Who does the work at Brandian
Luis Defaz, Brandian's founder, directs every piece of work personally; senior specialists build the parts that need their craft under his direction, and nobody you didn't hire ever inherits your project.
The specialists
The parts of the work that need a specialist's craft, above all the design of your identity, are done by senior specialists, each brought into your project for the one thing they do best, working under Luis's direction and inside the same written record as everything else.
There are no juniors learning on your budget, because there are no juniors. And nothing passes to someone else part-way, because the person you hired never leaves the direction of your work.
Luis's other working habit is the one the whole practice takes its name from: the brand work is written down while it happens. Decisions are logged when they're made, deliveries when they ship, measurements filed with the date on them. The habit began as a measurement discipline, and it carries a second benefit: nothing about your project depends on anyone's memory. It's all in the record, and the record is yours to read.
Everything is written down
If Luis is unavailable
Continuity is a fair thing to ask about, and a fair question deserves a written answer, so here it is. The first half of the answer is the rule above: Brandian carries no more projects than Luis can direct himself, which is why an absence is rare and never something the practice plans around. If it happens, your project keeps moving: the specialists already inside it continue the parts they're building under the written record, and you keep a senior point of contact throughout. Anything needing Luis's judgement waits for him, or moves only with your agreement.
One question is worth carrying with you
Whoever you end up hiring, ask in writing for the names of the people who will do the work, and ask whether the people in the pitch are the people in the plan. A firm with a good answer won't mind, and a firm that minds has answered. The old trick survives on the fact that almost nobody asks.
Product | What it examines | Price |
|---|---|---|
The Brand Record | the full baseline: how your buyer sees your brand, measured by customer survey, share of search, what AI assistants say and lost-lead research | £4,000 |
Platform Inspection | the brand strategy: buyer persona, positioning within the competitive set, unique selling proposition, brand personality | £3,500 |
Identity Inspection | the brand identity: name and tagline, concept and construction, colour and typography, consistency, guidelines quality | £2,500 |
Portfolio Inspection | the brand portfolio: brands, sub-brands and products, and how they relate | £2,500 |
Tone of Voice Inspection | the brand's written voice: register consistency, distinctiveness, personality fit, vocabulary discipline | £1,800 |
AI Visibility Inspection | what AI assistants say about your brand, scored for accuracy, favourability and category framing | £2,200 |
The founder
Luis Defaz is a Chartered Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Brandian is his practice, built on 25 years in branding, marketing and design, and he directs every piece of work it takes on: the strategy, the judgement calls, the measurements and what they mean, and every conversation where a decision gets made. The person in your first meeting directs the whole project, from that meeting to the last. It reads as a modest promise, until you ask another firm to put it in writing.
Brandian does not take on more projects than its founder can direct personally. That test is applied before every new project is accepted: if a start date would fail it, Brandian proposes a later one.
Professional services has an old trick, and if you've bought them before, you've probably paid for it once. The senior person presents. The proposal glows. Then somewhere between the signature and the first deliverable, the brand work slides quietly down to whoever was free that month, and the impressive presenter reappears only when the contract is up for renewal.
Who does the work is the right question to ask any branding firm you're considering. Here's Brandian's answer.