JOAO PAZ

Head of Design
Illustrator
Typographer

Based in NYC
Overseeing LA,
NY & BOS

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New York Festivals 

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The One Club 
Global Rankings - 2023
3rd in the World 
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The One Club 
Global Rankings - 2024
Top 20 in the World 

Select clients:
Apple, American Express,
Blockbuster, Coca-Cola, 
Edgewell, Fanta, Goodyear, 
IBM, Ikea, LG, Motorola, 
Netflix, Yahoo, Vivo, 
Unilever, United Nations.
ADC
02Best of Discipline
05Gold Cube
03Silver Cube
01Bronze Cube
04Merit
01Agency of The Year

D&AD
01Yellow Pencil
04Finalist

One Show
01Crystal Pencil
01Gold Pencil
02Silver Pencil
03Bronze Pencil
14Merit

Cannes Lions
01Gold Lion
01Silver Lion
03Bronze Lion
10Shortlist

London Int.
01Design Agcy of the Year
01Gold LIA
04Silver LIA
04Bronze LIA

Clios
03Gold Clio
02Silver Clio
02Bronze Clio

New York Festivals
01Bronze Medal
02Merit

Effies
02Silver Effie
03Bronze Effie
01Finalist
        Hey there, thank you for stopping by. My name is João, with that little wiggly thing on top of the ‘a’, which means I’m very Brazilian, even though NY has been my home for the past decade. I’m also a designer, art director, typographer, and illustrator with over 20 years of experience in transforming brands through the power of craft and visual storytelling.
        Throughout my career, I’ve developed work for Fortune 500 brands like Apple, American Express, Yahoo, KFC, Netflix, and Coca-Cola. I’ve been fortunate to be recognized at the world’s most prestigious design and advertising awards, such as the Art Directors Club, D&AD, The One Show, Clios, and Cannes Lions. In 2023, I was ranked as the #3 most awarded Design Director in the world by The One Club for Creativity and recently saw my work highlighted in Monotype’s 2024 Type Trends report.
        I am now the Co-Head of Design at MLDS, a design studio I launched with my partner and friend, Fabio Brigido. Together, we’re shaping the creative future of our clients while pushing ourselves even harder—challenging the limits of design, embracing the scrappy, and obsessing over craft, which for us is non-negotiable. In just our first year, MLDS was named North American Design Agency of the Year—proof that when you bring together a team for whom design isn’t just a job but a calling, great things happen. I’m incredibly grateful to be doing what I love. Please, feel free to drop me a (nicely designed) line at joaopaz330@gmail.com.