Branding studio, La Brea

We Make
Brands
Hold

Names, marks, and systems for founders who refuse to blend in. Mark Solano on strategy. Salt Rivera on the mark.

64
Identities
11
Years
91%
Retention
What We Do

Three Disciplines,
One Studio

Every job routes through one goal: a brand people reach for on instinct.

01
Strategy

Positioning, audience, and the north star every decision routes through.

Start
02
Identity

Mark, type, color, and the rulebook the next hire can follow.

Start
03
Packaging

Structure and graphics that get picked up first.

Start
04
Voice

Headlines and captions that sound like one company.

Start
05
Guidelines

A living book so the brand survives the third designer.

Start
06
Naming

A name you can say in a room and own in a search.

Start
Our Work

Selected
Identities

Each job starts with a thin or missing identity. We leave it hard to ignore.

Fintech 2024
Harbor Ledger
StrategyIdentity
Harbor Ledger workshop
Hospitality 2024
Colonnade Inns
IdentityVoice
Colonnade Inns table
How We Work

Four Stages.
One Result.

A process refined across 64 identities. Every stage leaves you something you keep.

01
Discovery

Two weeks of listening before we draw a line.

02
Strategy

Positioning and the promise every creative decision traces back to.

03
Identity

Three directions. One choice. Marks that work at 16 pixels.

04
Launch

Files, guidelines, and a rollout the team can run without us.

The People

Two Partners.
One Desk.

Mark on strategy. Salt on the mark. No junior bench padded onto the invoice.

Mark Solano
Partner, strategy
Mark Solano
La Brea studio
Partner, identity
Salt Rivera
Client Voices

Founders Who
Went First

We walked in with a logo. We walked out with a brand the sales team actually uses.

Lena K.
Silver Lake
See the work

Ready to Build
Something Permanent

We take four to six brand jobs a quarter. Send the brief before the next block closes.

(213) 555-0432 · work@markandsalt.com · 721 N La Brea Ave