The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
I've been overthinking what to share here.
Every time I opened Contra, I felt like I needed the perfect case study, the perfect insight, or something groundbreaking to justify posting. So... I ended up posting nothing.
Meanwhile, I kept seeing incredibly talented people sharing their work, supporting each other, exchanging ideas, and building genuine connections. It reminded me that platforms like this aren't just portfolios, they're communities.
So I think it's time I show up a little more.
Over the last few years, my studio, Carthagos, has had the privilege of helping founders across AI, robotics, healthcare, fintech, aerospace, and many other industries turn ambitious ideas into brands and digital products. We've worked with startups raising their first rounds, companies preparing for IPOs, and everything in between.
But beyond the launches, there have been countless iterations, lessons, failures, pivots, and discoveries that never made it into a case study.
I'd like to start sharing more of that.
The thinking behind the work. The process. The wins. The mistakes. The messy middle that's usually far more interesting than the polished ending.
To kick things off, my first post will be something very close to home: the rebranding we're currently doing for Carthagos.
After years of helping other companies evolve, it felt like the right time to turn that same lens inward. I'll be sharing the journey as it unfolds—the decisions, explorations, and reasoning behind the new identity.
Looking forward to learning from all of you along the way. 👋
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Related posts
*Humanizing an AI Kid's Coffee Brand*
For this challenge, I developed a complete brand identity for a fictional kid's coffee brand (Детско Кафе- In Cyrillic alphabet as my primary script, I felt it would be a unique decision), documenting every stage of the creative process from exploration to execution. Using Envato as my primary creative toolkit, I explored multiple directions across logo design, visual identity, custom graphics and patterns, AI-assisted imagery, music and sound generation, packaging design, and a short animated brand story inspired by authentic photos from our family trips, transformed into playful doodle illustrations.
Throughout the project, I intentionally highlight the moments where human intuition made the difference, rejecting stronger looking but weaker concepts, redesigning typography and composition, solving real-world print and packaging challenges, building a cohesive visual system, and shaping a brand personality that feels playful, memorable, and emotionally authentic.
This isn't the story of what AI helped create, it's the story of the decisions that only a designer could make.
This is exactly how anything related to kids should be!!! I mean add some colours guys
Can't believe this was already a year ago — finally organized it properly.
This was a full brand identity for a food-focused creative agency, Soul & Pepper, built from scratch. It's since been paused, which might not look like a "success," but it's still one of my favorite projects from last year. So I went a bit deeper on the process and details — hopefully it shows what we built together and keeps it alive, at least on this page. The ending of the case study even got a little personal, because I was so genuinely involved in this one and it meant a lot to me in all kinds of ways. And that's kind of why I wanted to share it.
Check it out 💁♀️
Obsesseddddd!
For the Envato Human by Design challenge, I built an entire brand from scratch: SPAN.
SPAN is a contemporary lifestyle brand built around movement, community and culture. The name SPAN comes from the idea of spanning different moments of the day and bringing different experiences together through one brand. It’s a brutalist café, a functional food concept, a community run club and an audiophile listening lounge, all connected through one cohesive identity.
The brand is built around four pillars. The Space explores architecture and interior design as part of the brand experience. Food & Drinks reimagine functional nutrition through editorial packaging and graphic systems. The Run Club transforms movement into a cultural experience rooted in community. Echo is an after-hours listening lounge where music becomes part of the recovery ritual.
One of my goals for this challenge was to use Envato as my one and only creative toolkit. Every asset in this project was created using Envato’s ecosystem, from Image Generation, Video Generation, Image Editing and Graphic Generation to the soundtrack of the launch film using Envato’s audio library.
The project started with the logo and evolved into building an entire brand world. Rather than generating isolated images, I focused on creating a clear creative direction that would guide every output and keep the identity consistent across architecture, products, photography, merchandise, posters and motion.
My biggest Human by Design moment came from understanding that AI isn’t a creative director. Throughout the project, I found myself rejecting outputs that were technically impressive but didn’t feel like SPAN:
- The community photography is a great example of that. The first generations felt too polished and commercial, so I changed the photographic language entirely, directing every image as if it had been shot on a 35mm film camera with direct flash. The grain, imperfections and motion blur immediately made the brand feel more human and emotionally authentic.
- The same happened with the campaign posters. I realised that AI wasn’t struggling with the visuals, it was struggling with my direction. Instead of describing the brand, I had to art direct the composition itself: the hierarchy, negative space and editorial layouts that I had in mind. It taught me that good creative work doesn’t come from writing better prompts, but from having a clear point of view and knowing when something feels right.
For me, that’s what Human by Design means. AI generated the possibilities, but taste, instinct and creative judgment are what turned them into SPAN.
Great submission 🫡
Trending
Claude
Claude has entered the design space. How are you using Claude Design?
Contra University
Learn from expert creatives how to earn more using next-gen AI tools.
creativeaiflow
Creative AI workflows are evolving. What tools do you use, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
freelancerlife
Freelancer life is wins, pivots, and everything in between. What’s yours right now?