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Unapologetically Good

Work
  1. SCKIntersecting RealitiesArchitecture · Interior Design · 2026
  2. SUB:3Bending Time & SpaceSports Nutrition · FMCG · 2025
  3. KOJAUnapologetically GoodFood · FMCG · 2024
  4. CLOSEDA Smuggler’s HouseHospitality · 2024
  5. Chris SisarichBeauty Amongst The MundanePhotography · 2024
  6. Our Boy RoyThe Friendly NeighbourHospitality · 2022

Independent Practice

How by Why is an independent brand and design practice led by Mark Blackler.

I work directly with founders and teams, bringing strategy and creative direction into the same conversation.

A brief might begin with a name, an identity, packaging, a website or simply the feeling that something isn’t quite right. We use that as a starting point, then work out what the brand actually needs.

Mark Blackler in the HBW studio

Our Philosophy

The answer is rarely in the brief alone.

We ask why before deciding how — looking beyond the immediate request to understand the problem, opportunity or change behind it.

How We Work

Our work begins with understanding.

We don’t run a set process. Strategy, naming, identity, writing, design: we use what the job needs.

(01) Clarify

Understand what exists, what’s changing and what actually needs to be solved.

(02) Shape

Find the position, idea or organising principle that gives the brand direction.

(03) Express

Design the identity, and everything it needs to work day to day.

(04) Support

Stick around after launch, so the brand can grow without losing what made it work.

Contact

If you think we should work together, reach out: mark@hbw.works

Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains, Australia

Brand is not what you see.
It’s what you feel.

Brand is often reduced to what’s visible, a logo, a colour palette, a system at the end.
But that was never the point.
Brand is the feeling that remains after the interaction.

Strong brands don’t begin with design.
They begin with clarity.

What do you stand for?
Why does it matter?
What should people feel?

When that’s clear, everything that follows becomes intentional.

There is no gap between what you say and what people experience.

When they align, trust builds.
When they don’t, people notice.

Consistency is what turns moments into memory.

We start with understanding.
We shape what it becomes.
We express it with intent.

Not as a deliverable,
but as something people feel.

By asking why, we discover how.
How by why

KOJA

PositionUnapologetically Good

Context

KOJA was already established, with products in market and an existing identity.

The question was what the brand needed to become next.

What began as a brand refresh became an opportunity to clarify KOJA’s position, consolidate what made the products different and create a stronger foundation for future packaging, communication and growth.

Role

Brand Strategy
Creative Direction
Visual Identity
Packaging
Brand Guidelines

Idea

Unapologetically Good.

KOJA did not need to behave like another worthy health-food brand.

Its strength was the combination of genuinely better ingredients with products people actually wanted to eat.

The brand could be healthy without becoming clinical, restrained or apologetic about pleasure.

Shift

The work moved KOJA from a collection of good products and messages toward a clearer proposition that could guide decisions across the brand.

Rather than treating the refresh as a cosmetic update, positioning, messaging and identity were brought together so future products could feel like extensions of the same idea.

System

The resulting Brand Bible brings story, purpose, positioning, messaging and visual identity into one framework.

That thinking extends through packaging, typography, colour, imagery and communication, creating a system KOJA can continue using as the product range and business evolve.

Sectors
FMCG · Food
Disciplines
Brand Strategy · Visual Identity · Packaging · Print · Digital Design
Year
2024
Credits
Mark Blackler