About Me
I’m an ex–big agency Brand Strategy Director who champions a lean brand strategy process for design studios, brands & entrepreneurs.
Some of my bigger clients:
NICE TO MEET YOU
I'm Nika Worlund
After eight years cutting my teeth in London on global projects for Diageo and Unilever, I learned how to build world-class brands from the inside out.
Then I moved to Seattle, went independent, and spent the next seven years outside the big agency bubble —where I saw a growing need for brand strategy that was faster, leaner, and more accessible. So I built it.
Today, you’ll find me doing one of three things:
01 Freelance For Design Agencies
"Nika has worked at the sharp end of some of the world’s biggest brands, from Johnnie Walker to Dove to Pepsi. Fluent in both business and design, she translates commercial challenges into inspiring, actionable direction for creatives."
- ED HAYES, Head of Strategy at Bloom Design, London
02 Advise Brands & Entrepreneurs
"Nika brings global brand expertise to fast-moving startups, adapting seamlessly to shifting business needs, while keeping the big brand vision."
- KEN MEYER, Former Executive VP of Operations at Whole Foods Market, Advisor and Board Member to Entrepreneurs, LA
03 Brand Strategy Training
"Nika helped us rethink how we approach our own process, and gave us a much clearer way to communicate and productize the complexity of strategy. Easily the most valuable hour I’ve spent on my business this year."
- RICH WILLIAMS,
Founder + Creative Director at Column Studio, Seattle
01
Freelance For Design Agencies
This is how I keep my hand on the pulse.
My agency rolodex:
Some of my favorite agency projects:
Vigie Limoncello (Pentawards Bronze)
POSITIONING & BRAND STRATEGY | AGENCY: GLASFURD & WALKER, VANCOUVER
When founder Samaria O’Brien came to Glasfurd & Walker, she wanted to bring her family’s limoncello recipe to life. In a category dominated by Italian clichés, we took a category-defying approach. No lemons, no casas.
Instead of leaning on provenance or ingredients, we built the brand around modern food occasions and sunny (and sustainable) Californian fun. The approach stood out—and won us a Pentawards Bronze last year.
- Read about it on Pentawards
Swan Dive
NAMING & POSITIONING | AGENCY: GLASFURD & WALKER, VANCOUVER
I did Swan Dive naming & positioning as a part of an innovation blitz, and the client took it to market without changes. The beautiful design by Glasfurd & Walker got picked up by the Dieline, got featured in their 2023 Trend Report and got some love from the Brand Identity as well.
- Read about it on the Dieline
- Read about it on The - Brand Identity's design review
Meralan for Constellation Brands
CREATIVE STRATEGY | AGENCY: CO-PARTNERSHIP, SYDNEY
In 2019, before the Barbie movie, using a delicate flower crown as a symbol of strength was a hefty insight. I was pretty proud of myself. Co-Partnership, alongside Obey's Studio Number One (aka Shepard Fairey), crafted this amazing Frida Kahlo-inspired portrait, which I think sets it apart from the bubbly personalities of the sparkling wine brands.
- Read about it on the Dieline
Verily Kitchen
NAMING & POSITIONING | AGENCY: GLASFURD & WALKER, VANCOUVER
I got the pleasure of doing naming & strategy for Goop's favorite nutritionist and a mother of three @karlenekarst. Glasfurd & Walker helped her design and launch her brand of pasta sauces that sneak in a daily serve of veg. Now at Whole Foods.
- Read the case study on World Brand Design
Sansorium Non-Alc Store
POSITIONING & NAMING | AGENCY: GLASFURD & WALKER, VANCOUVER
The core insight of this project was to shift non-alcoholic drinks away from the limiting space of sobriety to the sensory liberation of feeling connected with your body and others. The name Sansorium combines these two contrasting concepts: Sensory pleasure and "Sans" ie "Without" in alcohol terminology. Glasfurd & Walker created an immersive marque and ID that makes no & low-alc rituals feel aspirational, vibrant & hedonistic.
