Episode 17: The Importance of Branding - Who Are You -- and Who Are You Not?, with Renata Amaral

To say Renata is passionate about branding and design would be an understatement. Anyone who is in the room while she talks about one of her many projects, or shows off a new design hot off the press will instantly feel it’s something more. And be careful, her excitement is contagious too. It’s palpable. It’s love, a real love for turning complex ideas into tangible and beautiful things. A deep admiration of the power to reveal elevated principles through smart design.

Since 2003, Renata Amaral has specialized in brand development and design, getting her start with some of the best agencies in Brazil such as FLAG and Ogilvy where she cut her teeth working in client services leading a team of creatives to deliver quality work to some of the world's biggest brands. It was here where her love affair with branding started as she began to intensely study design and develop her own unique creative process.

A bit disillusioned by the status quo of the U.S. job marketplace in 2009 (as were most folks that year), she felt there must be a better way to both live and work, and wondered if the two really had to be at odds. The elusive work­​life­​balance always seemed to be a trade​off where neither side wins. As most good books find their way to you at ju​st the right time, ​Funky Business found its way to Renata that year and it inspired her to create a new kind of business, one that served the needs of its clients of course, but one that also inspired its employees, a place where people could do interesting work and still be authentic to who they are and what makes them truly happy.

These ideas prompted her to follow her entrepreneurial instincts and start her own business, EAT Creative Studio. EAT is a creative agency that helps companies tell their brand story through design, technology and experiential art. Through a thoughtful brand analysis process, they help companies unleash the strongest brand possible. Not forgetting about the ethos of happy and inspired employees, EAT has a unique organizational structure with no central office, which allows employees to live anywhere they want, where they feel the most engaged and inspired. Despite their distance, the team works closely together and get plenty of face­​­to​face time over Google Hangouts (and every other emerging platform of the month.) It’s this model precisely that has helped EAT retain top creative talent and produce the best work for their clients as their team pulls in inspiration from the global zeitgeist, living in diverse places such as Paris, Berlin, and Brazil. From their humble beginnings, with a little sweat and a lot of heart, EAT now works with some of today’s most exciting start​ups and globally well­​known brands that are shaping the future of industries such as entertainment, gaming, music, fashion, and tech.