by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Storytelling | May 27, 2026
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...
by Tim Girvin | Motion Pictures, Storytelling | May 20, 2026
The font work of the road, the remote walls, restroom stalls and using industrial brush tools. I was influenced by graffiti artists and hobo code markers. To know graffiti, practice the art. In the 70s, I started marking stalls in funky bathrooms in NYC, marking over...
by Tim Girvin | Interior Design, Storytelling | Apr 29, 2026
When you work in a place, perhaps there’s a way to offer an uplifting message? A place could be a statement of mission— “I’m here, this is a reminder of why. I’m here.” Having been in probably 100s of offices in my history as a designer, I’ve explored a variety of...
by Tim Girvin | Motion Pictures, Storytelling | Apr 15, 2026
Integrative moves on the brand board of enterprise. The logo above, for the US / China Chess Summit, is a global tournament that GIRVIN created for a group of chess aficionados that see chess as a investment forum for growing acute thinking—the agency to strategic...
by Tim Girvin | Artists, Cool People, Motion Pictures, Storytelling | Apr 9, 2026
A walk-around hello, on the Lot, Summer, 2007 When I was working on the Paramount lot on Melrose—with the executive team in the theatrical advertising office—I frequently worked onsite in hand-drawing and tuning, improving logo art for various projects, including, for...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Motion Pictures, Retail, Storytelling | Feb 18, 2026
Classical lettercraft meets a precision draft, engraved in steel. In the spring cleaning of our moves to GIRVIN’s 16th office location, in the West Queen Anne Elementary School, in Seattle I was sorting through a grouping of files—like a large grouping, dozens of...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Storytelling | Feb 11, 2026
A brand allegory reveals itself in an ancient practice A question for you might be—”have you ever stacked stones?” “And, what for, why did you arrange them?” Start at the bottom, rise up. Stacking stones is a symbolic act and it’s a global proposition—...
by Tim Girvin | Brands, Storytelling | Jan 28, 2026
50 years ago, I got my first passport, it was in 1976—a US Bicentennial year. This was my first international travel, alone. I was 23 years old. But it was the beginning of a journey that would change my life. I’d been corresponding with designers in the US, as well...
by Tim Girvin | Concepts, Storytelling | Nov 26, 2025
And gratitude in being. I was talking to a theatrical advertising designer at Paramount Studios about making. And, as creatives, “how do we make?” Imagination, mind, fist, fingers, lips—mouth and tongue, eyes and ears. What we absorb, as humans, and what we express is...
by Tim Girvin | Brand Mysticism, Brands, Concepts, Storytelling | Dec 19, 2024
How Bright the Future? Could a Creative Brief be…Brief? Not really. Brevity isn’t the point, it’s the concision of the document. This is a talk that I was asked to offer at P&G, then later again at Mark Anthony Brands—the beverage group in Vancouver, BC., then...
