Brand Coffee Chats
An honest, raw chat to identify what it actually means to show up as yourself online.
Get actionable steps forward towards a stronger brand.
These chats are for you if:
➡️ You’re tired of going around in circles with your brand identity and want immediate clarity so that you can plan clear next steps.
➡️ You have a ton of unanswered questions going through your mind and need the help of someone who has gone through it.
➡️ You don’t want to commit to a full brand design project, but you need a first step in the right direction to align your goals with how you’re showing up online.
➡️ You’ve tried doing things by yourself before – but your colors, fonts, and even how you talk and write online seem off – and sometimes even forced.
Let’s sit down for a couple of hours, go over everything you’ve been up to and plan clear steps forward.
My Brand Coffee Chats include:
The first thing we do as business owners when we feel something is “off”, is change the first thing we drop our eyes on. Starting a never-ending cycle of adjustments that make us feel busy and productive, but lead to absolute nowhere.
Here’s the thing, if things seem off, take a step back and try to understand they seem off.
Chances are, the problem goes much deeper than just “having the wrong color palette.” For some people, it may be that they’ve tried to copy a big creator. For others, they may have chosen their colors out of personal preference without thinking about what they meant for their business and brand. But in 100% of cases, changing things without a deeper understanding will only lead to changing them at some point.
If you’re in this cycle, it’s time to seek help.
That’s why I’m always happy to book Brand Coffee Chats ☕️✨
✔ 2-hour Zoom call to answer your every question.
✔ Free brand strategy workbook for even more brand clarity.
✔ Post call support to ensure you stay in the right path.
My journey began in 2014 as a freelance graphic designer, juggling a bit of everything and grabbing every chance that came my way. It was a grind, but it laid the groundwork for what was to come.
The real game-changer came in 2020 when I focused on building my personal brand. That’s when the magic happened. I transformed from the go-to guy for cheap gigs into a sought-after brand strategist and designer, a role that’s not just for anyone.
As a result, people stopped looking at me as a cheap commodity and started queuing at the virtual door of my online business to have me on board.
My clients walk away not only with a full set of visual assets, but with a better understanding of their own brand (and themselves?) and the confidence to market their businesses the right way.
That’s the journey I want to take you on.
Let’s build a brand that not only stands out but also stands for something.
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brand identity
Justice Is Now Organization
manchester, uk
Justice Is Now is a non-profit organization that aims to combat the use of rape myths as defense tactics in courtrooms and increase the conviction rate for rape cases. The organization was created in honor of sexual assault victims and aims to end the practice of victim blaming and educate the public about the realities of sexual assault. Their goal is to ensure that future victims do not have to endure the injustice of rape myths being used in court.
The conviction rate for rape has gone from 6.5% to 3.5% in the UK. Research shows that too many people believe rape myths and victim blame, and these people are the same people who end up on juries.
The only person responsible for sexual violence is the person who commits the offense.
Our goal is to create a world where justice for victims of sexual violence is not the exception but the norm.
We intend to get there by:
We focused on creating visuals that pass on a strong sense of urgency, aligning with the core goals of the organization: speaking up, protesting, and raising awareness through powerful voices.
To convey this message, we explored protest symbols like exclamation points, megaphones, raised fists, and a mix of undercase and capitalized words to create visual contrast and emphasize strength and conviction.
Inspired by the handwritten signs often seen at protests, we embraced this raw, expressive aesthetic to reflect the movement’s authenticity and passion.
To reinforce the message, we incorporated expressive symbols like the exclamation point (!) into the logomark, effectively conveying urgency, authority, and the assertiveness of our shared beliefs.
curious to know if I can help you?
let’s find out
illustration
Canopie
montreal, canada
Ann & Anne support expecting women and new mothers through common motherhood challenges.
Together, they launched Canopie—a free, evidence-based app designed to improve maternal mental health and address the significant gap in care. Canopie provides clinically effective, flexible care through short, personalized audio programs that offer a humanizing approach to maternal wellness.
Our goal is to create effective, compassionate care for new moms. This means rethinking prenatal and postpartum care to fully address mothers’ emotional health.
It’s about caring for every mom, no matter where she is or her access to resources—high-quality care for everyone.
We’re offering a maternal mental health solution that’s impactful because it reaches moms at scale, right in their homes, at their convenience—especially during a time when traveling or scheduling isn’t an option. It’s critical, as 85% of new moms struggling with anxiety and depression aren’t receiving the treatment they need.
– Ann & Anne
The name “Canopie” is inspired by the idea of a “canopy” that provides warmth, strength, and resilience, creating a sense of protection and support as mothers grow through their journey.
We expanded the logo’s aesthetic into a series of nature-inspired illustrations, emphasizing growth and transformation in a calm, nurturing environment – all of them are drawn with a limited number of geometric shapes, giving us unlimited composition options.
Natural elements like birds, flowers, and mountains were chosen to evoke freedom, lightness, and calm, coming together like a peaceful landscape.
We also included mama and baby characters with restful expressions to emphasize the desired mood and human connection.
