BRUSH STROKES

Picasso was in a park when a woman approached him and asked him to draw a portrait of her. Picasso agreed and quickly sketches her. After handing the sketch to her, she is pleased with the likeness and asks how much she owed to him. Picasso replies: "$5,000." The woman screamed, "but it took you only five minutes." "No, madam, it took me all my life," replied Picasso.

John MCFaul, founder/director of MCFaul Studio illustrates his love for all things funky through his graphic presentation of the fashion brands he has worked with. It wasn't an easy journey to get to where their studio is today. A talent pool of young designers working towards selling successful branding imagery and design. 'If I wasn't a graphic designer, I would have been a professional cyclist,' he says as he races through his presentation and gives us a brief on his company and how it all began. MCFaul Studio is a design agency that deals with everything from conceptualization, designing, direction, production, post-production to delivery.  'We have worked with many fashion brands but we don't like working with all fashion brands.' Well you don't need to be Einstein to read between the lines once you have had a look at their work. It comes across as a mix of jazz and psychedelic music merged together to create an electricity of ideas infused with radiant colors. Not every brand is that experimental with its image. 

                              

John believes that Branding is a very strong form of communicating what a product is all about. While they brainstorm over what the design strategy of the brand should be the first thing in their mind is what would attract a consumer to this particular product.

For instance, let's take a look at their campaign for Havaianas. Havaianas, or the colorful flip flops that everyone loves to wear had its birth in 1962. It was inspired by the Zori, typical Japanese sandals made of fabric straps and rice straw soles. It is for this reason that the foot-bed of Havaianas have a textured rice pattern, one of its many unmistakable features. It's designs reflect its upbeat mood and its colors exude a vibrant aura. MCFaul Studio represents that fun, crazy, playful vision that it lends to its every campaign, as the brand designs exude that mood.

                                              

It's easy to identify with their motto behind their designs; it's hard to ignore what's right in front of your eyes. Their eye catching designs snatch the looker's memory and instantly creates a desire to go into the store and find out what's new on the rack. John believes that branding is a very strong force that pushes a fashion label forward but if the end product doesn't deliver than even the strongest form of branding and design cannot help the brand. But he believes that in advertising we have to move away from reality. Which brings me back to my earlier post on whether branding is the whole and soul of selling a dream to a consumer. A dream that transforms into a transient thrill in a world where even fashionable identities are not permanent.

Ciao

P.S. Check out their website at http://www.mcfaulstudio.com/
(Images courtesy: McFaul Studio website)