Five Years of PORTO ROCHA
When we opened PORTO ROCHA in 2019, we didn’t start with a manifesto, a stacked client roster, or a proprietary methodology. Our goal was simple: to do exceptional work with exceptional people eager to challenge each other and the industry.
Something about it worked, because here we are five years later sharing how much we’ve grown. Back then, we had some answers and a lot of questions. Now, we have more of both.
Call this a knowledge share, a digital scrapbook, or a humble brag — but we couldn’t have gotten here without the team, clients, and friends we made along the way.
Leo & Felipe
Learnings
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1 On Adaptability The only constant is change.
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2 On Process The best solutions feel obvious in retrospect.
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3 On Growth Design is not enough.
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4 On Collaboration Challenge and be challenged.
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5 On Responsibility Our platform only matters if we use it.
The only constant is change.
While the old guard of branding preached recognition through repetition and the constraint of “brand bibles,” our world sped up, our tools evolved, and meaning-making went collaborative. Today’s audiences expect more of the brands they engage with — remembering a symbol is no longer enough. This complex landscape requires constant evolution to keep an identity from becoming a one-hit wonder, so we build living systems that flow with the tides of culture and surprise along the way. A strong identity is more than a tagline copy and pasted to oblivion; it’s a world that adapts to the world around it.
The best solutions feel obvious in retrospect.
In search of the one thing that only your brand can claim, we’ve learned that the most impactful solutions are often the simplest. But here’s the deal: the obvious solve is often the most challenging to get right. It means testing hundreds of iterations (and leaving most of them on the cutting room floor). Exercising restraint in what we add and what we leave out. We always push ourselves to distill complex ideas into simple, elegant expressions and never dismiss the “duh” moments — they often lead to the most iconic outcomes.
Design is not enough.
While our origins began in design, we found that it wasn’t enough to tackle some of the complex briefs we were receiving. In order to create impactful results for our clients, our capabilities needed to expand. In year two we built out in-house strategy and interactive teams to bridge business, brand and product. With different specialists around the same table, possibilities for cross-pollination become endless: a motion exploration might inspire interactive behaviors, a strategic pillar could spark a clever logo concept. This interplay of expertise leads to innovative and versatile solutions that come standard when working with us.
Challenge and be challenged.
We’re not in the business of people-pleasing; we’re in the business of making good work. Our most rewarding projects are the exchanges cultivated with our clients: relationships built on trust in which we can challenge, be challenged, and harness the positive friction that makes work stronger over time. Taking the small project can lead to tackling the global rebrand. Building a brand platform can mean innovating it year after year. For us, handing off brand guidelines doesn’t have to mean the end of a project, but the start of an enduring collaboration.
Our platform only matters if we use it.
As an agency founded by LGBTQ+ immigrants from Brazil, we know the power that comes with having a platform — and use ours to make the industry a fairer place for everyone. From pushing for better pitching practices to organizing global design discourse, we dedicate time and resources to initiatives we care about, even when they don’t turn a profit. In self-initiated projects we’ve provided resources for our creative community and made voices across disciplines heard. Because our industry’s future is what we make it.
PORTO ROCHA
Through the Years
Through the Years
5 Years in Numbers
Compared to EOY 1
5 Years of Recognition
- Creative Boom
- 2024
- ISTD Awards
- 2024
- The Clio Awards
- 2024
- D&AD Awards
- 2024
- Frontify
- 2024
- AGI
- 2023
- Frontify
- 2023
- IADAS
- 2023
- Webby Awards
- 2023
- D&AD Awards
- 2023
- D&AD Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2023
- D&AD Awards
- 2022
- D&AD Awards
- 2022
- D&AD Awards
- 2022
- D&AD Awards
- 2022
- D&AD Awards
- 2022
- TDC Awards
- 2022
- D&AD Awards
- 2021
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2021
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2021
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2021
- Latin American Design Awards
- 2021
- AIGA
- 2020
- Working Not Working
- 2020
5 Years of Teamwork
5 Years of Collaborators
Want to work
with us?
Team Trip, Mexico City
Team Trip, Beacon
W Hotels Photoshoot, New York
Team Trip, Beacon
Team Trip, Beacon
Rio de Janeiro
Team Trip, Beacon
Brooklyn Office, New York
PAC (Performance Art Center), New York
Team Trip, Mexico City
Brooklyn Office, New York
Brooklyn Office, New York
Team Trip, Massachussetts
New York
Halloween Party, New York
Team Trip, Beacon
Brooklyn Office, New York
Team Trip, Beacon
Team Photo, New York
Brooklyn Office, New York
Team Trip, Mexico City
Team Trip, Mexico City
Brooklyn Office, New York
Anniversary Weekend, New York
Brooklyn Office, New York
PAC (Performance Art Center), New York
Brooklyn Office, New York
Brooklyn Office, New York
Team Trip, Mexico City
Team Trip, Mexico City
Team Trip, Beacon
Team Trip, Mexico City
Team Trip, Mexico City
Brooklyn Office, New York
Halloween Party, New York