- Listen to our client talking about her brand strategy process on the D2C Podcast
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02
Advise Brands & Entrepreneurs
I partner directly with founders, parent companies, and board directors to shape brand positioning, strategy, design, and go-to-market plans—while connecting them with the most talented creatives in the industry.
Some of the clients I've advised recently:
Essential Bread
CLIENT: SPRING FOODS | PORTFOLIO ARCHITECTURE | REBRAND STRATEGY |
Backed by Sam Kass—former White House chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition—Spring Foods set out to become a kind of General Mills for millennials, bringing nutrition and freshness back to the bread aisle.
I partnered with its board to streamline the brand architecture and define the role of its flagship asset: Essential Baking Company. Known for its Take & Bake bread and proprietary Fresh Seal packaging, I developed brand evolution scenarios that protected existing retail success while setting the stage for growth.
Parmacotto
CLIENT: PARMACOTTO | BRAND REPOSITIONING | MESSAGING | LAUNCH PLAN
Parmacotto, a leading Italian fine meats brand, was preparing to enter the U.S. market with ambitions to land on Whole Foods shelves. Its original Italian positioning didn’t resonate with the American conscious consumer, so I partnered with the marketing team to restage the brand for the U.S. cultural context—while staying true to its roots and product story. The new brand strategy and messaging were presented to the Whole Foods team and successfully secured Parmacotto a spot in the nationwide chain.
Salt & Twine
CLIENT | PARMACOTTO | CATEGORY CREATION | RETAILER PRESENTATION | BRAND STRATEGY | COMMS & LAUNCH PLAN
Creating a new category for Whole Foods by identifying white space in a stagnant market—repositioning a New England salami brand as the first Flavored Salami and building a vibrant brand story & comms strategy to support its bold, distinctive value proposition.
Want to Work With Me Directly? Shoot Me Your Qs.
03
Brand Strategy Training
I believe Brand Strategy is a skill, not a title. With the right training creative directors, account managers and new business people can all become strategic.
CURRENTLY TRAINING
3 World-Class Strategy Frameworks To Start A Design Project
PERFECT FOR: INDEPENDENT DESIGN STUDIOS WITHOUT A STRATEGIST
Speak, write, and present with the confidence of a world-class strategic design agency. In this live workshop, I'll show you the exact process & frameworks the world’s best agencies use to deliver powerful strategic design presentations.
IN 60 MINS YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO:
✅ Add strategy to your design presentations without feeling like an imposter
✅ Sell your design ideas as strategic solutions clients trust
✅ Charge more $,$$$ with confidence
✅ Unlock richer, more creative ideas
✅ Cut down on revisions, brief creep, and subjective feedback
⚡DESIGN BIGGER PODCAST
Actionable brand strategy for design studios.
Brand strategy is learned on the job—through decks, meetings, and office chatter. Let me be your inside source to sharpen your design thinking.
GO TO SHOW
P.S. Why I Do It All?
The Rebirth of Small Business—Backed by Strategy🔥
There are too many empty storefronts in small towns. Too much crap on Amazon. And too many mediocre businesses that could be great.
Meanwhile, strategy—the practical, market-focused, culturally relevant kind—is locked inside big agencies, sold to big brands, and priced out of reach for the people who actually need it.
I want to change that.
I want Doug, who runs a tire shop in the middle of nowhere, to have a killer value prop that prints money. I want a sustainable fashion label to avoid rookie mistakes. I want a wellness drink to give Coca-Cola a run for its money.
But I can’t do it alone.
We need more strategists in the world. Not just in agencies—but everywhere. Designers, account leads, journalists, managers, creative directors. Anyone who helps businesses can learn this skill.
When that happens, we’ll get thriving main streets, better stuff in our fridges—and maybe even less CO2 in the air.
That’s the future I’m working toward.
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