Carla Palette: Pushing Boundaries, One Provocative Brand Experience at a Time

Get ready to be captivated by the groundbreaking work of Carla Palette, a visionary brand identity designer and art director based in Berlin. With her daring and unconventional approach, Carla has redefined the rules of branding and design, creating powerful and thought-provoking brand experiences that resonate with today's socially conscious audiences.

In a rapidly evolving branding industry where authenticity and meaningful connections are paramount, Carla's work shines as a beacon of innovation. Seamlessly blending aesthetics with social commentary, she navigates the complexities of modern-day marketing with finesse, setting new standards for brand storytelling.

Join us as we unveil the creative genius of Carla Palette, a maverick of color and controversy whose work has propelled her to the forefront of the industry. Prepare to explore the mind of this visionary artist and uncover the compelling narratives that drive her captivating work.

1. Your approach to branding is often described as bold and provocative. Can you share your thought process behind challenging societal norms through your work?

In today's oversaturated branding landscape, creating bold, unconventional, and sometimes provocative brand experiences is essential. With Gen Z's growing influence and the surge of social politics shaping societal norms, brands must adapt. It's crucial for brands to have strong opinions and a bold approach to stand out and resonate with a socially and politically charged society.

While it's important to be mindful of your message and its impact, being provocative is surprisingly easy in a world where everyone is trying to avoid offense. Thorough research is vital, focusing on a niche audience that aligns with your brand message. People will either love or hate you for it, but if you try to appeal to everyone, you'll end up appealing to no one.

I like to immerse myself in industries with traditional branding approaches. For example, BUNA, a niche whiskey brand from Sicily, used polarizing and down-to-earth messaging that stood out in the traditional alcohol market. It was crafted for a specific audience and likely wouldn't resonate with everyone, but that's exactly what made it effective.

2. In an age where authenticity is highly valued, how do you strike a balance between creating impactful campaigns and maintaining a genuine connection with your audience?

In today's society, where cancel culture is always at the forefront, brands must be more cautious than ever about their messaging. Society's tolerance for manipulative brand messages has significantly decreased, demanding greater authenticity and care.

To align with current social and political climates and create impactful campaigns that genuinely connect with audiences, brands need to niche down more than ever. People-pleasing has shifted from being a choice to a necessity. With the world becoming increasingly saturated and new generations more educated and opinionated on societal and ethical issues, brands must focus on specific audiences with strong, clear opinions.

By targeting a specific audience with bold and unconventional brand experiences, brands can foster intimate relationships and resonate more deeply. This tailored approach increases the likelihood of creating effective visual and messaging campaigns that speak directly to the intended audience.

As a result, some people may love you, and others may hate you, but as long as your target audience feel heard, understood and seen, you can build a cult like following. This approach filters out those who don't align with the brand's values, ensuring a stronger connection with the right people.

3. You work predominantly with food & beverage, music, alcohol, and other lifestyle brands. What draws you to these industries, and how do you approach branding for diverse clientele?

My background in corporate design has significantly influenced the brands I choose to work with today, and taught me what not to do or what directions no to go for. I now focus on food and beverage, music, alcohol, and lifestyle brands, which are more receptive to my bold approach. These industries are highly saturated, with constantly shifting trends, making a memorable approach essential to stand out.

Finding where I can have the most impact has been a process of elimination throughout my career. I make it a point to understand the client's personality and aesthetic vision before taking on a project, as there are certain personality types I don't work well with.

I've moved away from brands that aim to appeal to everyone because my style isn't meant for everyone—and that's something I embrace. I prefer to work with brands that benefit from my distinctive approach rather than just churning out concepts to appease the general public. Authenticity to my personal style and brand is key.

I'm particularly drawn to small and medium-sized brands that can niche down within their audience, allowing for a bolder approach. While I do work with larger commercial brands, I'm selective, ensuring they are open to taking risks.

Over time, my personal brand has acted as a filtering system, attracting brands that resonate with my style and deterring those that don't. This has allowed me to work with diverse clients while maintaining my distinctive design style.

4. Can you walk us through your creative process, from conceptualization to execution, and how you ensure that the final product aligns with your client's vision while staying true to your artistic style?

In the lifestyle category, where trends shift rapidly, starting with a solid strategy is crucial. Brand strategy sets the tone for my projects, making the creative process more purposeful and less subjective. It helps clients get out of their own way so we can create brands that truly resonate with their audience, rather than merely reflecting the personal taste of the clients.

When working with brand founders, I often need to debunk some of their personal ideas that might not speak to their audience as they think. This groundwork ensures that the branding process maximizes its potential and the creative outcome resonates with the audience who will drive sales.

Balancing the founders' vision with what's needed can be delicate. Challenging clients requires backing up my ideas with strategic research and evidence. This builds trust and helps clients feel heard, ensuring their vision isn't completely disregarded.

Overcoming these hurdles early on fosters trust and makes the creative process more objective, reducing client pushback when presenting concepts. This not only smoothens the creative process but also makes my work as a designer far less frustrating.

Ultimately, my clients know my distinctive style, which I've fine-tuned over the years. This attracts clients who resonate with my work and deters those who prefer to take the creative lead themselves. I firmly believe that when designers prioritize brand strategy and research, it's easier to maintain their design aesthetic and add a purposeful spin to each brand they work on.

5. As an independent freelance designer and art director, how do you assemble specialized teams for each project, and what factors do you consider when collaborating with other creatives?

Creating a specific team for each brand depends on the brand's needs, style, and my current workload. After going through the strategic process with my brand identity clients, I assess which creatives we need to bring the brand to life.

When forming creative teams under my brand name, I consider various factors for each project. It's crucial that these creatives align with the project's brief and aesthetic goals, as well as with my design style. The teams I create often bring new perspectives that elevate the creative work further.

I enjoy collaborating with other designers and creatives to share the workload and gain fresh perspectives. As a designer, I still like to work on the designs myself in collaboration with another designer rather than outsourcing the entire creative process.

I work with a mix of independent design clients that allow me to take the reins as the design lead, often being hands-on while also directing other designers and managing the client. For other projects, I might step back and art direct or design direct another designer. This approach helps me manage my workload without spreading myself too thin and keeps the work interesting and creatively diverse.

6. In your opinion, what role does packaging design play in the overall brand identity, and how do you infuse your bold aesthetic into this aspect of your work?

The role of packaging design depends on the type of client and whether they need packaging for their brand. In industries like food, beverage, fashion, music, or cosmetics, having impactful packaging and shelf presence is crucial.

Packaging is the physical embodiment of the brand that sits on the shelf in public that people pick up and interact with daily. Whether the goal is to catch attention, be more discreet, educate, or be purely functional - the end goal is always to make a strong impression on the audience and drive sales. For brands that rely on packaging, it plays a huge role in the overall brand identity and how the audience perceives and interacts with the brand.