When we met, Canopie’s visuals didn’t fully convey the message or energy it deserved. Lacking graphic cohesion, the visuals were created in-house using clipart-based images without structure or visual thinking.
Now, Ann & Anne have a refined app interface featuring cohesive, on-brand illustrations that radiate the right energy. Each element is thoughtfully arranged, creating an enjoyable and intuitive user experience.
curious to know if I can help you?
let’s find out
brand identity
Sandra Malho
lisbon, portugal
Gira Sonhos is dedicated to the important people in our lives — those we should cherish most.
It helps people to give with intention, putting an end to unnecessary gifts and empty gestures. While combating unconscious consumerism, Gira Sonhos gives us the chance to show genuine appreciation.
As a person who has difficulty expressing what goes in my soul, art is my way of saying “I like you”, “you’re important to me” or even a simple “thank you”.
I like to offer something that makes the other person feel special and loved.
Something different.
– Sandra Malho
The name Gira Sonhos is inspired by two Portuguese words: girassol (sunflower) and sonhos (dreams).
Sandra feels a deep connection with sunflowers and wanted this to be part of her brand identity. Since this is a personal project, it only made sense to reflect Sandra’s personality and ethic values in the design.
In the draft phase, we explored several sunflower variations, as well as typography that would align with Sandra’s vision.
Key attributes we highlighted:
The logomark features a hand-drawn sunflower, symbolizing the artisanal and handcrafted techniques Sandra uses in her figurines.
To highlight the sunflower’s unique characteristic—its natural tendency to turn toward the sun—we created multiple logo iterations, each showing the sunflower in a different position, as if it were following its light.
Thanks to the Brand DNA and brand identity process, Sandra now understands her audience, competitors, and how she wants to be perceived.
She’s confident in her online presence, knowing exactly what to post, how to post it, and how to use these tools strategically. With a brand identity that reflects who she is and connects with the right audience, she’s growing her presence effectively — and with real results, including orders from abroad within 2 months after launch.
know the project: @girasonhos.pt
curious to know if I can help you?
let’s find out
brand identity
view from 32 firm
los angeles, usa
View From 32 was founded by Gabriella, Cassie, and Lindsay — three women with a passion for beauty. With a strong industry background from their time at Sephora’s headquarters in San Francisco, they bring both expertise and friendship into their work.
Their services include strategy, consulting, and expert advice to help beauty brands achieve their business goals. As thought partners, they guide clients through the competitive beauty market, empowering them to succeed.
A bit of their story:
A nod to the famed 32nd floor of the iconic retailer that gave the trio an unparalleled perspective of the industry as well as access to some of its most important leaders, executives, founders, investors and creatives, the name View from 32 pays homage to their combined time of over 25 years at Sephora.
It wasn’t until a summer trip to Portugal in 2022 when Cassie, Gaby and Lindsay officially decided to join forces and continue to steer brands towards success—this time, as a powerhouse of three. Over verdejos at the beach, they toasted to friendship, passion and continuing to leave their mark on the beauty industry as View from 32.
When we started working together, their vision was to create a logo mark that combined elements of beauty products and a building, symbolizing their origin story.
While buildings are often associated with construction companies, real estate agencies, or architecture firms, we wanted to challenge that convention. How intriguing would it be to design a construction-inspired logo with a chic and feminine touch?
After exploring various drafts, we ultimately decided to take a different direction, opting for a modern, feminine eye shape inspired by Greek motifs, which directly ties into the company name.
The chosen typography is bold yet chic, reminiscent of boutique brands and contemporary, welcoming hotels.
This eye shape is simple and elegant, effectively conveying the concept of ‘view,’ while the typography adds a professional yet stylish touch, making the logo both visually impactful and memorable.
curious to know if I can help you?
let’s find out
illustration
Ann Don Bosco
london, uk
Usually people wait until they are ‘bad enough’ to get support but we believe that almost everyone could benefit from learning evidence based mental health techniques.
The name “Eggshells” symbolises breaking free from the constraints of walking on eggshells, encouraging open conversation about feelings while maintaining a lighthearted tone.
The illustrations feature the cracked egg as the main element, accompanied by simple human figures in various positions and interactions. These illustrations aim to convey the concept of acknowledging our feelings, accepting our mental state, and working on our mental health.
The human figures are depicted hugging the eggs, juggling them, climbing on them, jumping over them, and examining them.
These actions symbolise the different ways we engage with our emotions and challenges. The size variations of the eggs, with some smaller than the human figures and others larger, represent the varying sizes and complexities of our personal issues.
By embracing our vulnerabilities and actively working towards improvement, we can foster a positive and supportive approach to our mental health journey.
We decided to tweak their logo to match the illustrations’ look and feel.
curious to know if I can help you?
let’s find out
brand identity
Patricia DePietto
new york, usa
At the heart of Not What Defines Us is a commitment to empowering survivors to heal, grow, and reclaim control over their lives. We recognize the strength within every survivor and believe that sharing experiences and insights can be a powerful catalyst for healing.
