
  • Work
  • Client List
  • Capabilities
    • Portfolios
      • Beauty
      • Branding
      • Destinations
      • Dining Design
      • Environmental Graphic Design
      • Food & Beverage
      • Health & Wellness
      • Innovation
      • Motion Pictures
      • Packaging
      • Retail Beauty
      • Social
      • Sweet Brands
  • Culture
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Work
  • Client List
  • Capabilities
    • View Portfolio
      • Beauty
      • Branding
      • Destinations
      • Dining Design
      • Environmental Graphic Design
      • Food & Beverage
      • Health & Wellness
      • Innovation
      • Motion Pictures
      • Packaging
      • Retail Beauty
      • Social
      • Sweet Brands
  • Culture
  • Blog
  • Contact

The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story

by Tim Girvin | Brands, Concepts, Cool People, General, Motion Pictures | Mar 5, 2012

The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story
Designing a brand around a legendary legacy

John Carter’s legend story, at Disney, is relatively recent — but the Edgar Rice Burroughs’s saga spans back decades [1911] to its origination — for a relatively short-lived comics series [72 weeks ], to the founding storytelling;

The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story
John Carter and Princess Dejah Thoris [of Mars,] 1917.

There’s not scene spoiler here, nor a complete recanting of the tale, nor extensive details and documentation on the current production. Our work goes back, further to the heart of the legend. In any storytelling, the idea syncs to what lies beneath — which could be history, which could be soul, is a more captivating excavation. Our efforts start with a direct connection to the Conran brothers, after our work on SkyCaptain and our executive relationships at Paramount Studios. We’d supported them [indeed all the Conran family — who I had the pleasure to meet, all of them, at the screening of “Sky Captain.”] Kerry Conran gave up the project for John Carter to work on another personal assignment. The movie jumped to Jon Favreau [Iron Man — we worked on that too,] then Robert Rodriguez [not yet — hoping!] and on to Disney.

To the Conrans, and our efforts, there was an alignment, to the idea of digging back, looking into the history of the story — but more so, the placement to time: “the Civil War”. In fact, Conran’s strategy was previously evidenced in his careful “digging in, excavation” of history in look and feel. Our examination goes to not only the nature of the history of the time, but — too, the history of earlier marketing. We dug into time for Benjamin Button — synchronism and brand design / theatrical marketing for David Fincher — as well as the archaeology of brand story for Robert Zemekis and Beowulf. That positioning is a core chromosome for Girvin — dig into what lies beneath. It’s need what’s on the surface, the glimmering of powerful ideas requires some digging in — going into the story, the imagery, the history — and the attributions of history — artifacts, signs, graphics and elements of time.

To the telling — what are the layers of the story?

The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story
Frank Frazetta’s Princess of Mars classic book cover art

Girvin’s archaeology of John Carter of Mars:
Graphical storytelling from the period —

The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story

Civil war detailing | typographic considerations:
The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story

Opening studies and sketchbook foundations
The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / StoryThe design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story

Typographic studies
The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story
The design of John Carter | LOGO / Brand / Story
The image to the center [above] was the Conran’s defined, selected direction — to Kerry’s take, there was something rough-hewn, hand-drawn about this selection –it had something of the period, yet attributes and qualities that celebrate the raw otherworldly nature of John Carter’s movements between Mars and Earth — and back again.
…..

tim girvin | queen anne hill, sea-town, WA
–––

G I R V I N | DESIGNING FOR MOVIES
THEATRICAL BRANDING + ENTERTAINMENT
IMAGINATION: AND THE TOOLS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
http://bit.ly/seAMZf

Tim Girvin | founder + principal
mobile direct. 206.890.0621
teams: New York City + Seattle | Tokyo

work: https://www.girvin.com
truth: https://tim.girvin.com/
reels: http://www.youtube.com/user/GIRVIN888

girvincontent:
http://blog.girvin.com/https://tim.girvin.com/index.php“>
https://tim.girvin.com/index.php

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading...

Popular Posts

The Touch of Patterning | Sensate Brandspace, Building Brands, Branding Built Places
2 years ago No comments 96931 views
The Symbolism of the X
14 years ago 19 Comments 47607 views
RETHINKING BRAND AND ITS ARMATURE: ALLEGORY, MYTHIC AND SYMBOLIC DESIGN TACTICS: METAPHORICAL VISIONS AND THE CUMULARITY OF CLOUDMIND®
6 years ago No comments 28138 views
WANDER. WONDER. WISDOM.
6 years ago No comments 23261 views
THE PRESENTATION AT FUTURE IN REVIEW | THE CONFERENCE: FIRE2018
7 years ago No comments 20512 views

Blog Categories

  • Artists
  • Brand Mysticism
  • Brands
  • Concepts
  • Cool People
  • Designers
  • General
  • Human brands
  • Incubation
  • Interior Design
  • Luxury
  • Marketing 2.0
  • Motion Pictures
  • News
  • Places
  • Retail
  • Scent
  • Storytelling
  • Trends
  • Work
  • Client List
  • Capabilities
  • Culture
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

©2025 GIRVIN STRATEGIC BRANDING & DESIGN

We use cookies on our website to give you the best experience on our website. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d