Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Keller.
Hi Aaron, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well, I was born to parents who sought to start a commune in the Wisconsin countryside while growing the “herb” that is now legal in many states. Early in my childhood, the commune dream broke apart and my parents did as well. My formative years between a farm in Wisconsin and an urban life in Mpls.
Then my life took a different path from a country kid to the University of St Thomas. After four years, a graduation and some celebrating I landed at Yamamoto Moss, a design agency on the edge of exponential growth. The firm grew ten times its size and I got to learn along the journey with stellar entrepreneurs and working with amazing clients. After seven years it was time to start something fresh.
My father and grandfather were engineers and entrepreneurs and while the engineering genetic code seemed diluted in me, the entrepreneurial code was alive and interested in the adventure. With a partner, Brian Adducci, and a handful of investors we started Capsule in 1999. The .com era was in a full rager mode and clients were easy to find but team members hard to entice.
Then, the 2001 crash and employees came easily while clients disappeared. We worked our way through it, stayed scrappy and enjoyed the work with local and even some national clients. Then we were invited to write a book, Design Matters: Logos and eventually, Design Matters: Packaging. The road ahead never looked the same after those books were published and achieved best seller in the design category.
We were gifted with opportunities to work with SmartWool, Patagonia, PepisCo, Arc’teryx, Hydro Flask, Tyson Foods, and many other notable brands on our wish list. We also experienced a 2008 crash and recovery along with the start of our speaker series and podcast, Think & Link. It was born out of a desire to help people connect with our network, find ideas and opportunities in a French-style salon. It grew to a standing room audience in our kitchen once a month with amazing guest speakers. Then we all disappeared into our homes.
We’d survived two previous global events and came out the other side more resilient and capable. Yet this was unique. Our speaker series went virtual and grew exponentially with guests like Kathy Ireland, the head of marketing from the NY Times and Burger King, along with many other notable people we would never have expected to have on our little series started in a Mpls office kitchen.
The agency also started to adapt and rethink itself with a move to become a Special Projects Agency. This descriptor was given to us while on a project for Patagonia and it stuck around long enough to become a thing. It fit our culture. It fit the talents of our team. And, it fit the agency we wanted to build together. We saw an industry that could do better for clients and serve an important and agile role in their marketing, design and brand challenges. And it seems to fit the clients who have chosen to work with our team.
We’re now turning 25 years old looking back on the changes in culture, marketing, brand, design, innovation and business has been a joy. Yet we’ve never been overly nostalgic, keeping only what is necessary to mark the past. The future is our domain and fascination, we continue to look for the next great adventure with a client looking for dramatic improvement. This is what keeps us energized after 25 years.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
At least three recessions, one .com bust, one financial crash and a pandemic. We’ve been to the edge and made the bold decision to invest when times are the most challenging, and it has returned rewards for us. We’ve experienced the extremes of bumpy roads while done our best to keep a stable, reliable and creatively optimistic culture.
We’ve been impressed with Capsule, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a special projects agency, we take on the work clients don’t want to touch, can’t seem to get to or represent a “third rail” in the business. These projects have included a culture study for a national veterinary service organization, global research and packaging design for Patagonia, Arc’teryx and Hydro Flask, and the design of a health clinic for the employees of Tyson Foods, called Bright Blue.
Our approach of unique research, insightful strategy and thoughtful design to get at large challenges is what sets us apart in our industry. Plus, we’re very easy, agile team to work with.
We’re most proud of the next opportunity we have yet to take on, but second most proud of making 25 years in the blink of an eye.
capsule.us
What are your plans for the future?
We’re writing another book, The Value of Values, to uncover the vast differences between those two words and how important it is that we connect them in business and person endeavors.
And, the largest plans include growth around the Special Projects Agency model as we see new opportunities weekly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://capsule.us/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capsule.design/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapsuleDesign
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/capsule/
- Twitter: https://x.com/CapsuleDesign
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapsuleDesign
- Other: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/capsule-2097610203
