dezabel.
role
project date
client
Project type
the brief
dezabel are an international pop/r&b/jazz duo, jvzel based in los angeles and bilgi sakarya in zurich. when i came on board in 2021, bilgi had been managing content independently but it wasn't reflecting the quality of the music or connecting with their audience. the brief was to build a cohesive brand identity from scratch, grow their following, and produce content that matched the level of the work.
the results
follower count grew from approximately 2,000 at the start of the contract to 5,806 by the end, with the strongest acceleration visible from late 2023 through mid-2025. peak weekly reach of 17,383, with several consecutive weeks above 14,000 during the july 2023 campaign period. growth continued after handover, with the account at 6,371 followers by april 2026.
the approach
the creative direction was built around three pillars: education, creativity, and personality. bilgi's production background was a great lever that allowed us to tell a real story about the craft behind the music, and that became the foundation for a lot of the content. the geographical spread of the duo meant i directed bilgi remotely from the uk, pre-planned sessions for when jaz and bilgi were together in la or zurich, and worked with local videographers and photographers in both cities to keep the visual output consistent.
the work
Developed and managed full social strategy across Instagram and TikTok Produced, directed, and edited 15 music videos over the course of the relationship Produced and directed a series of remote interviews with Bilgi, turned into short-form educational content Led the Generations campaign, a UGC-driven music video where fans submitted vocal recordings to be included in the track and video, coordinated entirely remotely Surrounding content for Counting Up outperformed all previous releases at the time of launch Designed all visual assets, artwork, and brand collateral throughout
reflection
six years is a long time to work with someone and i'm proud of what the brand became. two things i'd do differently: be physically present for content capture more often, directing remotely worked but there's a ceiling on what you can get without being in the room. and i'd have pushed harder on release planning earlier. bilgi would finish a mix and want to move quickly, which meant campaigns occasionally launched with less runway than they deserved.
