Paulo Mariano is an award-winning Senior Art Director and Creative Lead based in Lisbon, Portugal, with 23+ years of experience developing integrated advertising campaigns, brand activations, brand identity systems and visual storytelling for global brands including Netflix, Emirates, EDP, LIDL, Gatorade, Delta Cafés and Bank of Brazil. Selected for Lürzer's Archive 200 Best Digital Artists Worldwide 2024/25 and recognised by ADC Europe, EFFIE, CCP and Lusófonos Awards. Final jury member at MAD STARS 2026 in Busan, and jury member at NYF New York Festivals, FIAP, AdForum PHNX, Ad Black Sea, White Square, AIVA and Clube de Criativos de Portugal. Spoke at MAD STARS 2026 on the five human behaviours that push a creative towards the average. Working with Generative AI tools including Midjourney, Sora, Gemini and Adobe Firefly for concept development, moodboards and visual exploration.

Beyond advertising, Paulo Mariano writes short fiction and essays in Portuguese, published in the Words section of this site, and develops authorial visual art. These pieces explore attention, perception, identity and the ordinary moments most people walk past. The written work sits alongside the commercial work as a separate body, with its own reading.

Work featured in Lürzer's Archive, All About Francis, Lürzer's Archive, Paulo Mariano, Ad Age, The SkinBook, Best Ads on TV, The SkinBook, ADCE / ADC Europe 2024 and CCP, Clube Criativos Portugal. Full biography and jury history.

PAULO MARIANO
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The SkinBook

Product inovation


Featured in:

The first tattooable sketchbook made of synthetic skin, printed with a layer that shows different parts of the body.


Innovating in media while preserving the form of the ultimate study resource: a notebook. A surface for skin artists to build technique, and a portfolio, before the needle ever touches a person.

AdAge - It's a Sketchbook Like No Other
Published On May 07, 2015

Next Nature - The Sketchbook Made Of Artificial Skin
Published On May 28, 2015
         
MY ROLE / Concept, Art Direction, Product Design
WHERE / LewLara TBWA
CLIENT / TattooArt MAG

The Skin Book is a product innovation project for Tattoo Art Magazine, one of the most-read publications on the art of tattooing. Concept, art direction and product design by Paulo Mariano at LewLara TBWA. Ugly tattoos share a common cause: a tattoo artist without the knowledge or the surface to practice on. For beginners, the act of tattooing is a challenge, and without proper materials most resort to fruit, animal skin or their own friends. The Skin Book solves this. It is the first tattooable sketchbook, made of a substance that simulates human skin and printed with a layer representing different parts of the body. Designed for tattoo artists from beginner to professional to hone their skills and develop a portfolio, an innovative surface for practising technique before working on a person. Developed with the input of practising tattoo artists who shared their improvised ways of learning the craft. Distributed as advance copies, the project increased Tattoo Art Magazine's exposure, reaching thousands of views and coverage across leading tattoo publications, while raising demand for the material. A brand storytelling and product innovation campaign by Paulo Mariano, featured in Ad Age, Next Nature, Hypebeast, Markt und Kommunikation and Best Ads on TV, and awarded at the ADC Europe Awards 2024 and the Clube de Criação de São Paulo.





The Skin Book product development, aimed at making tattoos less unsightly.


Artificial skin notebook created for tattoo training and practice





Tattoo practice notebook made with synthetic skin pages



RESULTS // 
The Skin Book advertising campaign results and impact metrics

See also: GATORADE // Gool →
Mark




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