Montreal, Quebec, Canada
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. Most companies do not lack effort; they suffer from misdiagnosis. Something feels wrong. The strategy sounds correct but does not hold. The team acts, but not as one. The brand is visible but no longer distinctive. Everyone confidently addresses symptoms while the real issue remains unidentified. That’s where I work. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 I help founders, cultural institutions, and companies at turning points identify the underlying structure of what they have built ► especially when success, growth, and accumulation have made that structure harder to see. My work is not about making brands look better; it’s about making them make sense. I operate beneath the surface ► where business logic, cultural signals, internal contradictions, perception, tone, image & ambition either converge or quietly fall apart. I see the whole system while others are still reacting to fragments. Then I name what’s actually there – clearly and precisely. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 For over 25 years, I’ve worked with cultural institutions, luxury boutiques, architects & progressive companies. ► From orchestrating Equus Automotive’s first car launch to rebranding the iconic Beauty’s, from art directing the avant-garde PIAFF boutique to advising Mid-Day Squares, and collaborating with Hennessy, Apple, Bentley, Sony Columbia, Musée Rodin, Studio Canal, Galerie Maria Lund, Philip Hazan, and Elie Khouri in Dubai. My role has remained the same ► to reveal the structure, clarify what matters & transform that clarity into systems, identities, & experiences that endure. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 At the intersection of psychology, strategy, branding, design, visual & fine arts, sound design, artificial intelligence & education. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 ◾ 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬: for lack of clarity Clarity through distance ◾ 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬: for stalled creativity Creative acceleration ◾ 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: for fragile alignment Transformation from within ◾ 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬: for scattered execution Strategy made tangible ◾ 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: for narrow vision Seeing beyond the probable 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 ► For founders & leaders at moments of consequence when the company has evolved but the brand hasn’t kept pace, when growth has brought complexity without clarity, when the next decision feels both urgent & uncertain. Not for those looking to move directly to design. ► For those who recognise that the quality of thinking determines everything that follows.
Marc creates at the intersection where aesthetics, the written word, imagery, chaos, and balance collide. That collision is no accident, it is compelling and intentional. ▶ Design He creates, evaluates, deconstructs then reconstructs, breathing life into brands through a collaborative process that challenges convention, incites change, and bridges the gaps between art, industry, and commerce. Design is the practical study of how the world should be. ▶ Education Innovation is arrived at by understanding why design matters. Design is everything, everything is design: a truth that cannot be contained, but shared, openly and enthusiastically. A fearless, focused approach to design leads to an intimate knowledge of how the world works and can be improved. Truly, the notions of design and progress are inseparable. Business, organizations, and schools have benefitted from Marc’s lucid, erudite insights onto design’s place in society, and in turn, society’s responsibility to nurture design as a way of life, of uniting, informing, and contributing to the greater good. ▶ Visual art Photography, film, and sound design are the elements which Marc molds and shapes into bold statements chronicling the impact of humanity on nature and on itself. His art is a play-by-play of his life’s journey – the stark beauty of desolation, man’s impact on the world he seeks to interact with and yet conquer, and the role that science, philosophy and art have in inspiring, informing, and inciting change. Visual art is his method of introspection – and in doing so discovers more of himself and others during the course of every project.
From September 2023, I'll take on the role of teacher and guest lecturer at Penninghen School of Art Direction and Interior Architecture. Course : Brand Strategy.
Photography, film, and sound design are the elements which Marc molds and shapes into bold statements chronicling the impact of humanity on nature and on itself. His art is a play-by-play of his life’s journey – the stark beauty of desolation, man’s impact on the world he seeks to interact with and yet conquer, and the role that science, philosophy and art have in inspiring, informing, and inciting change. Visual art is his method of introspection – and in doing so discovers more of himself and others during the course of every project. “Urban spaces shaped by man and yet entirely unpopulated, by the crudity of their subject matter Marc Kandalaft’s images evoke the approach of Germany’s New Objectivity movement, which often turned its lens on uninhabited industrial spaces. Here the document subsumes the image and the scientific method seeps into the creative process to prioritize, classify, prescribe. Generic topoi, scraps of iron, brick, or clouds of vapor — apparitions that emerge only in the expressive collection of the photographer-wanderer, punctuating the real in a suspension of judgment.” Elora Weill-Engerer – Art Critic, Member of the International Association of Art Critics Translated by Anna Cummings
⧈ MIER–PARYS Independent watchmaker based in Montréal and Paris. Creating single-edition timepieces that bridge heritage and horizon through design, precision, and craftsmanship. Pavillon — our first collection An architectural reinterpretation of the classic dress watch, featuring a three-layer dial in bold, refined colourways. Each timepiece is: ▶ Swiss-made ▶ Powered by the Sellita SW300-1 automatic movement ▶ Crafted in 904L stainless steel ▶ Protected by a double-domed sapphire crystal Limited to 300 individually numbered pieces.