Leonardo Franca logo

Vol. 01 · In conversation

Where brand experience
becomes culture.

Leonardo Franca, Creative Director

Red Bull Racing stock car photographed low at track level

You're probably hiring for a creative director, which means you're asking one question: can this person carry an idea from the first conversation to the finished work? Let me answer it properly.

At a glance

Over 10 years in creative direction · Brand Identity · Art Direction · Campaigns and Experiences · Photography and Video · Team Leadership · Salt Lake City, Utah · English and Portuguese

Portrait of Leonardo Franca wearing orange tinted glasses
Leonardo Franca · Creative Director
01 · Q.

“So, what do you actually do?”

Creative direction grounded in making.

I'm a Creative Director. I work across brand identity, art direction, campaigns, events and visual storytelling. And I'm still the one who can pick up the camera or open the file when an idea needs it.

One question connects all of it: what should this brand feel like, and what will people remember once the moment is gone?

That is where brand experience becomes culture: when a moment is designed well enough that people want to be part of it, come back to it and talk about it.

02 · Q.

“How did you get here?”

Five chapters. Each one gave the next something to work with.

It was never a straight line. Each job taught me something the next one needed, from reading a moment, to building a system, to leading a studio. Follow the line, and open any point to see the chapter.

01

See

Red Bull · Photographer and Videographer · 2013 to 2016

Events, athletes and live activations. I learned to read a moment before it happens, with little room for staging and less for error.

01

See

Red Bull · Photographer and Videographer · 2013 to 2016

Events, athletes and live activations. I learned to read a moment before it happens, with little room for staging and less for error.

Active chapter: See

Seeing, making, building, operating, directing. Different disciplines, one eye.

03 · Q.

“What can you take from an idea to the finish line?”

Six things I can carry from first idea to final delivery.

One creative practice that holds the idea, the camera, the file and the room. Fewer handoffs, less lost in translation.

See the work
  1. 011 / 6

    Creative direction

    Positioning, campaign concepts and visual direction, from the first idea through final delivery.

  2. 022 / 6

    Brand and identity

    Brand identity systems, rebrands, guidelines, templates, packaging and launch kits. The pieces that keep a brand coherent as its team grows.

  3. 033 / 6

    Campaigns and experiences

    Campaign concepts, product launches, brand activations and live events, designed around what the audience should see, feel and remember.

  4. 044 / 6

    Photography and video

    Athletes, products, events and lifestyle. Concept, direction, production and editing in Premiere Pro, After Effects and Lightroom.

  5. 055 / 6

    Print and production

    Large format print, signage, packaging and environmental applications. I know what happens when an idea leaves the screen.

  6. 066 / 6

    Digital and ecommerce

    Websites, Shopify, social, email and digital campaigns, with UX and UI work in Figma and enough technical understanding to keep creative and performance connected. Google UX Design certified.

04 · Q.

“Can you show me?”

Different fields. One creative practice.

The categories change, but the problem is usually the same: how do you make something recognizable, relevant and worth remembering?

Two jiu jitsu practitioners in white gis smiling in front of a Gracie Barra Utah wall, one holding a new belt
Fig. 03 Gracie Barra. Community and film.
03

Gracie Barra

OngoingOngoing since 2025 · Community, Film

Short films about resilience, ritual and the collective work behind belonging, made to keep a community close.

05 · Q.

“What kind of problems do you like solving?”

When the brief has outgrown the obvious answer.

  • A launch that needs a point of view.
  • A brand that has grown faster than its identity.
  • A campaign that needs to become an experience.
  • A product that needs a stronger story.
  • A partnership that needs a reason to exist.
  • Or a creative team that needs clearer direction.

The interesting work usually starts when the obvious answer is no longer enough.

06 · Q.

“What have you led, and how do you work with a team?”

Direct, collaborative, close to the problem.

I've led media, art and design teams, managed project budgets and overseen several multimedia projects at once. I'm comfortable in the room where creative decisions meet business decisions, and I've worked directly with founders, CEOs, marketing teams, clients and production partners.

I know how to defend an idea, change it when the problem changes, and bring in the right people when more hands are needed.

Journalism taught me to ask the second question. Design taught me to care about the details. Photography taught me to look. Creative direction taught me when all of that has to become one decision. I work comfortably in English and Portuguese.

07 · Q.

“What makes your approach different?”

Range is useful when it becomes a method.

I've worked in brand teams, ecommerce, sports, consumer brands, print production and independent creative practice. The value isn't in knowing many disciplines. It's in knowing when to bring one discipline into another problem.

A brand problem might need a photographer's eye. A campaign might need a designer's discipline. A visual idea might need to be understood as an experience before it becomes an image.

I also shoot and design for no one in particular, because curiosity needs somewhere to practice.

08 · Q.

“And outside the brief?”

Looking, continued.

Recent frames from my Instagram. A running sketchbook of what catches my attention, assignment or not.

Follow @leofrancax
09 · Q.

“How do you think about brands?”

Field notes on culture.

Short studies of how brands, events and communities turn moments into culture. Published on Abacatto.