Lee Jacobson was a senior project director and VP at Don Watt + Associates from 1980 to 1984. Today, he is  president of Lee Jacobson Consultants Brand Producers, a marketing and communications firm
in Toronto.

I worked with Don during a period that Ron Vandenberg, a colleague from those years, calls “a golden moment in time.” Don was enjoying the success of his work with Swiss multinational Nestlé on the re-branding of Nescafé instant coffee, using what would become his signature photographic package design.
Don’s mantra was “the package is the product.” When talking about the image on the Nescafé package, a bright red mug nestled in a mound of coffee beans, he explained, “People aren’t buying brown powder in a jar, they’re buying the expectation of a steaming cup of rich coffee.”  But he was always quick to point out that the product, and the company, had to deliver on those expectations.
Equally important was his role in the rescue of the troubled Loblaws supermarket chain through his work on store design, product strategy and communications. The partnership with Galen Weston, Dave Nichol and others in the Weston businesses would become a model for what Don called “strategic design,” helping businesses succeed by creating, responding to and capturing market opportunities.
Some reduce Don’s work to billboard-sized photographic murals, bold colours and a love of large Helvetica type. But that is a mistake and only a small part of what he pioneered. Don’s fundamental contribution was understanding and creating a whole range of signals that build a brand. His groundbreaking work in new product strategy and innovations, for example, turned private label programs such as Loblaw’s President’s Choice into significant competitors to national brands. While these innovations were recognized by the Harvard School of Business, more important for Don, they appeared on the bottom line of his clients’ balance sheets.
Don was a gentleman – unflappable and kind, with a love of travel, good food and wine. He was loath to express anger and was unfailingly polite and upbeat. He always retained his patience and wry sense of humour. On a business trip we once rented a Nissan Maxima. Don took one look at the car and, ever the marketer, deadpanned, “I wonder if they make a Minima?”
There has been a great deal of discussion lately about “design thinking,” the concept that business can profit from using the designer’s sensibilities and methods to understand customer needs and create market opportunities. Heralded by some as “the next competitive advantage,” design thinking is really what Don Watt practiced and preached his entire career. For those of us who had the good fortune to work with him and learn from him, it’s enormously sad that we will have to continue without him. But his example, energy and optimism are a legacy to an entire generation of designers, business leaders and design thinkers. -Lee Jacobson