INDEPENDENT BRANDS / PLACES / COMMUNITIES
Different industries and business models. The same commitment to identifying what makes a brand meaningful to people.
At a hospitality complex in North Ossetia I built an umbrella concept rooted in cultural research and the metaphor of a day moving from morning through evening. Three complementary brands emerged: BOVRON brunch café, HUR restaurant and MÆY gastrobar.
My scope included the master concept, naming, positioning, mission, atmosphere, menu direction and the relationships between experiences. The venues were implemented and are operating.
The challenge was an unusual mix of gallery, print studio, courses, coworking and creative production. Conventional category positioning could not honestly capture it.
We started with the artist’s practice, including mezzotint, light and darkness, technical precision and the tension between opposing ideas. That work informed the ABYSS name, verbal territory and brand expression in collaboration with the designer.
The identity became real signage, programmes, printed materials and a working artspace in Valencia.
For Tech_Connect, an established IT and digital community in Valencia I supported a research-led rebrand. Interviews and analysis informed positioning, naming direction and creative guidance for an identity refresh.
This was a consulting and strategic-direction engagement rather than ongoing ownership of the community.
I led the rebrand and growth of CONNECT Running as its brand and community lead. For about a year I owned the positioning, identity system, social media, design, copy, photography, video, Reels editing and merchandise creative direction. I also conceived and organised six community events, supported by a small team.
This was full-stack community marketing: from research and identity to the weekly experience that people returned to.
CONNECT RUNNING / INSTAGRAM ↗ CONNECT RUNNING / STRAVA ↗
THE COMMUNITY IN MOTION / SWIPE TO EXPLORE ↔
I founded CONNECT Road Cycling in Valencia and built it from scratch in under a year. I developed its identity, communication, weekly operations, ride formats, routes, pace groups, partnerships and merchandise, with volunteers supporting selected ride logistics. By the club’s scale of regular rides and active participation, I consider it Valencia’s largest independent amateur road cycling community — without backing from a commercial cycling brand.
The point was to build a brand that people actually participate in, not just a logo and a set of messages.
The club identity also lives in its kit. I guided the brand direction and coordinated decisions with design and production partners, while the finished jerseys and bib shorts became recognizable touchpoints on real rides.
For a proposed Spanish PetTech platform I created an extensive market and competitor research foundation covering ownership, category structure, regulation, breeders, shelters, vets, potential partners and product needs.
The 92-page analysis distinguished evidence from hypotheses and supported decisions about product scope, partnerships, pricing and go-to-market direction. This was pre-launch work, not a claim of an implemented product.
Through strategic sessions with the artist we developed an identity beyond a style of music: a robot with a human face, whose emotional depth contrasts with an increasingly mechanical society.
The idea became principles for staging, visual identity, styling and musical exploration. It inspired subsequent tracks and work according to the artist’s feedback.
Looking back, I can see how the human-versus-machine aesthetic feels familiar today. When we developed it, the direction was considerably fresher — and grounded in the artist’s own story.
In hospitality, culture, communities, music and early-stage products, the right source of brand truth is different. The recurring craft is discovering that source and turning it into something people can experience.
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