Works But Makes Noises
Works But Makes Noises
David McGillivray & Jacob Heftmann
Designing With Emotion, Elastic Branding, and Band Dynamics with guest Estee Kim, VP of Design at Soft Services
1 hour 8 minutes Posted May 11, 2026 at 7:00 am.
Intro: Jacob’s back from Mexico
New MacBooks and Apple’s naming woes
... and David’s a US citizen
Welcome Estee Kim, VP of Design at Soft Services
“We’re a body skincare brand, in short. And we’re also a care company”
“In the spectrum of creative world building, I think that one of the first areas that Rebecca and I think a lot about is just like how does what we’re making...make someone feel”
Affogato L'Orange case study
Bathing in an affogato
Designing tactile and sensory experiences for online brands
Instinct and recognizing when a project is done
Estee x GT Eesti
Elastic branding
The creative team as band
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1:08:50
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Show notes
This week we're joined by Estee Kim, VP of Design at Soft Services, the cult-favorite body care brand known for its meticulous design and packaging. We talk on multi-generational design families, her parents’ graphic design and signage shop in Philadelphia, and her grandmother Rose's collage practice. Estee walks us through Soft Services’ design philosophy; how they capture sensory experiences visually, the brand’s “elastic branding” approach, the band metaphor for collaborative design teams,...