by Tim Girvin | Artists, Brands, Concepts, Scent | Aug 27, 2013
A Journey into the Craft and Mystery of Making Perfume. Some years back I’d read Mandy Aftel’s book, I was struck then by her link to the presumptions of aligning alchemy and the making of perfume. Theoretically, it works — but, in her application,...
by Tim Girvin | Artists, Brands, Cool People, Human brands | Aug 20, 2013
Digging in, the brand archaeology of art, the person, the persona. When you work on a brand, people are involved. Sometimes, companies forget — they think: logistics, operations, planning, transportation, targets, quotients and quotas. For us — and...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Concepts | Aug 15, 2013
Color, Brands, and the Layering of Experience, Memory and Recognizability Some say — “stop calling the FT pink!” According to the color standards at the Times, the real color is a “so-called” Salmon Pink. But being an inveterate traveler,...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Concepts, Cool People, Designers, Storytelling | Aug 6, 2013
Designed Magic, Magic Designed. It’s been said that illustration, the real meaning of the word is a shining — to illustrate is “making bright.” But also — to purify. In a manner, thinking about illustration as a craft of communication...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Storytelling | Aug 1, 2013
Designing a World: Bears, Children, Wonderment and Michele Clise Ophelia’s World [Ophelia, showing above] Now and then, you get a chance to work on a project, or a succession of them, that might be reaching out to the edge of “what’s that,...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Cool People, Retail, Storytelling | Jul 30, 2013
When You Get Out There. For the Curious, More Can Be Found. Doors opened, entries walked, the pilgrimage taken. When you get out there, closer to the heart of the story, the feeling of it: the place, the brand, the people, the story, can be found. For nearly 20 years,...
by Tim Girvin | Artists, Brands, Cool People, Retail | Jul 25, 2013
PRODUCT DESIGN, CAPTIVATION AND THE APPLE SIGNATURE I was talking to a young engineer about the principled ideation of Apple industrial design; that certain details are not only innovative not only in terms of product design creation — they didn’t exist...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Luxury, Retail, Storytelling | Jul 23, 2013
THE HAND CRAFT OF RETAIL DESIGN IN THE BEGINNING, RETAIL DESIGN GOES BACK TO ONE SIMPLE PROPOSITION. “WHY SHOULD I BUY FROM YOU?” The implications of retail speaks to retelling — that is, there is a story, and another story, in a story — and...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Concepts, Scent | Jul 3, 2013
The Scent of Maleness — the Fragrance Design of Man’s World The ArcherMen Lexicon of Fragrance. Spray it on. The New Meaning of “Air Superiority.” There is something to the world of fragrance design that presumes subtlety, delicacy, restraint...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Concepts, Retail, Storytelling | Jul 1, 2013
Conceptualizing holding, in the context of relationship, experience and brand. I was working as a charrette leader on brand for a beauty and wellness start-up. We talked about — “why, who, where, what?” The big questions. And we talked about the...
