Fire Brand: How an LA Creative Found his Flow

With just six months to go of a four-year joint degree in law and business, Raphael Farasat dropped out. He left to start a branding agency – Truffl – in his home city of Los Angeles. It was a brave decision. And one that his family found hard to understand at the time.

“I think my parents were extremely disappointed. I had just one semester left. They thought it was a crazy decision given the stability and certainty of a career as a lawyer.”

As it turned out, Raphael’s move was a wise one. Truffl’s first three clients were Fortune 500 companies and he now counts Tesla, Heineken, FX, Spotify, and Catch amongst the portfolio. But the seeds of change were sown many years earlier. A year spent living in Argentina, and a year-long backpacking trip starting in Australia, ending in Central America, and taking in some 40 countries via Asia and Europe, had a profound impact on this life. Raphael’s eyes were opened to adventures and cultural learnings that went beyond his LA upbringing and generated a fierce desire to use his creativity.

“I had so many spontaneous, unique experiences during my time abroad. I came back inspired to create a lifestyle that had a lot of newness, a lot of ability to connect with people on a deeper level, and a lot of opportunity to make new things.”

However, Raphael would not leave the path laid out just yet. Returning to The States, he embarked on a double degree at law school. It was the road he felt his family wanted him to pursue, but not one he was content with. The places and people he had experienced on his journeys had permanently altered his perception and fueled a creative fire that could not be fulfilled by lectures in legalese.

The Challenge of Constant Creativity

Raphael says that one of the hardest parts of his job is having to be continually creative. For each company that he works with, Raphael needs to find a completely novel concept. Doing that day in, day out, at scale, is not easy.

“We try to do something very disruptive and different with each brand that we help create. It’s really hard to do that repeatedly.”

To fuel his furnace of ideas, Raphael has become a collector of creativity. Books, magazines, newsletters, blogs, adverts, shows, songs, anything that sparks an idea, Raphael records.

“When I see or hear something that gives me inspiration, I make a note. So I make a lot of lists! I have lists of business ideas, business names, branding ideas, designs I like, uplifting quotes, and lots of other things.”

Raphael also tops up his creative tank with downtime and travel. From taking short breaks during his working day, to extended trips abroad, he says he is able to come up with more ideas by getting space from work.

“Being able to put things aside is so important. It’s amazing how much clarity comes from that distance.”

Raphael tries to get outside of The States as much as possible. Leaving his LA life serves a twofold purpose; it gives him time to relax and free his mind from the office. It also exposes him to new ideas and ways of thinking. A recent retreat to Mexico’s Highlands was one such source.

“I visited a place called Hacienda De San Antonio, in the Colima Mountains. It’s this beautiful, old estate, set amongst lush, mountainous forests, with views of an active volcano. I put my phone away and just enjoyed the slower pace of life. It was an amazing reset for me.“