The Scoop with Michelle Mak
Transform chats with Michelle Mak, who recently joined Lonsdale as creative director following its expansion into the US market. She discusses the appeal of working at the branding and design agency, her previous experience of working at forceMajeure and the challenges of speaking to gen alpha.
Transform: Lonsdale recently opened its first New York office and appointed you as the creative director. What was it about this project at Lonsdale that enticed you to be a part of it?
Michelle: There were a lot of synergies between my experience at forceMajeure and the opportunity at Lonsdale. When we joined the Lonsdale and Partners network, it became clear that there was a natural fit for me to move across. This was particularly because, at forceMajeure, I worked extensively across both high and low categories. That meant working on super-premium brands as well as a significant amount of FMCG.
Lonsdale was looking to expand its presence in this part of the world, and it felt like a strong alignment with my expertise and background – especially my experience working on major global brands and the deep understanding I bring to that space. It was a very natural and synergistic opportunity.
It also gives me the opportunity to collaborate with people who are highly skilled in very specific areas, which helps me continue to learn and grow through those interactions. That larger network is incredibly exciting.
Transform: Before making the move to Lonsdale, you were previously at its sister agency, forceMajeure. Tell me about the agency and what a typical project would look like.
Michelle: ForceMajeure is a smaller, boutique agency, and we were very fortunate to work on some truly beautiful premium brands. My time there really exposed me to projects where we had the opportunity to create brands from the ground up, or to renovate and completely reimagine them.
Zacapa is a perfect example of that. They came to us looking to completely shift the perception of rum. Traditionally, rum had been seen as something you mix into cocktails – a more accessible, even lower-value spirit. But Zacapa was very different. It already had a rich and authentic brand story, with so much depth to build on. Our role was really to uncover that truth and frame it in a way that resonated with people.
It became a really rewarding A-to-Z project. One of the things that made forceMajeure special was its strong principles around doing things properly, helping clients rethink their brands through a more holistic creative approach that ultimately shapes the design. Even when we were brought in for something like packaging, our process always began with developing a broader creative strategy and vision, often in parallel with design.
What made it particularly successful was that the initial vision we established led to an ongoing relationship. We continued working with Zacapa to explore limited editions, extensions and ways to scale the brand across different expressions – each telling a different part of its story. It became a long-term partnership built on that original creative foundation.
Transform: One of your first projects at Lonsdale was for the global skincare brand Simple. How does the outcome show off your flare for strategic storytelling?
Michelle: I think from the outset of the project, we saw an opportunity to zoom out and recognise that we’re speaking to a different consumer today. The way we approach branding – not just packaging – has to be holistic. You have to think about it as an ecosystem and really step back to define the story behind the brand.
That thinking carried through to Simple. It’s a fantastic brand – and particularly well known in the UK – but the brief is essentially in the name. You can’t get more descriptive than ‘Simple.’ Before even beginning the design work, we wanted to reconnect with that core truth, because it’s what makes the brand distinctive.
This felt especially relevant given how much the skincare category has evolved. There’s been an explosion of products, increasingly complex routines and a huge amount of innovation in recent years. The landscape has changed dramatically. But with every movement, there’s also a counter-movement.
What’s interesting about Simple is that it sits very naturally within that counterpoint. It’s a brand many people start their skincare journey with, and we found that a lot of consumers return to it later in life, when they realise they don’t necessarily need overly complicated routines or an excess of active ingredients. There’s something reassuring in that simplicity: products that work in harmony with your skin, rather than overwhelming it.
That truth became the foundation for resetting the creative vision. It guided how we thought about the brand world as a whole, and how that translated onto pack. We focused on clarity and navigation: what the brand stands for, and what we want consumers to take away. At its core, it’s about how simply and effectively the products work with your skin, using carefully selected ingredients at optimal levels.
The story was already there; it was about uncovering the most powerful way to express it. From there, it became a really collaborative exercise to build out the world of Simple, both on-pack and off-pack. That broader vision helped shape everything, from communications and point of sale through to digital, ensuring the brand shows up consistently and meaningfully across every touchpoint.
Transform: Part of the project was centred around appealing to gen alpha. How hard do agencies like Lonsdale have to work to speak to this new generation of consumers?
Michelle: I think it really comes down to listening and recognising the moments that matter. The question used to be, “How do we as brands speak to people?” Now, it’s more about, “What can this new generation do with the brand?” Gen alpha is incredibly tech-savvy and interacts with the world very differently; they have instant access to information and they can’t really be marketed to or talked at in the traditional sense.
As brands, we need to give them agency and invite them to participate. That’s why creating a brand ecosystem or a brand world is so important for gen alpha. They want spaces to explore, and brands to feel like playgrounds where they can engage and co-create. It’s about reframing how we approach a very different mindset: thinking of brands as interactive experiences rather than static packaging or isolated touchpoints.
Gen alpha is also hyper-visual and values transparency. Brands need to communicate their values clearly but without being preachy. That’s part of what made Simple such a great fit: it has a straightforward, honest story. It doesn’t try to oversell or overwhelm you; it gives you exactly what you need. Leaning into that simplicity and clarity is exactly the kind of approach that resonates with this generation.
Transform: What’s your personal target over the next year as Lonsdale New York finds its footing?
Michelle: My main focus over the next year is working more cohesively with Lonsdale’s global network on larger-scale projects. Now that New York has joined the mix, we have a lot to offer in terms of shaping holistic brand visions. I know I sound like a broken record, but I really believe brands need to be strong and iconic in themselves, while also being able to speak to local consumers across different markets. There are so many nuances and cultural differences, and being in three key cities globally gives us an incredible opportunity to bring that perspective to big projects.
This article was taken from Transform magazine Q2, 2025. You can subscribe to the print edition here.
