Hey everybody. W00t w00t. Big day around here. Let me explain what’s happening.
Basically, “content” has become a dirty word.
This thing that I’ve dedicated my professional life to: the story, the narrative, the linear (or asymmetrical) flow of information. The content. Over the past few years, it’s been reduced to an empty signifier of disposable crap. Many people recoil in horror when they hear the word “content.” And I get it. I do. Here today, gone later today (in the words of David Lee Roth). It’s shorthand for “meaningless data.”
I want to change that. I want to do better.
That’s where Texture comes in.
Based in Brooklyn, NY, Texture is a new studio for strategically-driven branding and content. I started it as a way to further my professional content strategy practice and formally expand into the role of creative director. And to collaborate with designers, writers, and clients who share my future-forward, global cultural perspective and sense of social consciousness. People who put content first and recognize it as the heart of great design and great brands. This approach forms the basics of our Service offering, shown below.
At Texture, our focus is on creating brand identities, making original content, and launching media platforms. We do it in a strategic way that’s tailored to each brand, while reflecting our NYC sensibility, our passion for Swiss minimalism, effective storytelling and emerging technologies, and our dedication to underground culture and art.
Texture was directly inspired by my recent experiences in the agency world. Developing the NOWNESS content platform and Urban Outfitters digital strategy at Sweden Unlimited. Leading content teams at R/GA for clients like Nike and Tiffany & Co. Teaching content strategy at Parsons School of Design. It’s a natural progression, really.
We’re called Texture for a reason. The root word “text” grounds us in the world of words and narrative. It also means weaving, webs, and network structure. “Texture” signals a dimension of surface, color, light, and image, essential for visual storytelling. Our studio unites these elements into a whole, while embracing the flux of the creative enterprise.
And we have some great projects happening. The feature-length documentary Girl Unbound just premiered at Toronto International Film Festival; Texture led the branding and typography. City Club, the new album by The Growlers (produced by Julian Casablancas), comes out today, Friday, September 30; we shot their promotional videos in California and wrote their brand story. And for a yet-to-be-revealed 6,000 square foot microbrewery and restaurant in Downtown Brooklyn, we led the brand strategy, audience personas, menu development and website creation.
Music runs deep with us, so we launched a series of original, long-form mixes on Mixcloud. We’ll post a new mix every two weeks. Half the tracks aren’t available on Spotify, iTunes, or other mainstream streaming services. Tune in :)
It’s all led to this. Now go check us out, hire us to craft your brand identity, website, content strategy brief, media ecosystem, video, lookbook, or what have you. We’re game. Let’s get creative.
With thanks,
Bob Maynard, founder and principal of Texture
Postscript: It wouldn’t be the same without friends and inspirations. People like Jeffrey MacIntyre and Paul Ford, creative entrepreneurs from the content strategy world. Jared Flamm, Sarah Rubenstein, Daniel Newman, Christina Burchard, and Seth & Ali in LA. My cohorts in NYC, like Evander Batson, Joey Neal, Ethan Goldwater, Ken Habarta, Kate Messinger, Virgilio Santos, Michele Colomer, Cindy Wallace, and all the talented individuals who’ve offered support along the way. Sam Kimball and Tina & Lance Veitch in Florida. And creative firms from the past, places like Superstudio in Florence and Peter Saville Associates in London. Fellow dreamers. Fellow doers. Cheers to them.
