by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Places, Storytelling | Sep 25, 2014
There is the sign, which is a way — a tool to explain process and direction, to instruct, to mark, to place: made. The Ace Hotel, Expressed Metal Plate But to the notion of place-making, how that sign is made, gesture or stone, or cut metal, wood can tell a layering...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Interior Design, Places, Retail | Sep 22, 2014
Exploring Retail Architecture, Metaphor and Magic. I had a chance to observe the strategic evolutions of Nordstrom’s brand presence in my friendship with Dawn A. Clark, AIA LeedAP — lead architectural strategist and team leader in the newly evolving architectural and...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Places, Scent | Sep 16, 2014
What About the Smell of the Moon? A friend, high perfumer Christi Meshell, pointed out a note on the Fragrance of the Moon. That aligns with an earlier conversation we had about the smell of guns, firepower and gun powder. It’s like the smell of any explosive, the...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Places | Aug 14, 2014
Exploring Design | Culture | Place: Iceland and a Graphical History In the journey of anyplace, anywhere, there is a re-counting, as you walk back in time, you count your moments and you gather up your steps, in recounting. And sometimes that striding will take you...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Cool People, Places, Storytelling | Aug 12, 2014
THE VOLCANIC IMPETUS. ONCE IN MY LIFE, I’D TRIED TO BUILD A PLAN TO RUN [HIKE AND SUMMIT] THE VOLCANIC CIRCUIT ON JAVA, THE GREAT ISLAND OF INDONESIA — TO HIKE THE SPINE OF ONE OF THE GREATEST VOLCANIC ARRAYS IN THE WORLD, THE SO-CALLED “RING OF FIRE.” I hiked a...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Cool People, Places, Storytelling | Aug 7, 2014
And In Your Search, What Have You Seen? I was thinking about people that I’ve talked to — to learn more about their history. Not what they’re doing, what their job is, but rather — where have they been, and what have they seen? Scene, seen? [Image above: T R A I L E R...
by Tim Girvin | Cool People, Designers, Places, Storytelling | Jul 15, 2014
The Journey of Storytelling in the Context of Space, Made Narrative Place. In the past, we’ve written about the idea of cinematic production design — and individual designers and directors — their interplay, and how interpretations of context are made. Interestingly,...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Interior Design, Places | Jul 10, 2014
The inward and outward flow of brand experience design. I was trying to make a connection with a team, a brand, and — like most of you — I was on-hold, then waiting, then holding, then waiting — and finally; and I was passed along to another, who had no clue about my...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Concepts, Places, Retail, Scent | Jul 1, 2014
Designing a Pathway of Personality, Fragrance and Their Retail Perfume Portal. In a note forwarded by retail strategist and architect, Dawn A. Clark, she notes Selfridges’ newest innovation — a Perfume Laboratory [Videolink]. As has been pointed out by many,...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Interior Design, Places | Jun 26, 2014
Could you go slow? In the incipient need for speed that rattles through the channels of our experience, could that potentially be slowed way down? To see and sense more? Take a moment. When I travel, working on brands around the world, I try to come into a place slow....
