About me
I focus on branding, advertising, and web experiences. I am also an aficionado of illustration and music
creation.
My work connects strategy with beauty.
After cutting my teeth on editorial design for fashion, art
and design magazines during the early 2000s in Milan, I have
spent the last 15 years in London working on sponsored
content, branding, UI & UX, and digital advertising campaigns
for clients in the Fashion, Financial Services, Lifestyle, Luxury, Tech, and Travel space.
In primis, my work is very much my play. Through
disciplined creativity I explore and toy around with ideas,
weaving words and images into simple and elegant narratives
that connect with the right audience — visually, emotionally
and environmentally.
My tools of choice are a pencil and my brain, but I will make
a mouse and monitor sing too. I love to get inside the brief
and challenge it, bringing a clear, consistent and sound
strategy to the message.
Since January 2023, I have been a freelance Creative Director at
IM, a London-based design agency.
Working Experience
-
Freelance Creative Director
2023 — PRESENT, London
IM -
Art Director + UI & UX Design Lead
2016 - 2022, London
Creative Services — Financial Times -
Head of Design
2013 - 2016, London + New York
NetJets — A Berkshire Hathaway Co. - To view more please visit my LinkedIn profile
Highlights
-
2023, Switzerland — Prestige magazin
"Die Künstliche Revolution" — September Issue
Digital artwork featured on the magazine's cover and Internal Pages
-
2018, USA — 15th Annual Gramercy Institute Financial
Marketing Strategy Awards
Financial Times X UBS
Transact.ft.com won ‘Best Global Creative Strategy’ award in the Corporate category as well as overall ‘Best in Class’ award. -
2018, UK — DigiDay Awards
Financial Times X Auriens
'Later Life Stories', (Series I-III), received two nominations for “Best Use of Native Advertising” and “Best Branded Content Series” -
2016, USA — Appleton U360 Design Competition
Winning project for 'excellence in communication, design, and execution of projects'.
NetJets 50th Anniversary book (Limited Edition) -
2012, UK —
CoverJunkie.com
Covers of 'Spell Magazine' France featured on the website -
2007 + 2009, Luxembourg — Colophon Magazine Symposium
Work selected for the ‘Layouts’ category -
2005, Lebanon — International Typo-Graphic Conference
Work selected for the ‘Graphic Design’ section of the exhibition -
2005, Italy — DHD Magazine, DDE Edizioni
Why not? Neverland Hotel Architecture and interior design project, Sens-O-room, Bubble of wellness, a hotel room with no budget restrictions (p. 135)
Brands and companies I have worked with
- Brompton Brands / Buzz App / FigLeaves.com / Graff Diamonds / InsiJets / Liz Earle Beauty / Luxury Design Tailors / Kult magazine / Muse magazine / Made magazine / MyDeco / NetJets / Portland Design Associates / Ralph&Russo / RCS, Rizzoli Corriere della Sera / The Body Shop / Xerjoff Perfumes / Financial Times for: Ahlem Eyewear / Amazon Web Services / American Express / Auriens / BlackRock / Boston Consulting Group / Brunello Cucinelli / Coutts / Credit Suisse / DBS Bank / Fabergé / Google Cloud / GSK / HSBC / Iberdrola / Invest Qatar / Kaspersky / Krug / La Prairie / Laurent-Perrier / LG / Lombard Odier / Michael Kors / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries / Morgan Stanley / Patek Philippe / Philip Morris International / Piaget Watches / Ping An Group / PWC / Rabobank / Richard Mille + Ferrari / Saint Laurent / Singapore Tourism Board / Smurfit Kappa / Switzerland Tourism / The Macallan / UBS / Xinhua / Zenith / IM for: Atriis / Birchwood Park Golf & Country Club / British European Aviation / Cathay Pacific / Enness Global Finance Brokers / Elegant Resorts / Global Airlines / Land Union Hotels / Luisen Residenz am Zeuthener See / Pumpuli / Royal Institution of Science / Searcys / Strategia Data Science / The Hollies / Wyck Hill House
Language skills
-
Native / Bilingual proficiency:
Italian / Spanish - Full Professional Proficiency:
English / French - Elementary proficiency:
German
Interests
- AI / Art / Design / Languages / Luxury and Craftsmanship / Music / Philosophy / Photography / Science / Technology / A Tennis and basketball junkie
Fun facts
-
I grew up travelling with my parents. Thanks to this I have
had the privilege of living in different countries such as
Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Italy,
Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Venezuela — and nowadays in
England. Each country, each experience, each community,
taught me something valuable.
