art. brand. space.
Less tame. More you.
Your brand shouldn’t blend in. Your space shouldn’t either.
I uncover what’s beneath the surface — then bring it to life through identity, art, environments, and experiences.
brand.
Who are you, and why should you look like everybody else? I uncover what makes you distinct.
art.
A space can look great and still feel anonymous.
Art brings presence, curiosity, emotion + connection.
space.
What should people feel when they step inside? I turn identity into atmosphere — through graphics, art, color, objects + space.
Featured Projects
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Reimagining a Beloved Nonprofit Arts Center
Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Brand Strategy · Identity · Marketing · Creative Direction
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Building a Brand Experience That Travels
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Revealing a Brand Persona's World
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Award-Winning Identity Rooted in Place
Michelle Carnes, Founder of Carnes Creative
For more than 25 years, I’ve shaped distinctive identities, campaigns, and environments through a practice grounded in both creative direction and art. I’m the person who can design the identity, paint the painting, conceive the installation, direct the environment, and sit in the strategy meeting.
Carnes Creative is intentionally founder-led — giving clients direct access to senior creative direction, with trusted specialists brought in when a project calls for production, fabrication, technology, or installation expertise.
What I love most is turning identity into something tangible — creating a world people can recognize, enter, experience, and remember. I’m drawn to what makes a brand or place singular — its character, history, and point of view — uncovering what’s already true before deciding how it should look. From there, I build a visual language with its own personality, feeling, and sense of place.
clients + collaborators
Good work starts with a good conversation.
Let’s see what we can create.