Brand Strategist · Mentor · Storyteller

Designing brands.
Mentoring minds.
Living fully.

Founder, Pulse Design Brand Solutions Visiting Faculty, DES Pune Former National Rope Mallakhamb Player Mother Breast Cancer Survivor

I'm Priyanka Dabade — 16+ years into building brands from a single logo to a full advertising strategy. I teach the designers who'll shape what comes next, train like an athlete every day, and try to be fully present for every stage of my child's life. This is where all of it lives.

About

Every hat, one person.

I am an entrepreneur, a brand strategist, a design educator, a researcher, a fitness enthusiast, a mother, and a breast cancer survivor. Each of these isn't a separate chapter — they're threads of the same story, woven together by curiosity, discipline, and the belief that we're always capable of more than we think.

For over 16 years, I've worked at the intersection of branding, advertising, and design — helping businesses go from a logo on a page to a strategy that lives in people's minds. I run Pulse Design Brand Solutions, partnering with brands on everything from visual identity to advertising strategy to full execution — always customized, never off-the-shelf.

Alongside my agency work, I've spent the last 3 years as visiting faculty at DES Pune, mentoring the next generation of designers — because the best way to stay sharp as a learner is to teach.

"I'm a learner and an executor. I don't just study trends — I implement them. I don't just teach theory — I test it with real brands."

Values

What I build from.

Five principles that show up in my studio, my classroom, and my life — in that order, most days.

01

Curiosity as a discipline

I never stop asking "why" and "what's next." Staying relevant means staying curious — about design, about people, about life.

02

Execution over ideas

Ideas are easy. I believe in the harder, more rewarding work of bringing them to life — with strategy, craft, and follow-through.

03

Customization, not templates

No two brands — or people — are the same. Every solution is built around the specific goals and potential of who I'm working with.

04

Resilience with grace

Life doesn't ask permission before testing you. Strength isn't never breaking down — it's choosing, again and again, to rise.

05

Presence over perfection

Whether it's with my child, my students, or my clients — I'd rather be fully present than perfectly polished.

Pulse Design Brand Solutions

Building brands that move people.

16+ years turning ideas into identities — for startups finding their first voice and established brands sharpening theirs.

Brand Identity & Logo Design

Visual identities that capture a brand's true personality — not just its product.

01

Advertising Strategy

Campaigns rooted in insight, built to enhance experience and drive recall.

02

End-to-End Execution

From concept to completion — nothing gets lost between strategy and delivery.

03

Trend Integration

Continuous research so brands stay ahead of the curve, not catching up to it.

04

"Good design isn't decoration — it's a decision. Every color, word, and campaign choice should move a brand closer to how it wants to be remembered."

Start a project
Mentor & Educator

Teaching what I practice.

03 years as visiting faculty,
DES Pune

I don't teach from a textbook alone — I teach from the field. My students learn branding and advertising strategy the way I practice it: rooted in real execution, real client challenges, and real-world thinking.

Mentoring keeps me honest. It forces me to stay current, to keep learning alongside the people I teach, and to remember that design education isn't just about software and layouts — it's about teaching people how to think like problem-solvers.

My Journey

The life outside the studio.

Three threads that shape how I show up everywhere else.

The Athlete

From the rope to the ring

Long before branding and boardrooms, there was sport. In my school days, I was a national-level Rope Mallakhamb player — a traditional Indian sport of extraordinary strength, balance, and discipline. It taught me how to trust my body, how to fall and get back up, and how real mastery is built rep by rep, not overnight.

That discipline never left me. Today I train every single day — sports conditioning, athletic workouts, strength training. Consistency compounds; discipline creates freedom. It's the same principle I apply to brand-building and teaching.

Motherhood

Present for every stage

Being a mother is, without question, the role I hold closest to my heart. I've built my career and my agency in a way that lets me be present — not just physically, but fully — through every stage of my child's growth. The tiny milestones, the big ones, the everyday ordinary moments — I don't want to miss any of it.

Motherhood has shaped how I lead, how I mentor, and how I show up in every other part of my life.

Strength & Grace

The chapter that changed everything

A few years into building my career, my family, and my agency, I faced the toughest challenge of my life — a breast cancer diagnosis. I won't pretend it wasn't frightening. It was. But it also became the place where every other part of who I am — the athlete's discipline, the entrepreneur's resolve, the mother's love, the learner's belief that we can always find a way forward — came together.

I came out of that chapter by God's grace and my own courage, and I carry that experience not as a scar, but as a source of strength. I'll be sharing more of this journey through my blog, in the hope that it helps someone else feel less alone.

Writing & Video

Notes from the journey.

A running record of what I'm building, teaching, training for, and living through — in writing, and soon, on camera.

The Blog

Notes from the Journey

Not from an expert with all the answers — from a learner sharing what she's discovering in real time.

  • Branding & design trends I'm exploring and implementing
  • Lessons from the classroom — what teaching has taught me
  • Fitness, discipline, and what athletics taught me about business
  • Motherhood — the joys, the juggles, the growth
  • My survivorship journey — honestly, without filters
Read the blog
The Vlog — Coming Soon

Priyanka, on camera

The same journey, in a more personal, real-time format — behind-the-scenes of brand projects, quick design tips, Mallakhamb-inspired workouts, and honest conversations about health and everyday life as a working mother.

Notify me at launch