Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer @ Raf & Mike, a full-service branding agency.Our mission is to protect, guide, and look out for your brand. Just like your best friend would. Whether your brand is just starting out or it's a multi-national highly recognized brand, it still needs to evolve and keep up with times.We don't focus on any particular media. Calling your agency "digital" or "BTL" is so early 2000's. First thing we do is think about your brand. Then about your consumer. Then, we find the right media to make them connect and engage. Be it digital, tv, radio, below-the-line, outdoor, etc., the right media will be determined by our strategy. Once that media is determined, we bet on fresh creativity and design, combined with an effective and engaging message.

Work on the construction of Brand DNA for small and medium size companies. Defining who the company is to their customers, differentiate it from competitors, and communicate its unique values via identity, packaging, environmental and interactive design, among other communication channels, creating a strong Brand Equity.

Due to anti tobacco laws PMI was forced into dark marketing, thus shifting from conventional POP advertising to Trade Marketing campaigns for various channels which included legal age meeting points, internal client awareness campaigns, amongst others. Also responsible for strengthening packaging design developments with innovation in design, production, and product.

Worked out of the client’s office in Mexico City. Accountable for the development of all packaging productions for PMI brands in Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and Canada; a total of 32 markets. Responsibilities included working side by side with the client’s operation, development and marketing teams in various countries. Interact with different advertising agencies, including Leo Burnett, to achieve the perfect connection between creative idealism and production reality; coordination with various pre-press for creation of print ready files. Dealt with different suppliers and printers around the globe to insure quality productions, consisting of different materials and various print techniques. March – December 2009: Selected as part of the 9 month Leo Burnett/Phillip Morris Project Management. Pilot out of Mexico City consisting in outsourcing the client’s Packaging Development Department. By the end of 2009 the pilot was approved and its implementation was extended to other PMI market clusters.

Worked as creative designer for PMI Latin America. Responsibilities ranged from creating, managing, and sustaining nationwide campaigns for 6 countries (graphically and conceptually), to packaging design for PMI and local tobacco brands. Worked with good-to-print files, designed special editions and innovating packs that have been implemented around the globe, as well as followed up the print production process. Packaging design consisted on working side by side with an Industrial Design team. Duties also included the development of POS innovations (permanent and temporary), event and brand activation planning, interactive and 1-to-1 developments, among others.

Designed magazine quality weblets (promotional brochure, product catalog, or white papers, amongst other type-based layouts, derived from corporate web sites) for a fast growing Internet printing service company. Work also included pitches for potential clients and participation in the print production process.