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Vol. 12, No. 1, Winter 2001
Tim Girvin, Principal, Girvin Inc.; Kristin Summers, Assistant Designer, Girvin Inc.; Chie Masuyama, Senior Designer, Girvin Inc.
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Design goes to the movies in this autobiographical exploration by the founder and principal of Girvin Strategic Branding and Design. Tim Girvin's interest in book design led him to the study of paleography (the history of writing), to calligraphy, to "studies of the way in which certain expressions of a time period or culture would find themselves 'built.'" In the process, he discovered that "the letterform, as an object of design, was coherently linked to other cultural manifestations, and that the spirit of a culture could find itself 'symbolized' in its style of writing, as well as other aspects of cultural 'branding.'" By the time he had founded his design practice in 1977, Girvin had become known for his interest in "freeform expression and energy within the character of the alphabet." It took a phone call from an agent for Francis Ford Coppola, who was working on Apocalypse Now, to turn Girvin's interest to the study of motion-picture titling and identities.
Movie identities and titling treatments represent a concrete version of the spirit of the film, encapsulated in the deliberate styling and arrangement of characters. As Girvin says, "My challenge is to capture its story in a graphic signature that will be understood by an audience scattered all over the world."
Girvin discovered that his paleographic studies had uniquely prepared him to capture time periods, nuances of stroke, weight, letterform construction, coloration, and technique. The idea of taking the ancient art of calligraphy and adding to it an idea of energy and expressiveness was relatively new.
Over the years in which he has been involved in motion-picture titling (which is still a relatively small part of his design practice), Girvin has worked on such films as Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven and Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, as well as Lethal Weapon, The Matrix, and Sleepy Hollow. As with any design project, these begin with an understanding of strategy, the audience, and the positioning of the film. The next step is to assemble hand-drawn sketches into 40 or 50 "treatments" that are refined until they become the finished design. Films often benefit from a "style guide" that manages all components of the "brand expression," including merchandising systems. Film promotions include trailer titling, posters, character packaging, shirts, cups of soft drinks, and bags of popcorn. Girvin also learned the ins and outs of the "one sheet"-the predominant color print vehicle for motion picture promotion-the poster you see in the lobby of the theater, which lists credits for the main actors, as well as the major participants in the production and direction of the film.
The next time designers who read this article drop in at their local multiplex; they may even stay to watch the credits!
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