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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.

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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 display advertising campaigns for clients in the FinTech, Lifestyle, and Luxury 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

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 / 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 Watches
  • IM for: Atriis / Birchwood Park Golf & Country Club / British European Aviation / Cathay Pacific / Enness Global Finance Brokers / Elegant Resorts / Global Airlines / Luisen Residenz am Zeuthener See / Pumpuli / Royal Institution of Science / Searcys / Strategia Data Science / Wyck Hill House

Highlights

  • 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)

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.”
Pip Usher - Luxury Content Director
Financial Times
“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.”
Ravi Mattu - Deputy Asia News Editor
Financial Times
“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.”
Niv Suresh - Senior Web Developer
Financial Times
“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.”
Alexander Kozlowski - Web Developer
Financial Times
“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.”
Jeremy Dubert - Head of Copy
NetJets
“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.”
Polo Aristoy - VP Brand & Creative
NetJets
“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.”
Liz Whiu - Managing Director
IM London
“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.”
Kirsty Doolan - Copywriter
Liz Earle Beauty
“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.”
Emma Hicks - Design Director
Longitude