The costume principle
A costume is a waiver, not a talent. On play as a method, understudies who know things, and why your brand should…
Our Journals
Strategy, craft, and a few articles we just felt like writing. From our founder, team, and a few friends.
179 Articles
October, again
The graveyard went back up this weekend, same as last year, which is exactly the point. On returning seasons, fixed points, and…
Budget energy, not hours
The calendar says you have an hour free at two. Technically true. Whether anyone will be home in that hour is a…
The room is a tool
Nobody audits the studio itself. The walls, the default screens, the seating — the room is making decisions all day, mostly unsupervised.
Brands act from identity
The brands that never seem to agonize over what to post aren't more decisive. They've answered a different question entirely.
Reps with feedback
Ten years of experience or one year repeated ten times. The difference isn't talent or hours. It's whether anything pushed back.
The OODA loop for creative teams
A fighter pilot's four-word diagram explains more about agency work than most marketing books. The team that learns faster wins, even outgunned.
Ask for the counterargument
Everyone in the room loved the concept. That should have been the first warning sign, not the finish line.
Colony Presents: The Arcade (now with a wizard…)
So, we built an arcade. It started as a personal project for us and the best parts were never planned.
There is no box
Most of the constraints in a rebrand brief were never decided. They accumulated. An exercise in finding out which walls are load-bearing.
The misogi project
One project a year with a real chance of failure, chosen on purpose. Notes on borrowing a ritual we found in a…
Antifragile brands
Some brands survive a rough quarter. A rarer kind comes out of it sharper than they went in. The difference isn't luck,…