NOBRAND’s Badeeh Abla Sets His Sights Beyond The Mediterranean

Within just a few years of opening up for business NOBRAND has won an impressive number of high impact clients that would make a NYC agency weep with envy. Taking on Elie Saab and Bugatti in the first years were a step in the right direction, but being featured in the world-famous Taschen series of world’s greatest web designers wasn’t too bad for business either. Projects in Los Angeles for Nayla Audi’s Milk and Dunkin Donuts mark the beginning of NOBRAND’s expansion beyond the MENA region. Abla’s media and marketing company Going Niche is also set to open an office in Bangkok later this year.

“The client is our creative springboard. We listen, we adapt, we create. NOBRAND has no fixed stylistic ideology; each project is approached differently depending on the product, market, client, and our extensive research into their competitors. We do extensive research to not fall into the same tired clichés that everyone else is using. My goal is for clients in the Middle East to be on equal footing with those in New York, and for the New Yorkers to be ahead of the curve even when we’re up against agencies like ‘Chirp’. We aspire beyond even the cutting edge,” says Abla.

His latest project, Dunkin Donuts, will feature flash-revolutionizing interactive content while maintaining brand integrity and complying stylistically with the company’s international standards. This increase in international projects is a direct result of NOBRAND’s dedication to the preservation of artistic integrity while delivering consistently high quality products, and naturally enough, word of mouth.

“I think of it as an odyssey. Our role is to launch the client on a journey from the genesis of the design concept to its full execution. We ask ourselves what makes them stand out from the crowd. The client is our inspiration and their input is paramount to the concept creation. Understanding their business, goals, customers, and competitors allows our award-winning team of Flash experts and copywriters to produce their project’s unique technical and content requirements. Naturally, word gets around. 99% of my business comes from satisfied clients,“ he says.

But even satisfied clients can’t explain why the prestigious New York Times came knocking. Abla puts that down to his good old-fashioned work ethic and his high profile status in a region not internationally associated with web design.

“International companies come knocking on my door when they need something done in the region. Some specifically look outside their own country because they know that high quality work for a better price exists,” he says, “and I’m happy to step in and provide that service. Either that, or I’m just really that good,” he laughs.

Abla’s latest passion is food. Not necessarily eating it (though he says it can verge on being called a hobby), but definitely sampling, reporting and researching it. His latest venture, Beirutrestaurants.com, brings together his impeccable design flair with years of market research while providing a platform for closet gourmands to share their knowledge and love of all things culinary.

NOBRAND agency clients include:

Elie Saab, Roberto Cavalli, Iceberg, Bugatti, Blumarine, Nougatini, Opera House, Moscato Rose, Luxor Brut, Nayla Audi, Milk Shop LA, Mybar, Tawlet, Suk el Tayeb, Kamal Mouzawak and Dunkin Donuts.