Blogs By Tim Girvin
H E L L O,
Ghost Branding, Stealth and Whisper Messaging
Ghost Brands and the Principle of Palimpsest I was thinking about the notion of a “ghost business,” that—in imagery—could be seen as something hidden, transparent and diaphanous. Towards the conception of ghostly-related design, and, for example, my simple detailing...
The Patterning of Brand
Brand DNA | The Narrative of Design Patterning in Placemaking, Objects and Experientiality As designers, we stand up to build environments, messaging and visual expressions, to enable ideas, impressions, textual content and visualizations. And they are patterns—a...
The Brand Strategy of Terror | Global Design Systems for Security
Istanbul signage Following on an expanded range from my blog from last week, which you might’ve read—“A Life Of Crime”— and GIRVIN’s history designing logos and design systems for police agencies, entertainment and narratives on international crime-fighting. This...
The Life of Crime | Strategic Brand Design for Justice
The world of brand strategy, and design, extends to crime-fighting. GIRVIN’s bespoke brand design of Crime Stoppers. In our history, we’ve consulted for various police agencies, patrol and security groups, building brands around protection of assets, people and their...
Brand Connectivity and the Symbolism of Chainmail
Stories, myths, legends, tales—the link to humanity If there’s a story about a person, which might be a legacy, as in a family. It could be a product—a brand—and the perennial GIRVIN question would be: what’s the story, who’s telling it, who is this story for, what’s...
GIRVIN’s Psychedelic Branding
Tim Girvin’s Legacy in a Half Century in the Strategic Design of Hallucinogens When I was in my first college, studying Marine Biology and comparative Zoology, as well as Medieval art history and cultural studies; psychedelic drugs were commonplace—and, at this...
Visible Coding Of Brand Experience Strategy: Brandcoding
Creating environments with brand language and narrative patterning built into the experience design strategy. What if there was an intention to create a pattern language that could guide consumers, and renovate a retail environment? And, while you’re at it, simplify...
Brand storytelling: the energy of musicians and their music
L I S T E N T O T H E L I N K S I was talking to a client about music [brand experientiality]—the magnetic nature of the melodic narrative and, intimately, the human attribute of the swing of musical cadence, the ebullience of its expression in the context of human...
GIRVIN’s Tailored Typography | Movie Logos
How to illustrate a story with letterform design. My kickoff work on Francis Ford’s Coppola’s "Apocalypse Now,” began with a question: he said, ["can you send me some graffiti logos, I saw your work in U&lc.”] I had no idea what he was talking about, never had...
The Soul Summit of the Wave
Trends, Surfing Allegories, and the Soul of the Sea The storm-riven roil of the sea— which is stirring 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...