Latest news with #HorizonFCBDubai
Campaign ME
07-07-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Alex Pineda joins Horizon FCB Dubai as Chief Creative Officer
Horizon FCB Dubai has named Alex Pineda as its new Chief Creative Officer. The appointment comes as Horizon FCB sharpens its focus on delivering work that combines creativity fueled by data and technology to build brands that endure. With more than 20 years of work experience in the Middle East, Europe and Latin America, Pineda has been helping brands in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the region stand out, stay relevant and deliver results. His track record includes work in different industries like QSR, automotive, banking, FMCG, tourism, real estate, and public sector amongst many others. Furthermore, major global creative festivals, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, LIA, Loeries, Effies, and WARC, as well as regional festivals like Dubai Lynx and Eurobest have recognised his work. Beyond the awards Horizon FCB Dubai claims it's his creative belief system that sets him apart. 'At Horizon FCB, our philosophy is that creativity is 'Never Finished'. We are always evolving, always pushing boundaries, and always looking for ideas that drive the economic multiplier to our Clients,' said Reham Mufleh, Managing Director at Horizon FCB Dubai. 'Alex embodies this mindset perfectly. His experience across markets, his passion for transformative ideas, and his commitment to nurturing talent make him the right creative leader for where we are headed,' she added. The agency claims Pineda sees creativity as a tool for economic and cultural progress. He leads with kindness, teaches with passion, and always brings humanity into the work. On his appointment he said: 'I found Horizon FCB's project extremely interesting. We share the same creative and business values, and after discovering Reham's long-term plan, coming back to Dubai was a no brainer.' 'If you check the status of today's global creativity, clearly FCB comes out as the hottest network, with impressive work from offices like Chicago, New York, India, New Zealand,' he said. 'Our goal is for Dubai to enter the party. We have the talent, the clients, and most importantly, the inner passion to make it happen'. Finally, besides his professional drive, Pineda writes and draws his own comic books series, loves football, cooking and shares his home with two pet rabbits.
Campaign ME
23-04-2025
- Campaign ME
The subtle art of human insight
The other day, I screenshot a song on Spotify to send to a friend. Instantly, Spotify served up a clean, ready-to-post visual. Perfectly sized for Instagram Stories, beautifully branded, and begging to be shared. Not loud. Not try-hard. Just … smart. This isn't new. But that doesn't make it any less impressive. Spotify didn't drop this feature to go viral. They dropped it because people were already screenshotting songs. Already sharing them. Already behaving a certain way. And instead of slapping on a 'Share' button and hoping for the best, they hijacked the habit. Wrapped it in design. Made it smoother, sleeker, more intentional. That's not UX. That's street-smart design. That's creativity without the pitch deck. That's branding without the interrupt. And it's exactly where more brands need to be playing. We love talking about 'human-first,' but too often, user experience (UX) is still treated like the final polish; the post-idea afterthought we send to design once the big, shiny concept is locked. That's backwards. The best brands? They start with use. With the messy, erratic, instinctive behaviour of people who are mid-scroll, mid-scroll, mid-scroll. They don't wait for attention. They earn it by being useful, invisible, smart. Because here's the truth: no one's hanging around for your campaign. They're navigating. Swiping. Tapping. Skipping. Making micro-decisions by the second. If your brand doesn't understand that rhythm… No, if your brand doesn't live inside that rhythm, it's already out of sync. This is why UX isn't just functional anymore. It's strategic. It's emotional. It's brand architecture disguised as convenience. It's design that makes people say, 'That just felt… right.' Take any app you actually enjoy using. It doesn't feel good because it's simple. It feels good because it's considered. Because someone asked: 'What's the very next thing they'll probably do?' Then designed for it. Before it was even needed. Apple Wallet also nails this. You book a flight. You arrive at the airport. Suddenly, your boarding pass appears on your lock screen. Unprompted, perfectly timed, exactly where you need it, just before you even think to go looking for it. No tutorial. No pushy nudge. Just pure, predictive utility. That's not UX. That's foresight wrapped in function. And it builds what most brands are starving for: trust. Because in a world drowning in noise, what cuts through isn't more noise. It's human intuition. Flow. Design that feels so natural you don't clock it as branding, you just call it better. That's the win. Not adding friction, but removing it. Not inserting the brand, but embedding it. Not asking for attention, but earning it through ease. If you're not doing that? You're not in their lives. You're just in the way. By Lyle Martin, Associate Creative Director, Horizon FCB Dubai
