We are a design and strategy agency with a talent for collaboration. For over 20 years, we've been crafting projects with technical expertise, intuition, and dedication. Through an integrated structure and a sensitive, strategic approach, we deliver solutions that empower brands and businesses, amplifying their results and connecting people and brands with their future.

Partners

  • Mariana Hardy Founder and Creative Director
    Mariana Hardy

    Founding partner of Hardy Design, where she holds the position of Creative Director, collaborating across disciplines with a team of 25 people in Belo Horizonte and São Paulo.

    She holds an Architecture degree from UFMG, with complementary design studies at Parsons The New School for Design and the School of Visual Arts in New York. She worked at Pentagram, the world’s largest design consultancy for clients such as Goldman Sachs, Time Warner, FIFA, and the Port Authority of NYC. She then joined the New York studio Slover and Company, collaborating with major fashion and cosmetics brands.

    Her projects have been featured in numerous national and international magazines and books, and have earned awards including the iF Design Award, Brazil Design Award, Latin Grammy Award, and International Design Communication Awards (IDCA).

  • Cynthia Massote Founder and Executive Director
    Cynthia Massote

    Partner and Managing Director at Hardy Design since 2007, she has led projects throughout Brazil as well as in China, the US, and Europe. Today, she divides her time between the Belo Horizonte and São Paulo studios, where she oversees operations and collaborates across disciplines with a team of 25.

    With over 25 years of deep experience in design, communications, and branding, her career spans telecommunications, technology, and retail sectors. She is adept in brand management and strategy, graphic and environmental design (including wayfinding), packaging, marketing strategy, and digital marketing. Her academic credentials include a Master’s in Internationalization and a postgraduate specialization in Marketing from PUC-MG.

  • Marcelo Pantuzza Partner and Senior Project Manager
    Marcelo Pantuzza

    Partner and Project Manager at Hardy Design. An advertising graduate from PUC Minas with extensive experience in account management and commercial negotiations. At Hardy, he leads the project management team and co-oversees prospecting and operations processes. He has worked across diverse sectors for clients such as Copasa, BH Airport, and Grupo Bernoulli.

  • Pedro de Albergaria Partner and Design Manager
    Pedro de Albergaria

    Graphic and type designer, he is a partner and design manager at Hardy. Throughout his career, he has been crafting projects for global brands, across branding, packaging, environmental, and wayfinding design. Based in Belo Horizonte, he is responsible for coordinating projects from end-to-end with multidisciplinary teams.

    He holds a graduate degree in Type Design from the Plantin Institute of Typography in Antwerp, Belgium. With a bachelor's degree in Social Communications from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil, completed after a year of studying at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in Canada. He worked in Amsterdam as a designer for Aruliden, an award-winning agency headquartered in New York, creating packaging design for FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) brands within Beauty and Cosmetics. He also worked as a graphic designer for Estufa, an in-house design agency at Inhotim, responsible for crafting cohesive print & digital communication across platforms, product development, and signage.

Awards

Former Team

If you were once a member of the team and don't have your name on this list, contact us

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