About

Filipe Sales

Brand Strategist & Visual Designer

Based in Brazil
Filipe Sales sitting on a chair in a studio, in front of a wall covered in hand-drawn doodles

I design brands that earn their place in the boardroom.

I'm a brand strategist and visual designer with 17+ years working at the intersection of creative direction, brand strategy, and business impact. My career started in agencies and evolved through co-founding one — building it from zero to an awarded advertising agency and leading creative work for national and international clients across six countries.

Today I lead the branding team at Cortex, Brazil's leading AI platform for GTM Intelligence. My work spans strategy and execution — from running the internal team and managing external creatives, to developing brand strategies, leading visual identity projects from scratch, building AI-powered brand tools, and designing the processes that keep everything consistent.

I believe good brand design is a business argument made visually. The best work I've done has always started with a strategic problem and ended with something people remember.

Career highlights

  • 17+ years in brand design, strategy, and creative direction
  • Co-founded and scaled a creative agency
  • 100+ brands created across Brazil, USA, Australia, Portugal, Mexico, and Colombia
  • Led rebranding and M&A brand integration at Cortex
  • Speaker and workshop facilitator on branding and creativity at universities, companies, and events — including HackTown 2025

Work
experience

  • 01 Brand & Design Coordinator Cortex · Sep 2022 – Present
  • 02 Senior Brand Designer Cortex · Aug 2020 – Sep 2022
  • 03 Co-founder & Creative Director Urso Agência · Apr 2014 – Jul 2021
  • 04 Co-founder & Designer In-Pulsa · Jul 2014 – Jun 2015
  • 05 Art Director Sótom Comunica · 2010 – 2014
  • 06 Co-founder, Visual & Motion Designer Agência Pitaia · 2009
  • 07 Graphic Designer Agência Aliah · 2009
  • 08 Graphic Designer Rede Estado · 2008
  • 09 Graphic Designer Agência Orion · 2007

Education

  • MBA — New Branding Innovation Rio Branco · 2018–2020
  • Bachelor — Marketing & Advertising ESAMC · 2006–2011

Additional training

  • Strategy Camp
  • Naming
  • Arquitetura de marcas
  • Gestão avançada de marcas
  • Design System
  • Identidade Visual
  • Direção de arte
  • Liderança Criativa
  • Técnicas de criatividade