I am an unassuming music lover with great curiosity and appreciation for different types of genres and technology. I am also a verified Spotify artist . I believe music gives a soul to the Universe and is also a superkraft!
Personal projects
- I have a section on my website dedicated to my Personal projects. I believe they are a cornerstone of creative growth, discovery and an excellent way to put something out in the world that is entirely your own.
I build meaningful experiences through the synergy of art, design, and tech.
01
“For the past six months, Gian and I worked closely
together on a number of pitches for luxury clients. He
brought his art direction skills to a range of pre-sale
materials, whether that was a moodboard that outlined the
visual identity of a campaign, or mock-ups to help
illustrate our idea. I always enjoyed his cool, calm
demeanour and the evident interest and experience he has
in the lux sector. He's a great collaborator that I'd
highly recommend.”
“Gianfranco is a smart, proactive designer, art director
and colleague with a good sense of how to manage the needs
of creative and the commercial clients. From commissioning
world-class photographers to developing a strong sense of
a project's visual identity and art directing, he always
pushes to achieve the best results.”
“Gian and I have worked closely over numerous projects for
the last two years. A creative genius in his field who
likes to push boundaries with each project. We have worked
with a majority of luxury clients who have praised him for
his eye-catching designs. He pays a lot of attention to
detail and has a very good understanding of UX.”
“I have had the privilege to collaborate with Gian for the
past six years on a variety of projects and can
confidently say that Gian is an exemplary Art Director who
is always willing to go the extra mile and get fully
involved from start to finish. Whether it is Luxury or
FinTech, Gian’s creativity results in unique immersive
experiences with excellent data to back it up and very
happy stakeholders.”
“When the FT introduced branded content to their range of commercial
opportunities, six years ago, Gian was hired to oversee the development
of its identity. Since then, he has been responsible for the ideation
of countless campaigns, winning praise from stakeholders and clients alike.
I've always admired Gian's attention to detail, and his ability to capture
the essence of our advertisers' brands. His innate good taste reflects in
his particular predisposition towards luxury campaigns. I wish Gian all
the best in his career, and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future."
“As the head of copy at NetJets, I was Gian’s counterpart
on the Brand & Creative team for 2.5 years, and we
worked very closely and productively together on numerous
large-scale projects. He was a pleasure to work with,
always promoting open communication to attain the best
result. And although the bulk of NetJets’ business lies in
the US, Gian worked effectively with team members in all
different cities, including managing direct reports in New
York.”
“Certainly when you consider design you want a great eye
for detail, the ability to extend a unique imprint of
beauty and functionality to each project. Gian brings all
of this but also a good understanding of the purpose and
end result that design needs to accomplish as a key
compliment of good customer messaging and experience. Gian
is also a gifted team member with a strong sense of
relationship building and in managing other creatives.”
“Gian has impressed clients with his classy design and
also with his consistent and timely communication skills.
He pays very close attention to detail until he achieves
the desired effect. Working as part of a team, it was
essential for Gian to be capable of interacting with
different people, and using different software packages on
a regular basis.”
“I was fortunate to work with Gian when I was a copywriter
and he was a designer at Liz Earle. It was quickly clear
that he was a talented, experienced creative with plenty
of ideas and great attention to detail. I found him
approachable, positive and very easy to work with. I
consider him to be a lateral thinker, and one who will
always go above and beyond to get the job done to a high
standard.”
“Gian is a dedicated and passionate designer, and I've had
the pleasure of collaborating with him on a number of
digital campaigns over the last three years at the FT. He
gives very clear art direction and is one of those people
everyone wants to work with. Gian is commercially driven
and brings bucket loads of creative ingenuity to campaigns
with innovative concepts and beautiful design solutions. I
look forward to hopefully working together again very
soon.”
