy included creating pages and content for each key geographic area she serves with custom local photography, listings, and recommendations. I also created content for home buyers and sellers and connected her biweekly podcast. The result is a responsive, easy to navigate site that ranks well in local search.

scope

  • Logo and Brand Design

  • Brand Voice

  • Website Design and SEO

  • Print Collateral Design

packaging design

innovative sustainable packaging

An innovator in camping gear for over 100 years needed to eliminate plastic clamshell packaging in its backpacking stoves and camp cooking accessories. There was a catch. I partnered as a subject matter expert with their creative team. Once we had our creative direction nailed down my team designed and tested the new packaging. This included OEM factory pack out testing, retail and consumer testing, and ISTA transit testing. I built color and print standards and qualified overseas printers. The result was an award winning, fiber-based packaging.

scope

  • Packaging Design + Engineering

  • Production Design

  • Color Management

  • Vendor Qualification

  • QA Program Implementation

Request more info

I love chatting about design, packaging, operational efficiency, overseas supply chains and business in general. Reach out and lets talk.

Thank you

I'll be in touch