By manipulating the letters, we challenge the status quo, showing that no one is defined by convention, but by conviction; Just as the letters in the logo can be rearranged and transformed, survivors have the power to redefine their own narratives;
curious to know if I can help you?
let’s find out
When we were happy with our findings, we moved on to the first step of my design process, the brand’s mood board. Both Russell and I brought visual references out of our own research and point of view.
After those discoveries and an in-depth brainstorming session, I presented Russell my solution.
We chose two main colors (the red and orange), two secondary colors (the purple and pastel color), and one accent color for support when needed (soft grey). The palette can be used as is, or in gradients as long, as we keep the color hierarchy to maintain the visual consistency throughout.
Now, we were now ready to re-write and re-design Russell’s most important touchpoint, his LinkedIn profile.
GrowingDesign © 2023
After those discoveries and an in-depth brainstorming session, I presented Laura my solution.
GrowingDesign © 2023
After those discoveries and an in-depth brainstorming session, I presented Myrto my solution.
“Working with Joel on my brand, what stood out was my 360° detailed overview on the fintech and banking software business from various roles and different backgrounds.”
– Myrto Zehnder
GrowingDesign © 2023
Go Boss Yourself
GrowingDesign © 2014-2023
Justice Is Now!
GrowingDesign © 2014-2023
Canopie
We also included mama and baby characters with restful expressions to emphasize the mood and human connection.
know more about the app & project at:
canopie.app
GrowingDesign © 2014-2023
View from 32
Before starting to work on the visual aspects of the brand identity, it is important to have a clear understanding of the brand’s goals and style. A brand identity questionnaire has proved to be a useful tool to gather insights into the brand’s mission, values, target audience, and desired image. So that was our starting point.
GrowingDesign © 2014-2023
Before starting to work on the visual aspects of the brand identity, it is important to have a clear understanding of the brand’s goals and style. A brand identity questionnaire has proved to be a useful tool to gather insights into the brand’s mission, values, target audience, and desired image. So that was our starting point.
The typography selected has details reminiscent of the Celtic style, further emphasising the connection to Irish heritage and reinforcing the brand’s identity.
GrowingDesign © 2014-2023
With the proper framework, we worked on her foundations, explored different ideas, and defined key business concepts every brand should have clarified before they show up in the world.
Cosmic Creative is dedicated to providing psychology-based copywriting services to business owners who are committed to building strong and long-lasting businesses who value integrity, respect and empathy.
Mutual respect for one another and being able to see the world from someone else’s perspective is highly valued by Cosmic Creative.
“He (Joel) helped me hone in on my vision and mission, took an in-depth look at my target audience (e.g. their biggest challenge, desires, and buying decisions), completed a competitive analysis, figured out what makes my brand unique, narrowed down my brand voice and values, and so much more.”
– Rebecca Scott, Cosmic Creative
We’ve redesigned Rebecca’s main brand touchpoint, her LinkedIn profile.
With a new banner image, a unique profile picture and the right messaging throughout, Rebecca is getting new followers consistently.
GrowingDesign © 2022
GrowingDesign © 2022
The project was divided into easy-to-follow phases and the complete process included:
After our engagement, Persona has seen an increase in sales, and brand awareness. An on-brand online store is a crucial brand touchpoint to the success of a product-based business.
How colorful is your sock drawer?
Persona
GrowingDesign © 2022
Dana already had a strong brand presence on Instagram when she came to us looking for a website.
The goal for this new brand touchpoint is to strengthen her overall online presence and brand experience.
The project was divided into easy-to-follow phases and the complete process included:
No need for third-party apps or services, when you have your own website use it to host your unique link in bio for your marketing purposes.
Visit it today and meet
Media with Dee
GrowingDesign © 2022
color palette
I’m a graphic designer focused on helping meaningful & nice-people-managed startups stand out by providing custom and appealing brand visuals.
My journey started with product design, but I soon found out that graphic was the way, when I realized that I had more fun creating the communication assets for my products than designing the products themselves.
Along with 5+ years of freelancing, I had the opportunity to help more than 20 (now a bit happier) business owners from all over the world.
They define the experience as reliable, enjoyable, and smooth.
Keep learning is a must, so, some of my time is invested in it, to make sure I’m always updated and ready to come up with creative solutions for any new challenges.
Let’s meet each other!
Message me about your project or with any questions about my process. If your project seems like a good fit, we can schedule a call to discuss further details.
My journey began in 2014 as a freelance graphic designer, juggling a bit of everything and grabbing every chance that came my way.
It was a grind, but it laid the groundwork for what was to come.
The real game-changer came in 2020 when I focused on building my personal brand.
That’s when the magic happened.
I transformed from the go-to guy for cheap gigs into a sought-after brand strategist and designer, a role that’s not just for anyone.
As a result, people stopped looking at me as a cheap commodity and started queuing at the virtual door of my online business to have me on board.
My clients walk away not only with a full set of visual assets, but with a better understanding of their own brand (and themselves?) and the confidence to market their businesses the right way.
That’s the journey I want to take you on.
Let’s build a brand that not only stands out but also stands for something.
Interested in talking?