The BrandQuest® for the Wave | Trends, Surfing Allegories, and the Soul of the Sea
The roll of the sea, the waves of change, and riding the future. Where I surf the waves are irregular and wild—they gather steam from global swells and mix up in a frothy mix that is distinctly inarticulate on the Northerly shores of the Washington coast, by...
The Illustration of language, the flow of color in calligraphy
An color-washed innovation in handcrafted lettering for commerce During my earlier years, I got a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, in funding a journey, a type designer's odyssey—my so-called “Alphabet Odyssey,” to meet, talk and share with the greats...
The Brand As Beacon | Symbolism and Allegory
We tend to think allegorically about the work that we do— brand as fire, design as transformation, and markings as magic. And plenty of the clients that we work with think of their enterprises as deeply metaphorical and soulfully intentioned —light bringers, wellness...
The Quest for Flow | Mystical Principles in Brand Design
Developing Hand-crafted Symbols as Deep Metaphors During my college years, I studied calligraphy with Lloyd Reynolds— the maestro of the calligraphic arts that inflamed Steve Jobs, during Steve’s limited foray at Reed College. And a core precept—this would be the I +...
A Drawing on Love
Designing a hand drawn stamp for the United States Post Office Everyone knows that I’m moving; I’ve been in—and out—of the Northwest Industrial Buildings at the foot of Queen Anne Hill, crossed in the nexus of Denny and Western, for 30 years. I was actually here, as...
Chains
Brand Chains, Ropes, Knots and the Entwinement of Meaning As a Boy Scout—even out to the rank of Eagle—I always had a fascination with knots, ropes, lashing, sea-and-water craft in the tradition of sailing. In scouting there is an expectation, as I’ve noted earlier,...
Bespoke Brands, Designing Identities Built on Custom Typefaces
All the work that GIRVIN designs is bespoke, it’s customized per project. Designing customized typographical treatments for identity programs would be obvious for any designer worth their salt. Since the latter 70s, about 5 years into the draft of design, I’d always...
Happy Mother’s Day | A Contemplation on the Feminine Principle of Creativity
Memories of my Mother As some know, my Mother recently died—our celebration of life emerges in days, and that, of course, is cause for a meditation on my learnings with her, her influences and profound impetus on my life. The alignment with creativity, motherhood and...
Packaging Arts in Asia, the Furoshiki
A Journey in Design Explorations. When I first went to Japan to present my work as a designer, I was advised that I should be bringing gifts, and that I should offer the greeting--introducing myself, as well as the offer. This went like this, Hajimemashite, Tim Gabin...
GIRVIN’s Ideator® Naming and New Brand Development Toolbox
GIRVIN’s Ideator® Naming program came into being with Garden Botanika, the first process-driven naming solution created by Tim Girvin and his team. This led to 18 stores that GIRVIN designed for Garden Botanika and more than 400 SKUs, organized in channel groups,...