brand or die

Your supplier Is your Spouse

Find them....Court them... Manage their expectations.

TL;DR: much like finding the love of your life, finding your suppliers is a healthy balance of knowledge and experience. You may start out clumsy, but if you know how to calculate Total cost of ownership, you'll find a much happier long term connection.

You are not a unique butterfly.

(But that's a good thing)

TL;DR: Marketing researchers identify 5 brand types and give rules of thumb to follow when it comes to your design and packaging, so you can better communicate with designers and produce results. Are you massive, contrasting, natural, delicate or nondescript?