Paloma Peña
I'm less interested in what a brand says about itself than in what it reveals without even realising it.
A brand, much like a person, always communicates far more than it believes.
The most meaningful part of a project rarely appears in the first conversation. It usually emerges later—when someone lets their guard down, when a contradiction surfaces, or when something seemingly insignificant reveals the true nature of a brand.
I see design as a tool for transforming the way an idea is perceived. That’s why I’ve never drawn clear boundaries between branding, art direction, visual research and artistic practice.
To me, they’re all part of the same process: observing, questioning and finding a form capable of saying more with less.
I don’t see branding as an aesthetic exercise.
I see it as a way of making identity visible.
That’s why my work brings together strategy, visual research, art direction and design.
Everything belongs to the same process: observe, question and create a form capable of saying more with less.
Journey
Every experience has added another layer. Together, they have shaped the way I think and create.
I hold degrees in Design and Fine Arts from Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, where I currently teach across the Design, Advertising, Audiovisual Communication and Journalism programmes.
I also hold a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education (Visual Arts) and a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence applied to Creative Processes.
My practice moves between branding, visual identity, art direction, painting and object design, always exploring how images shape meaning.
The Studio
In 2023, I founded Bocau, an independent creative studio specialising in branding, visual identity and web design.
But Bocau was never meant to be just a studio.
It’s also a space for research—where editorial projects, artistic work and object collections emerge from the very same way of seeing.
Research
Certain themes continue to reappear throughout my work.
Not because I consciously choose them, but because they keep finding their way back.
- Symbols
- Identity
- Materiality
- Memory
- Transformation
- The tension between fragility and permanence
- Ambiguity
- Contrast
Whatever the medium, every project is ultimately an attempt to answer one of those questions.
Exhibitions & Recognition
- ACF Iberlending Artistic Talent Award.
- Exhibition at Jorge de Alcolea Gallery, Madrid.
- Exhibitor at the 10th edition of JUSTMAD Contemporary Art Fair.
- Exhibition at the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM) during Madrid Design Festival.
- Designer at Pasarela Emerge, Museo del Traje, Madrid.
Teaching
Teaching isn’t separate from my creative practice.
It’s a natural extension of it.
The classroom becomes another place to research, question established processes and explore new ways of developing visual thinking.
Strategy, experimentation and critical reflection are as present in my teaching as they are in every project I develop through Bocau.