Grand Designs

Carla Conte, Creative Director, & Mohammed El Hijazi, Director of Client Services, Brand Creative

How did you get into interior design & branding?

Carla: I started my design career in 1998, interning for one of Toronto’s top design and branding agencies. I was given this opportunity via a global internship programme. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely convinced that a design placement was right for me as I had decided on a career in medicine – I wanted to be a dermatologist. Although I excelled at maths and science, it was art and design that I was passionate about. I ultimately accepted the intern position at the agency and saw first hand how big brands developed sales strategies utilising design as a tool to convey their message and attract customers. I began to experience the business potential that design offered the world and decided this was something I could commit to. I obtained my interior design degree (Hons) from Ryerson University in Canada and won the coveted Designer of the Year title when I graduated.

Mohammed: I jumped into the design world when we started the business. My role is to support the graphics department, while Carla heads the interiors side. My previous experience was in sporting and events management. Having that knowledge as a basis has been helpful on the project management, client relations and overall business side of things.

What made you move to Dubai and start Brand Creative? 

Carla: I made the move to Dubai in 2006 to work on Dubai Festival City – an experience that opened many doors for me. I was exposed to the design and construction processes in the region and made important industry contacts that I am still linked to today. I spent nearly 13 years climbing the proverbial ‘ladder’ in two other design agencies before deciding with Mohammed to start our own agency in February 2011.

Mohammed: In just under three years our interior design and branding agency has established itself in the market as the ‘go-to’ experts for strategically branded interiors specialising in the retail, hospitality and entertainment sectors in the UAE, GCC and internationally. Brand Creative’s design work provides retailers, hospitality and service business owners with unique, creative solutions that have a positive effect on sales and increase brand awareness.

How did you hear about projects in Muscat?

Our first job in Oman was with LuLu Group International designing the interiors for their new mall in Bawshar – The Avenues – which will feature all the major high street fashion brands as well as food and beverage offerings. It will feature a cinema, a family entertainment complex and many creative branded areas to enhance the current shopping experience in the country. We had worked on the Al Wahda Mall extension in Abu Dhabi in 2011 for the group, so we had already established a relationship. Other projects we work on in Oman come via roll-out schemes from retail brands we are working on in Dubai.

What do you think of Muscat?

Having both come from beautiful, landscaped countries (Canada and Morocco), we were both immediately drawn to the greenery and natural aspects that are unique to Muscat. The overlooking mountains and seaside views are stunning. There is a fantastic work ethic and enthusiasm for developing great new things from the people we’ve met.         

In terms of interiors and branding, how does Muscat compare to Dubai?

Muscat is obviously not striving for the same over-the-top experiences that clients demand in Dubai. Our clients here are looking for something new and refreshing, of course, but also trying to preserve authenticity and uniqueness. Integrating the landscape and creating sustainable concepts is important here.

What do you hope to bring to Muscat?  What do you think the reaction will be?

We bring a personal knowledge of the region (we’ve lived in the GCC for nine years), but also an international palette of experiences, which is bound to advance current design practices. Yet we have an understanding of the protocols and sensitivities around getting work completed. So far, the reception to our work has been extremely positive. We have no intention of trying to make Muscat look and feel like Dubai – why should it? It has its own characteristics that need to be celebrated and explored. We want our work here to have a ‘wow’ factor that is unique to our work in Dubai and other GCC countries. One thing we do hope rubs off on Oman is the expected increase in tourism in the coming years due to the Dubai Expo 2020. When tourists visit Oman, they should see designs that are celebrating the country in its own right as opposed to a photocopy of the UAE.

What challenges do you face working in Oman?  

We would obviously love to have an office here as working on a job site from afar has it’s communication issues and delays. Overall, we do manage to fly here two to three times a month and sometimes joke that the flight to Muscat is easier than driving from Dubai to Abu Dhabi!

Describe Brand Creative in four words:  

Design that pushes boundaries. What do you do to relax in your free time?  

Being married to one another means that we dedicate a lot of our life together to our business, but we are conscious of making sure we balance it. We enjoy exploring new restaurants, the theatre and art galleries when we can. Travelling to nearby Asian countries, as well as our home countries when possible helps keep our knowledge of what’s happening in the world.

If we gave you a blank wall at the Y Magazine office, what would you do to it? 

As a brand, Y Magazine likes to keep things local and relevant (yet cool!), so in that same spirit we would have a living wall (comprised of plants and flowers) installed (floor to ceiling) to create a sculptural piece of artwork. Graffiti-like without the paint.