Our studio principles and processes are the product of a contemporary, analytical approach to design. Our practices are the function of years spent working with Global 500 companies, fast-moving startups, and impassioned cultural organizations.
With time, we have come to focus on four broad creative disciplines fundamental to creating, building and growing successful organizations, businesses, and brands; brand strategy design, visual identity design, product design, and print design.
Strategy
We think most of what get's called strategy is misnamed. We see strategy as a fluid, straight-forward, process beginning with discovery, transitioning into policy determination and resulting in the creation of cohesive, definitive actions. We do not conflate strategy with ambition, determination, innovation or inspirational leadership. While these qualities are valuable, they are not a strategy. Instead, we believe strategy responds by selecting a path forward and identifying how, where, and why such qualities can be beneficial. Strategy is a way to success, not a synonym for it.
- Discovery
- Determination
- Activation
Identity
Brand identities serve as vessels — vehicles of sorts, for one or more, often large conceptual ideas. Subsequently, the job of identity is to identify, rather than define. Identity should act as a symbol of the quality of an organization, rather than quality itself. The realization of identity is contingent upon the rationale, and history behind the formation of an organization, its ethos, mission, vision, value proposition, long-range goals, target audience, competitive similarity, and difference. A quality identity is a synthesis, whereby meaning, memory, and opportunity are united and magnified.
- Identification
- Representation
- Systemization
Product
Product design is iterative and nuanced, driven by restraint — informed by experience. We begin product design with research and analysis before moving into concept definition and problem clarification. We establish constraints and set objectives. Synthesis follows ideation and learnings cue design, dictating form factor, the selection of features and functionality and ultimately, user experience. Prototyping ensues, proceeded by an implementation. Testing and evaluation lead to improvement, initiating an ongoing, virtuous loop of refinement. Products are never truly finished; they merely exist in their current iteration.
- Analysis
- Conception
- Synthesis
Print & Editorial
Editorial design and print design overlap, but they are not the same. Print design, for imprint, is predominantly medium dependent, relying on contemporary printing techniques. Editorial design for publications; magazines, newspapers, catalogs, and books is also medium dependent, but overwhelmingly content-driven. The two disciplines overlap in the artful fusion of form and content resulting from good graphic design; perficient use of grid systems, composition, typography, imagery, color, hierarchy, contrast and the ability to achieve cultural relevance.
- Medium
- Form
- Content
