THE BRAND, THE MAKER, THE PERSON
IN THE QUEST FOR ENTERPRISE, BRANDS ARE INTIMATELY LINKED TO THEIR MAKERS In the journey of brand development, in the work that creators build in the envisioning of products usually aligns their personal character in the mix of their making. That is, brand DNA is...
THE HAIKU OF SCOTT OKI
DESIGNING BOOKS AROUND THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE MOMENTARY It’s been said that haiku are the quintessentially delicate framings of momentary meditations on instances of fleeting revelations, tripartite in two ways: three meditations, as well as kigo (Japanese,...
WOWNESS AND THE STATE OF WONDER
THE BRANDQUEST® FOR AMAZEMENT Isn’t it so that we’re all looking for wonderment—that state of surprise and amazement? I was talking to my father about my work—“why are you still doing it?” He retired one year before the age that I am now. I told him that “I’m looking...
THE OPENING OF THE NYC NORDSTROM FLAGSHIP STORE
EVERY JOURNEY HAS A BEGINNING—ITS END IS MERELY ANOTHER BEGINNING. In my history with Dawn Clark, my best friend, design partner, consulting collaborator, surfing mate, it’s been a long evolution of watching her ideations of the Nordstrom store-wide redesign, from her...
SIGNS THAT YOU SEE: CLARIFYING VISIONING, WAYFINDING, THE PUZZLE OF LOSTNESS
Notes on signing, wayfinding, alphabets and recognition. When you are lost, where do you go, what do you do? Some would say, “I’d look at my phone.” Or "I’d look at the Sun. Where is it, anyway?" You can, metaphorically, look for a sign—some augury that portends the...
IF YOU’RE LOST, COULD YOU FIND YOURSELF? WAYFINDING DESIGN AS A METAPHORICAL EXPLORATION.
THERE IS A PLACE: YOU’RE IN THE PLACE. HOW DO YOU DESIGN A PATHWAY FOR FINDING? What is the way, found? We were thinking about this. In the context of the work that you do. And what we do. We’ve wondered about that, the character of being lost, being found. Finding...
Monthly Desktop Background: Getting Distorted
This month’s design comes from assistant designer Jude Dacula. Known for his insane ability to juggle multiple projects and somehow meet every deadline, Jude is a master when it comes to user experience, motion design, creating websites and digital assets. Although he...
WHAT WAS, IS: THE FUTURISM OF ANCIENT DESIGN THINKING AND SYMBOLOGY
WHY WOULD YOU LOOK BACK, TO GO FORWARD? THE PATTERNING OF THE LONG TIME: WHAT IT MEANS FOR DESIGN, BRAND AND ENTERPRISE. As designers, our entire history is just that: going back, to go forward—in GIRVIN's study of design, as a legacy, goes back 5000 years. As a point...
BRAND STRATEGY AND TIERED ENGAGEMENT
YOU UNDERSTAND. YOU KNOW. YOU BELIEVE. We all know that our work, brandspace, will be about the tiering of messages and visuals that enchant the participant. The signature of design is the sewing of that suture—side to side, layered, lit and shadowed storytelling:...
THE RIP CURL OF BRAND STORYTELLING
WHEN YOU’RE FAR OUT AT SEA, SEE THE WAVES, SENSE THE RIP, IT’S TIME TO RIDE THE FAR HORIZON OF THE RIPPLING SWELL. Image above: Dawn A. Clark When you’re out there, far out there, watching the impending swell, there’s the rising curl of fear, awe and wonder,...