by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Concepts | Feb 24, 2022
THE SIGILLIC SOLUTION In the journey of brand design and identity, there is the high road, the first summit, the easier vista—the outreach of an accessible view and foundational story: “it’s beautiful, so this must be a beautiful brand.” And then there are the deeper...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Brands, Concepts, Cool People, Designers, Interior Design, Luxury, Places, Retail | Feb 7, 2022
HERITAGE BRAND DESIGN AND SYSTEMIC PATTERNING More than four and a half decades ago, 1976, I pitched the idea of integrative branding to the Creative Director at Nordstrom, Dan Holland, and I presented again—this same thematic strategy, later to Claudia Milne, then...
by GirvinIT | Brand Mysticism, Brands, Concepts, Storytelling | Jan 19, 2022
In our experience, brands are—and should be—on a perpetual move, never quiet, always exploring, evolving, tuning and turning to new relationships and communities. And most brands do—with forward thinking leadership, they’re thinking—“we’re missing something here, we...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Brands, Cool People, Human brands, Trends | Dec 13, 2021
BRANDS LED BY WOMEN The power of the feminine principal When I was in college, I studied the archetype of the Great Mother who—and which— might be defined as less of an archetype in the common parlance of today’s voice, and more of a deep, collective unconscious...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Concepts, Places, Retail, Storytelling | Dec 1, 2021
IN THE JOURNEY OF BRAND DESIGN, IT ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO MEANING, MEMORY AND SENSATION. We’ve been working around the brand frontline for 4.5 decades. There are a string of alignments that emanate from that succession that are the core questions that always come to...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Brands, Concepts | Nov 19, 2021
Every day, as much as I can, I like to get out there. It’s a mix between terror and joy, fear and exhilaration, exultation and trepidation. Don’t you just love that moment when the fearsome rears up at you and then, rising up on the crest of that momentous inquietude,...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Brands, Concepts, Cool People, Human brands, Interior Design, Places, Retail | Nov 5, 2021
TOUCH ME MORE OFTEN. When you circulate, out exploring things—places, brands, natural experiences in the outdoors—what do you do? How do you explore? Me? I’m a touchy-feely kind of a person—I like to touch things, which is inherent in the character of my work, since I...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Designers, Places, Retail, Storytelling | Oct 27, 2021
When you think about a place— what aspects are the most memorable? From my view: patterns, there are patterns that intertwine in the experience of a place that become distinctly memorable. That can speak to unique uses of materials—as in the gnarly grizzle of the...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Brands | May 12, 2021
YOU AND YOUR STUDY OF THE BRAND THAT YOU OWN—WHAT IS YOUR WATCH? EVERY GOOD BRAND AGENT IS ON THE SURVEY FOR ACTION, ANALYSIS, COMMUNITY AND RELATIONSHIPS, TRACTION AND SALES, INTELLIGENCE AND KPIs. S E N T I N E L F O R T H E B R A N D Looking out: over the...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Concepts | Apr 14, 2021
WHEN I CONTEMPLATE BRANDS, THEIR RECOGNITION, IT’S MOSTLY ABOUT EMOTION AND MEMORY: “I KNOW THAT BRAND, IT’S RED.” OR IT’S BLUE, VERMILION, OR YELLOW. MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT’S UNFORGETTABLE. COLOR, OF COURSE, IS A KEY MNEMONIC. Working with a team recently, we were...
