About the practice
Our work
Engagements that represent our capabilities.
Note: This practice is founded on confidential strategic work. Much of the meaningful support happens behind the scenes, addressing high-level decisions, sensitive organizational challenges, and plans for growth. Out of respect for client confidentiality, details are generally not publicly shared.
Brand strategy, value-market fitting, and trend forecasting for a celebrity-licensed beauty brand.
Customer and market analysis revealed an unexpected opportunity to move upmarket. We matched the talent’s personal reinvention with a new brand era that was understated, elevated, and better met expectations of their customer base. Positioning and product mix recommendations gave executives a concrete basis to seize the opportunity. We created briefs and product development vendor hand-offs for production.
Brand build and 2-year market expansion roadmap for a prestige beauty brand.
From a product-first entry point, Composite built the brand system from the ground up, using brand audits and research to unify positioning, messaging, creative direction, campaign architecture, and the promotional calendar.
Working alongside creative partners, we coded the system into identity and look and feel, while clarifying the criteria for prioritizing campaigns, evaluating creative output, and improving customer experience.
Briefs, dashboards, governance, and review cadence linked brand equity to long-run demand. For scalable acquisition, we aligned price-pack architecture, marketing, product development, and sales to launch an exclusive subline with a major masstige retailer.
Strategic repositioning, market expansion, and fractional creative direction for a design agency.
In a shifting market, we helped leadership broaden the appeal of their design services from venture-backed startups toward established enterprises.
Stakeholder conversations and a category audit revealed what was essential to retain, and what needed to change, including possible rebrand opportunities. We helped fold in strategy with creative as the client portfolio expanded.
Value proposition development for an aerospace company.
To make the value easier to recognize in a growth period, we honed the value proposition with the help of existing pitch decks, category audit and market analysis. We translated the technical offerings into language that resonated with commercial audiences without sacrificing credibility.
Naming and positioning for an AI assistant.
Before generative AI entered the mainstream, we developed a naming strategy that made the agent more accessible to influential adopters and impressive to stakeholders, informed by case studies from the ‘00s.
Creative direction for a doom metal band.
We synthesized a single release into a coherent visual world across identity, 7" record artwork, and communications. We differentiated with text-forward design and eerie semiotics that resonate with seen-it-all countercultural stakeholders.
Process
Each engagement begins with significant attention to defining the inquiry, discovery, and strategy development. This ensures our strategic and creative frameworks address underlying brand or market issues rather than symptoms.
Clients often ask
Still have questions?
How do I know which services I need?
You do not need to arrive with the problem fully defined. In the first conversation, we disentangle the situation, identify the most consequential questions, and locate where strategic work will create the most value.
How is Composite different from an agency or independent consultant? Why should I engage you over a branding agency?
Composite is built to recognize value that may be overlooked, underused, or miscommunicated, then turn it into a clearer strategic direction. We are equally comfortable interpreting conversations, cultural moments, behaviors, and datasets, giving us a broader perspective that reveals opportunities otherwise overlooked. We then carry that direction into briefs, naming, copywriting, and creative direction, so less is lost between strategic intent and what is ultimately made. We can communicate across strategy, brand, marketing, product, creative, and finance teams. Unlike a full-service agency, we are not incentivized to turn every challenge into a large implementation program; unlike many independent consultants, we bring both conceptual authorship and the creative judgment to stay close to realization.
What kinds of organizations do you work with?
We’re trusted by marketing leaders, founders, product teams, executive leadership, and even artists; each facing critical decisions in periods of growth, change, and strategic transition.
Does Composite provide creative direction or design?
Composite provides brand strategy and creative direction. We lead strategic diagnosis, direction, and decision support, then carry that direction into creative briefs, naming, copywriting, and the definition of the brand world: the ideas, imagery, color, typography, materiality, and other cues that should guide identity development. When in-house or agency creatives begin designing the identity and touchpoints, we can direct that work, evaluate the creative response, and help preserve the strategic idea through execution. We are not a full-service design studio, and we do not replace the specialist craft required to produce every visual or technical deliverable. Composite works as a natural extension of strategic, brand, marketing, and creative teams, adding perspective and continuity without duplicating the expertise already in place.
Do you collaborate with agencies and internal teams?
Yes. Composite works modularly across organizations, partnering with leadership, strategy, brand, marketing, product, and creative teams as the work requires. We can lead a defined workstream, join an existing team, or provide an independent perspective across functions while keeping the focus on the decision at hand.
How do you measure success?
Our clients’ needs vary. For some organizations, success means a clearer customer profile, or greater confidence in selecting a path for growth. For others, it means their story finally translates. We will establish what success looks like together at the outset. Depending on the scope, this may include subjective measures, as well as quantitative indices like customer acquisition. We make sure the work stays grounded in meaningful, relevant outcomes.
What kinds of information do you need form us? How involved should we expect to be?
Successful engagements are collaborative especially in the early phases. Clients contribute context, experience, and organizational insight that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Depending on the engagement, to notice how the pieces fit, we may need to review: existing research, customer data, sales materials, product information, and internal documentation.
Do we need customer research already?
No. Other, existing information is often a strong place to depart from. Research can be incorporated into our engagement.
Do you offer ongoing support, for implementation and go-to-market?
While the practice is not an implementation partner, I can remain involved in an advisory capacity, providing strategic guidance and creative direction as needed. Where appropriate, I can also refer to brilliant specialists I know working in design, marketing, and go-to-market implementation.
What are your fees and timelines?
Projects are fixed-fee. Fees and timelines vary based on complexity, stakeholders, and research involvement. For more continuous needs after a project, such as implementation advising, acting as fractional brand leadership, or recurring collaborations, I am available on a monthly retainer.
What happens after the first conversation?
If there is a clear fit, Composite will follow up with a concise proposal outlining the scope, approach, timing, and fees. Once approved, we complete the necessary contracting and onboarding in whichever format works best for your organization, whether using our agreement or yours, and then begin.
Where are you based?
We are based in the Netherlands and work with international clients. The practice supports North American, UK, and EU time zones, with dedicated availability during working hours. In addition to our regularly scheduled meetings, we use asynchronous communication. Most engagements are conducted remotely, though I am available to travel when in-person collaboration would be valuable.
Times of change call for clarity.