About me

I’m a freelance writer, creative director, and photographer covering travel, culture, technology and creativity. I specialise in branded and editorial content for print and digital alike. I love to think about the hows and whys, consider the where and now, and find a beautiful, fitting verbal and visual expression to communicate a message.

Based between Lisbon and Madrid, I combine a decade of branding expertise with insight gathered from deep dives into creativity and culture for the likes of CNN and National Geographic, among others.

A bit of background

I co-founded a brand built on a century-old family shoemaking tradition in 2010 and specialised in wearing many hats: strategist, designer, writer, stylist, photographer, weightlifter.

Venturing solo at a time of turmoil in the fashion industry – aggravated by a global crisis – gave me a holistic understanding of the business and made me very aware of the importance of taking a step back to have a good look at the bigger picture, gathering cultural insights, talking to and building an audience, and having it all delivered in a compelling, cohesive, relatable, and understandable way.

Wearing many hats proved to be my one true love, and in between writing articles for international publications and delivering strategic content for brands, I welcome new challenges. If a project’s scope is beyond me, I happily partner with other creatives and strategists to get things done.

A little bit more

Visuals and words are my chicken or the egg – I'm wired to think in both, indissociably, at all times.

I believe digital and print are better together, and that a message without an audience is pointless, so I consider SEO-friendly practices the same way I care about designing a captivating book cover.

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I like to step into other people's shoes and think people instead of consumers; I dislike formulaic approaches and I'm suspicious of people who don’t like to laugh.

I take an interest in all things culture, and in the people and ideas changing the world.

I also love chocolate.

So, what do I actually do?

• Content creation

• Art direction

• Editorial strategy

• Content marketing

• Brand identity & narrative

• Print & webdesign 

• Brand consultancy

• Project management

Contact

You're welcome to drop me a line at helena@helenamante.com

Freelance journalist, art director and photographer based between Lisbon and Madrid. Branded and editorial content creation for print and digital.