Design meets reality TV. Chaos ensues.
Our designers Daisy Kennedy and Jem Pomak recently swapped client meetings for the pressure cooker of The Apprentice. No briefs. No strategy sessions. Just a ticking clock and contestants hungry for Lord Sugar's approval.
The result was a masterclass in why proper design takes time. And why you probably shouldn't design hot sauce packaging in 35 minutes.
The brief: Hot sauce showdown
Lord Sugar's challenge was deceptively simple: create and brand a new hot sauce.
Daisy partnered with pizza entrepreneur Anisa Khan and 3D artist Jordan Dargan on 'Umami Mami' – a South Asian-inspired sauce. Their label captured cultural inspiration through vibrant colours and considered design elements. The judges approved, but their taste buds? Less convinced.
Jem's team of Max England, Director at MaxPadel and Dean Franklin, co-owner of ADL Air Conditioning Ltd. went full inferno with 'Bangin' – featuring Carolina Reaper chillies (the world's hottest pepper). The sauce delivered legitimate heat, but their packaging felt rushed rather than refined. Basic graphics and predictable design elements didn't translate to shelf appeal.
A tale of two sauces. But what was it really like behind the scenes?
Surprise call-up
"I was trying not to overthink it too much," Daisy says about the invitation. "We didn't know what they were going to ask us to do – it could be anything, there's no prep. We only found out the week before what the challenge was going to be."
Jem's reaction was decidedly more casual. "I didn't think about the fact that this was going to be on TV. I just thought it would be a fun thing to do, but actually – people are going to see this."
They felt calm after filming wrapped. Then came twelve months of replaying every design decision in their heads.
The reality of reality TV
TV branding bears little resemblance to actual branding. The Apprentice proves this beyond doubt.
"It was insane," Jem states flatly. "When you're watching The Apprentice at home, you think 'why are they messing this up? This is so easy,' but in that room, with the time you have, no one can produce anything good in that time."
Daisy doesn't mince words: "We would never design a label in under an hour and think it was ever going to be anywhere near good."
Time was their biggest enemy. "Overall I had about 35 minutes to design the label," Jem explains. "And in that time, they had to name the sauce, create the logo, do the packaging, write the copy. I was feeling pressure for them – I really wanted to help, but I couldn't."
But the rushed results revealed something valuable. "The fact that it is done so 'badly' in that amount of time just shows how much we actually do," Daisy points out. "Hopefully it's going to make people appreciate that the design process takes time, skills and creativity, and all those things are really important."
Designer vs. contestant
Both now respect what the contestants endure. Neither wants to switch places.
"Watching The Apprentice on TV I always thought, 'yeah, I'd smash it.' But then seeing them actually do it, it's so difficult – hats off to them," admits Jem. "I would like to do what we did again, but not as a contestant."
The hardest part wasn't creating designs – it was staying silent when they needed fixing.
"That was the trickiest part," Jem says. "A couple of small tweaks would've made a world of difference, but they were trying to make things up on the fly and there was no time for experimentation. I had this voice in my head saying, 'This isn't right... I wouldn't do this.' But you're a bit of a puppet, you just have to do it."
Daisy nails the feeling: "It's like you're sitting there watching yourself, shouting at yourself on the TV."
The upside-down design process
The Apprentice flips proper design process on its head.
"Typically, a brand would know what it's called before designing any label," Daisy explains, "so the whole process of The Apprentice is backwards. It shows how important it is for brands to know who they are, what they're going for, what the strategy is, and what the product is – the brand architecture."
Jem cuts to the chase: "Integrity of message is crucial – know what you're going to say and say it in the simplest, boldest way. For packaging, you want it to stand out on the shelf. If the contestants understood what they were trying to achieve it would have been a lot more effective."
Real-world application
Has The Apprentice changed how they approach client work?
"Absolutely not," they answer simultaneously.
"I think because it's so out of the world of design and in the world of television, it's really hard to bring anything across," Jem clarifies. "You wouldn't go to design with the information they came to us with – you need to sort out your strategy, name, copy."
Ironically, their enforced silence highlighted what they bring to real client work. "Not being able to interject and influence the process shows how much influence we do have on projects – not being able to say something makes you appreciate when you can."
The value of professional design
Given creative control, they'd have taken fundamentally different approaches.
Jem would strip things back: "I would have made it simple, bold and keep to a red, white and black colour palette."
Daisy would add sophistication: "I'd encourage my team to use print processes and textures to make it more interesting."
Strategy would come first. Always. "Before any of this, we would make sure the strategy and approach was solid before we started thinking about how it looks," explains Jem. "Then we'd start to look at a few routes that communicate that, and only then would we start looking at design – and that could be weeks or even months into the process."
Of course, the show's timeline made this impossible: "For us to do all of that in 40 minutes was pretty full on."
Despite everything, both would happily return. Daisy insists, "It’s a good thing to challenge yourself. There aren't many opportunities that bring you fully outside your comfort zone – and this was one of them." Though next time, they might smuggle in a proper brief. 😉
Catch Whippet in episode 8 of BBC's The Apprentice series 19, streaming now.
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