Bryony Gomez-Palacio

Being one of six @wiseaccount customers featured on their stock exchange listing campaign earlier this week was not an item on our life Bingo card but one we were happy to mark as ✅. Thank you @wisebrandcreative for giving us a call! And thank you @sofianegeon for capturing the excitement we were not able to join live. — #Campaign #lifesurprise #timessquare #highlight

🫣 May 2 – May 14, 2026 / Providing insight into what happens in our office any given week — outside of the day-to-day given tasks — for our various projects. — #Fridayupdate

2025 Brand New Conference | Pittsburgh 🫟 Branding Materials — The moment we started negotiating with the venue we knew steel was in our future if we moved forward. Few cities have such a strong iconic legacy attached to it as Pittsburgh — also known as the “City of Bridges” — does with steel. As we researched options on how to incorporate steel (as plates or sliced up I-Beams) we stumbled upon a trove of scrumptious typographic inspirations that deeply inspired our choices moving forward.   We worked with @ordertypefoundry to create a stencil version of Stringer in a way that allowed us to use different sizes with equal 👁️ weights — so glad they were up for the challenge that allowed us to create a variety of logos inspired by bridges and steel structures that we then incorporated to the many materials. Especially challenging for the stage set (see Tuesday’s post for pictures) but 💕 to work with.   And while the more obvious color palette would have incorporated ⚫️ and 🟡 we could see how it would clash with the venue when every inch is covered in red, gold, cream, crystals, rugs, patterns… you name it. So, honoring the other element we had initially considered incorporating which was ketchup — Heinz is headquartered in Pittsburgh — we chose to use the venue’s color scheme for our identity.   While we tried to work with a local steel company, the distance and the shipping costs quickly had us retracting and working with someone closer to us who created all the plates with die cuts with a massive laser that we were all googly-eyed for. We used these for the program which had 2 extra things going for it: one, gold ink; and two, the heavy use of red that gave us an accidental colorful fore-edge. And for the name badges that once again featured seamless lanyards and a DIY assembly.   The tote bags where a bit more fun in that we added a custom selection of cut-out B/N/C metal plates available in 3 sizes and the use of magnets to customize each bag. It was tricky to manage having magnets and steel everywhere and we provided some tools to do so, and everyone took the “magnet panic” moments of snapping with grace and laughter — at least as far as we could tell!

❤️🖤🔥 And that is a wrap on First Round 2026. 🙏 #conference #firstroundnyc #branding #untilnextyear

🫣 April 25 – May 1, 2026 / Providing insight into what happens in our office any given week — outside of the day-to-day given tasks — for our various projects. — #Fridayupdate

20 year anniversary! Of working from 🏠. Of finding or creating work that pays the bills and has purpose. — When I first started working from 🏠 the goal or dream was to establish the foundation of @ucllc ’s Department of Design, a “traditional” design firm that in its infancy would allow us to start a family while @arminvit maintained a steady paycheck for a few more years.   That is how it started, freelance work, client work, pregnancy cravings, setting routines and processes independent of a support staff, and a steady learning curve. Truly owning my time was the first perk I acknowledged and relished!   A few highlights of the last 2 decades: ‣ Early start (2007 – 2022): At my desk by 5am was instrumental to surviving early childhood days for the quiet hours without interruption. ‣ Earlier start (2022 – today): At my desk when I wake, sans alarm, between 3:50 and 4:20 has allowed me to rediscover the night 🦉 in me who is now using her most productive brainwaves to start the day vs ending it. ‣ Starting the day with productive work and setting up for the day, only to stop for a good 90-minute workout breaks up the day and allows me to settle my thoughts into a purpose (most days). ‣ Daily home cooked lunches, ideally outside if the weather permits followed by walking our dogs is another coveted break to the long working days. ‣ Truly owning our schedule be it for a coffee date, or a 3-week visit to grandparents in Mexico while working remotely, is unparalleled. ‣ I live happily in my head and in my work for days or weeks on end, and when I need people-time I create it (hosting design events makes a big dent on this need). ‣ Having the best co-worker on the planet on the other side of the room for 19 years has all the perks and makes every day as enjoyable as the tasks on hand allows it — especially considering the high probability of accidental daily outfit coordination! ‣ Having just two people to dream up projects, face challenges, close chapters and start new ones, is part of the magic. Shared goals eliminate the noise that can get in the way of the best possible outcomes.   (continued in comments)

Sunday morning coffee date by the water with my girl. #firstdog #seniordog

🫣 April 18 – April 24, 2026 / Providing insight into what happens in our office any given week — outside of the day-to-day given tasks — for our various projects. — #Fridayupdate

2022 Brand New Conference | Austin 🫟 Branding Materials — “Keep Austin Weird” was a clear driver for the identity this year but we, as designers, struggle with making things weird so we brought in Sultan Jum @geo.graphicdesigner whose letter explorations on Instagram captured our attention. A second driver was the “i love you so much” mural in South Austin that dominates Instagram — this inspired the use of Candy Darling by @commercialtype as well as the color palette.   With Geo’s work in place for the website and the wonderful animations that went with it we were stumped for a while (and distracted with First Round) on how to bridge the concept into the physical materials. After much R&D we eventually settled on making the letters out of a rubber compound that we could pour into molds that would stretch to a degree and be distorted by hand while bouncing back to its original shape. Bonus detail was the tackiness that enabled the pieces to adhere to paper.   The making of the rubber letters consumed us on the daily and took care of the program and the name badges. The latter also received a custom-ordered giant rubber band to use as the lanyard to bring in more motion and bounce to the experience. We found the mint colored bags online which were a nightmare to silkscreen… but the fun came in removing all the ugly cord handles that came with them and replacing them with strips of latex (like the ones you are given by your PT therapist when you are injured). This made the bags bounce around all day long which was playful and amusing for all, hitting Instagram especially hard. As an extra item we added a bandana because, well, Texas.   To say that making all of this nearly killed us in an understatement, but we were thrilled with the results and the amusement and joy they brought to attendees at the event at a time when we all needed something a little bit different, a little weird and out of the ordinary, and a little joy and amusement. — #BNConf #Lookingback #BrandingMaterials #DesigningForDesigners #AboutTheIdentity

🫣 April 11 – April 17, 2026 / Providing insight into what happens in our office any given week — outside of the day-to-day given tasks — for our various projects. — #Fridayupdate

It is not hard to know one thing about me: I strive for control. The more I can control the less I stress and fret about things. That simple. But, I have also learned to turn to the experts when needed, which is what I recently did with 🔥 @roseandshear (Lauren Penrose founder of @rshairclub ) my go-to for all things hair for almost a decade 🩷. As I sat on her chair less than a week before the conference I challenged her to “do something” stage-ready as I grow out my buzz cut. My one guidance: anything but a rat rail… I do have limits. And she delivered! So if you are ever in need of a good cut, a reinvention, or an intervention head on over to Bloomington, IN, and pay her a visit.

Having a dedicated space for production is AWESOME, no denials there. But with space and deadlines chaos is inevitable and every now and then we need to do more than just pack a conference and put it away. We need to recover the space and thus our sanity! #Eventproduction #conferences #workshop