THE MAGIC AND MYSTERY OF THE ALPHABET: SYMBOLS OF TRANSFORMATION, SCRIPTED PORTALS OF IDEA, VOICE AND MEANING.
The Alphabet and Evocation; drawing the letter; voicing the calling. Like anyone, I look for inspiration where I can get it. Even a letter. I got a note from some friends at the Oxford English Dictionary. It was about this word: “abracadabra” — and perhaps you’ve got...
SEXUAL FLAVORS | DESIGNING SEXUALITY IN SCENT
The Sense of Scent in the Most Profound and Personal Encounter The design of the scents of evocation and emulation, storytelling legendary experiences. A BOLD QUERY TO MEMORY AND MOMENTS, PSYCHIC AND PHYSIC INTERMINGLING. UNFORGETTABLE? WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SCENT AND...
DIRTY PERFUME: THE SCENT OF EARTH
AT THE HEART OF THE EARTH, FINDING THE SOUL OF SCENT. When I think about perfume, I invariably go dark, deep, underground, forested root and wood-bound, roughshod and animalic — the low notes, the bass, the lower boom of perfume. Even as a teenager, some decades back,...
TALISMANIC BOOKS: THE CALLIGRAPHIC SCRIPT AS A SIGIL — MARKS OF POWER AND PROTECTION
THE MYSTICISM OF CALLIGRAPHY — DESIGNING TALISMANIC ALPHABETS In the journey of the work, there comes a point where you might be pondering, “is there more to that which I make, what I’m doing, this thing that I spend all this time with?” Is is just work? Or is there...
LOVE & BELIEF: BRANDING HUMANITARIAN CHARITIES AND CAUSE-RELATED BRAND MARKETING
The Question of Belief lies in its etymology, for to believe is to “be love.” Brands and love, in a foundational strategy, suggest and intertwinement of passion, enchantment and embracement. There is love and passion in the making and the makers of brands — and so...
KEEP DEATH BEFORE YOU
A MEDITATION OF THANKFULNESS: PASSAGES AND CHAOS: 2016 | KEEP DEATH BEFORE YOU Why skulls, someone asked? Take a minute. Thursday, 11.24.2016. 2016 has been, and is, a very difficult year. Not done yet. No, there’s no economic [re] or collapse, but there’s been a...
Myth and Legend in Branded Storytelling, The Western Legacy
There is a legend, and there was once a mere story, about the Old American West — one that has transfixed the world. Who’s not compelled to admire some part of that storytelling? Or know some rawhide narrative, that has been shared — campfire round, out on the Range,...
GAMING DESIGN STRATEGIES | A LEGACY OF IDENTITY, PACKAGING BRAND TACTICS FOR NINTENDO, ARENA NET, TRION+SYFY, 38 STUDIOS
Identity, Story & Experience Design What is the game but a microcosm of life’s journey — and play but a perspective of living life in the fullness of a self-made, self-perceived adventure into the realm of the fantastical, the mystical and the magical? Live large,...
The Cutting Allegory | The Symbolism of The Blade
The Deepest Cut: The Brand Allegory of the Cutting Edge In the journey of brand strategy, storytelling and design, a number of allegories constantly emerge. There is the journey, the road less traveled and the search for the pathway there are brand symbols of shining...
Closed | The Dead Shopfront
Closed All the Time? The Dead Shopfront Never Open, Shuttered Brands. I was trying to connect with — what I thought was an open resource — a brand, an enterprise, a place, a team of people. Nope. What if you were closed all the time? [Image: a door, Chicago, IL]. I...