Don Watt (9 February 1936 – 23 December 2009) created the Watt group, a retail branding and design consultancy. Some of the more recognized brand designs include

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the l ...

's orange logo and store concept,

Sam's Choice Sam's Choice is a private label brand created by Cott Beverages for Walmart stores. The brand was introduced as "Sam's American Choice" in 1991 and has since been shortened to simply "Sam's Choice". It is named after Sam Walton, the founder of Wa ...

, No Name and

President's Choice President's Choice ( French: Le choix du Président) or PC are a line of grocery products or services offered by a Canada based company, Loblaw Companies Ltd. The various products are available at the companies retail locations. History Pr ...

. Watt was the first designer to use photosymbolism on packaging, for Nestle Instant Coffee.

Biography

Early life

Don Watt was born in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. His father worked in the military and his mother would often paint pictures while his father was on duty, this inspired Don early on to pursue a career as an animator. He graduated from the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

for industrial design.

Career

Watt's first job after graduation was for A.V. Roe, working on the design for the

Avro Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) ...

and the "flying saucer"—a special project for the U.S. Army. He went on to work for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

in California, doing animation for

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

, but then soon moved onto package design. After working as a creative director for Hathaway-Templeton, where he worked on finalizing the design of the Canadian Flag, Watt founded Don Watt and Associates in 1966. Soon after, the firm landed the account to redesign the Nestle brand in Canada. During the early inception of the firm Watt also worked on the design of the Canadian Pavilion at

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

. In 1973, Watt was hired by

Galen Weston Willard Gordon Galen Weston (October 29, 1940April 12, 2021) was a British-Canadian billionaire businessman and Chairman Emeritus of George Weston Limited, a Canadian food processing and distribution company. Weston and his family, with an esti ...

, to help resuscitate the

Loblaws Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companies Limited, C ...

brand. Watt designed the brand, stores, packaging for "no name" generic products, "President's Choice" premium products, "Too Good to be True" nutritious healthy products and "Green" for environmentally friendly products. Soon after the product launches, Watt suggested that then-current spokesperson

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

be replaced by Loblaws president

Dave Nichol David Alexander Nichol (February 9, 1940 – September 22, 2013) was a Canadian businessman and product marketing expert. As head of product development and eventually President of Loblaws Supermarkets, Nichol introduced the President's Choice ...

, after Shatner's availability became limited by his involvement in a new television series. The enhanced store flyer featuring Nichol's product picks, '' The Insider Report'', soon followed. In 1987, The Watt Group was recognized by the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

for developing solutions to classic profit-improvement problems, using strategic design to effect change in consumer response. However, in 1992 Watt sold the somewhat ailing Watt Group to billion dollar company beverage maker

Cott Corporation Primo Water Corporation (formerly Cott Corporation) is an American-Canadian water company offering multi-gallon bottled water, water dispensers, self-service refill water machines, and water filtration appliances. The company is headquartered in ...

, to market branding to retailers across North America, Europe and Australia. From 1992 to 1999 The Watt Group flourished with the association with Cott. Cott CEO and major shareholder, Jerry Pencer attracted Gary Oakley as creative head; David Boyd, production guru, Richard Garvin, retail store designer, Patrick Rodmell, business development expert, and Ted Zittell, retail strategist. To lead this team, he engaged Ira Teich as CEO and Managing Director of the Watt Group. The Watt Group grew rapidly and profitably under this format until the death of Cott's founder and chief shareholder, Jerry Pencer in 1999.

Watt International

With the help of Envoy Communications, Watt bought back the Watt Group in 1999, renamed as Watt International, and merged it with the International Design Group (IDG) to expand the business's offering and better deliver his vision of holistic retail experiences. Watt's namesake agency continues on this path, and today operates as a truly integrated retail agency. Beyond branding, store and packaging design, Watt International offers a broad range of strategically led creative services, addressing all of the channels and touchpoints that impact retail experience, be they physical or virtual, rational or emotional.

DW+Partners

In 2003 Watt, along with longtime business partner Geoff Belchetz, founded DW+Partners with St. Joseph Communications, a consulting firm specializing in retail branding and design. DW+Partners continued to work with

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

in the U.S. to re-design their

Great Value Walmart, Walmart, Inc., like many large retail and grocery chain stores, offers private brands (also called house brands or store brands), which are lower-priced alternatives to brand, name brand products. Apparel brands Major brands In March 2 ...

line, which has since been redesigned by others. In 2005 Watt developed the Super C brand and store design in Quebec for the Metro Group, and in 2007/2008 developed their "Irresistibles" premium packaging line. Watt updated the

Food Basics Food Basics Ltd. is a Canadian supermarket chain owned by Metro Inc. The company operates over 130 stores throughout Ontario. History Food Basics was created by A&P Canada to compete with the successful No Frills warehouse-style supermarket op ...

brand and store design in Ontario in 2008, after Metro Group acquired the Dominion and A&P business and created a new "Metro" brand identity for the corporation and he applied the Metro brand to Ontario stores, replacing the previous banners.

Legacy

In 2006, Watt was inducted into Canada's Marketing Hall of Legends under the category of Enablers–representing those who provide excellent brand-building expertise. In 2008, Watt was inducted into the Private Label Hall of Fame. He sat on the board of Aastra Technologies, Menu Foods, Pet Health, Cosmetic Essence, and Immunotec Research. Watt was a regular contributor to Private Label Magazine. He died in 2009 after a stroke at the age of 73. After his death, DW+Partners was absorbed into

St. Joseph Communications St. Joseph Communications is a Canadian communications company based out of Toronto. It is one of Canada's largest privately owned communications and media companies. The company currently has three divisions: * The print business - SJC Print * Th ...