Defying Norms: A Conversation with Carla Palette, Berlin's Boldest Brand Visionary

Step into the dynamic world of design and branding, where the convergence of creativity and strategy ignites a spark of innovation. Meet Carla Palette, a trailblazing brand identity designer and art director based in the electric city of Berlin. Her work challenges the status quo with a vibrant palette of colors, pushing the boundaries of conventional norms.

In today's ever-changing landscape, consumers seek authentic connections and crave brands that align with their values. Carla's creations embody this shift, blending aesthetics with social commentary to forge powerful connections and inspire meaningful experiences.

Come along as we delve into the creative realm of Carla Palette, a true force to be reckoned with. Uncover the secrets behind her thought-provoking campaigns, explore her unconventional approach, and discover what it takes to make a lasting impact in the industry.

1. Your work is often described as "not for everyone." Can you elaborate on this statement and explain your philosophy behind creating bold and unconventional brand experiences?

My approach to brand identity design is deeply influenced by my earlier career in the corporate design world. Over time, I've learned that my style and approach don't resonate with every brand or personality type – and that's perfectly fine. People-pleasing has always struck me as boring, passive, and inauthentic. I believe it's crucial for brand identity designers to unapologetically embrace their unique approach and design style.

In today's oversaturated branding landscape, most designers try to cater to everyone out of financial fear or fear of rejection. I'd rather not be for everyone and instead stand out by creating purposeful brand experiences that resonate with the right audience. This approach allows me to work with brands I actually want to work with, rather than having to work on with.

With the world becoming increasingly saturated and audiences more opinionated and educated on societal and ethical issues, brands need to carve out a specific audience and hold strong opinions. By focusing on bold and unconventional brand experiences tailored to a particular audience, brands can foster intimate relationships and create compelling visual and messaging campaigns that speak directly to their audience. This approach may polarize opinions, but as long as the target audience feels understood and heard, brands can build a loyal, almost cult-like following among the right people while filtering out those who don't align with their values.

2. In an industry where trends come and go, how do you maintain a distinct artistic voice while staying relevant and resonating with your target audience?

When working in the lifestyle category, where trends shift and recycle at lightning speed, I believe starting with strategy is crucial. It helps in defining a clear direction and making the creative process more purposeful, rather than just reflecting the personal taste and style of my clients. Often, these clients are brand founders with a deep personal attachment to their brand, as it's their "baby." By focusing on strategy, I ensure the creative work is less subjective and more aligned with the brand's goals.

I've found that having a strong personal brand that combines my distinctive style as a designer and my personality helps me attract clients who allow me to maintain and express my artistic voice. These clients actually appreciate and benefit from my approach to branding.

My 'not for everyone' branding style allows me to attract clients who come to me specifically for my style. This enables me to maintain my own artistic voice while staying relevant and resonating with the brand's target audience.

3. You have worked with a diverse range of clients, from food & beverage to music and alcohol brands. How do you adapt your creative process to cater to the unique needs of each industry while maintaining a consistent aesthetic?

My early career in stark, corporate design has greatly influenced the brands I choose to work with today, primarily food & beverage, music, alcohol, and other lifestyle brands. These industries, being highly saturated with fleeting trends, are more open to my bold and memorable approach.

Finding where I can make the most impact has been a long process of elimination throughout my branding career. Unlike many creatives, I gauge the client's personality and aesthetic vision before taking on any project, as there are certain personality types I simply don't work well with.

I've moved away from brands with a 'for everyone' approach, as my style isn't for everyone or created with that thought/intent– and I'm completely okay with this. In fact, it works in my favor. I believe it's crucial for brands to resonate strongly with their audience, and I want to work with brands that benefit from my approach, rather than just churning out concepts to appease people.

I'm drawn to small to medium-sized brands that can niche within their audience, allowing for a bolder and more provocative approach. I still work with bigger brands, but I'm more selective about the projects I take on, ensuring they are willing to embrace a bold and daring approach rather than always playing it safe.

4. Collaboration is a critical aspect of your work. Can you share your approach to building and managing creative teams, and how you foster an environment that encourages innovation and creative expression?

My unique style tends to attract a specific type of client. When building and working with a creative team under my brand, I ensure these creatives not only align with the project's brief and aesthetic goals but also have a style that complements mine. This often brings fresh perspectives and elevates the work even further.

I collaborate with other designers and creatives to share the workload and get new ideas on projects – as I have a habit of taking on more work than I can produce on my own. The types of projects I take on can vary. Some are independent design clients where I take the lead, while others involve me art directing alongside another designer.

When managing teams, I often try to work with younger designers, not because they're cheaper, but because they're often looking for mentorship and education. This allows me to help them as designers and create a stronger, more constructive relationship. It helps create an environment where I can encourage my own design approach without undermining their experience or talents. This approach gives me more control over the creative expression, style, direction, and output of the project while fostering innovation and creative expression.

5. Social responsibility and environmental sustainability are becoming increasingly important in the branding world. How do you incorporate these values into your work, and what role do you believe designers and artists play in driving positive change?

Social responsibility and environmental sustainability have become crucial for brands to navigate in today's landscape. I believe these are now prerequisites for brands to stay relevant in a world that's essentially melting before our eyes.

We're past the point where brands can use environmental or social sustainability as a unique selling point. They simply need to incorporate these themes within their brand experiences to be considered relevant at all. While it's important for brands to incorporate these values, it's equally important for them to understand that this alone doesn't make them special.

With the rise of Gen Z, who are often painfully in tune with their own morals and ethics around social, ethical, and environmental causes, there's a significantly lower tolerance for inauthentic messaging. As Gen Z and young millennials often make up the majority of the target audiences I work with, this needs to be balanced with finesse and nuance to cater to the specifics of each audience.

However, I have no interest or respect for brands who approach me to simply 'greenwash' in a generic and inauthentic way. I don't work with these clients unless they're willing to pivot or rethink their approach.

My goal is to redefine the standards for communicating and expressing genuine sustainability, both visually and in terms of brand communication, to create positive change. I guide my clients away from superficial claims and toward brand executions that drive meaningful action.

As brand designers and artists, we have the power to educate brands on how to avoid greenwashing and take a more strategic approach. We can position them uniquely and create visuals that match this, cutting through the noise of what is known and expected – while catering to the ever-evolving needs of society's ethical and environmental sustainability.

6. Packaging design is a crucial aspect of brand identity. Can you walk us through your process of creating visually striking and impactful packaging that captures the essence of a brand?

My approach to packaging design depends on the specific client and whether they actually need packaging for their brand. Working often within food, beverage, fashion, or cosmetic categories, I understand that packaging and an impactful shelf presence are more important than ever. At the end of the day, the packaging is the real-world physical embodiment of the brand that sits on the shelf in public.

When working in the lifestyle category, where trends shift rapidly, starting with strategy is crucial. It helps define a clear direction and makes the creative process more purposeful and less subjective, rather than simply reflecting the personal taste and style of our clients.

Typically, I initiate a packaging project by first defining the visual brand identity. This involves stress-testing the brand identity across various packaging SKUs throughout the process. This dual approach ensures not only the creation of a robust brand identity but also an execution that seamlessly integrates into packaging design. The goal is to capture the essence of the brand identity and translate it into physical packaging forms that resonate with and engage the audience on a tangible level.

By focusing on this comprehensive approach from the outset, we ensure that the packaging design not only looks visually appealing but also aligns closely with the brand's core values and objectives. This strategic alignment enhances brand consistency and strengthens the overall brand experience, fostering deeper connections with consumers at the point of purchase and beyond.