Starbucks | the soul of the brand
Aligning leadership, retail expression, innovation and brand identity: what's happening with Starbucks? Lots of friends have been forwarding me comments and remarks on the transitions of the new mark design created internally at Starbucks for their new promise of the...
THE FLOW OF THE CURRENT
Flow, on flow -- the fluency of flight, channeling, moving into the rivers of time and momentum. (Pelicans on the south eastern shore) Step in? Go? Watch and wait? Move? Take flight -- take action. Conceptions of flow, brand, story, soul -- stepping into the stream of...
Emotional signage: hospitality graphics with feeling
Examining the shopfronts, façades and skins of South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida. Signing design: strategies of visualization as an emotional storytelling. The evocations of deco. Take me someplace that feels right. There are levels to signing. On the one front, signs...
THE METAPHOR OF THE LIGHTHOUSE
Exploring symbolic design strategies in the making of place: experiencing deeper meaning in architecture The granary, the watchtower, the guiding light -- metaphors of transition for 2010>2011 Over 40 years of working as a designer, I've been thinking about the idea...
Love, story, brand and the cartography of strategy — drawing it out.
Exploring brand metaphors and soul: charting strategic pathways and innovation I was thinking about search -- reaching in(to people) -- listening to them, learning from them, and gathering their impressions and ideas. Search for it, listen to them, what does that look...
Camay | Brand, story, legend: vanishment
Passage, relevance and the scent of time. Brand re-invention, dissolution and reclamation. The pink bar of soap: 84 years of Camay. Photograph by Dan Neville. What happens when a brand disappears? Girvin brand backgrounder Working as brand strategists for Procter &...
See Your Impact | Finding the Soul of Charity
What is the nature of compelling giving? What are the tools to build a brand story that has soul, connectedness and impact to emerging audiences? Dig in. Go deep. Reach far. Finding time, reaching to the giving community in building humanitarian brand and charities...
The Wandering of Fragrance
The study of scent, recollection and experience An obsession with scent: the fragrance of place It's pretty clear, to anyone that works in the fragrance place of marketing, brand strategy, utilization of tactical "fume" in enhancing experience, that the evolution and...
The Symbolism of the X
What lies beneath: the nature of the x, the cross road, the crossing guard, the mark of the x and the magic of the nexus. Girvin imagery | screen or site shot from handheld The symbolic allegory of the x mark. When I was in Bali, I was surprised by the villager's...
Nicole Miller + Blackbird | Ballard (Seattle)
Exploring the concept of clustered retail -- microshop villages Brand, story, the hunt and connection -- a nexus of inspiration and ideation In my circulation in Seattle and NYC -- two places where Girvin offices are -- I find the wandering way to be one of the best...