A closer look into things.

Have you seen the movie Giant? It was filmed in 1956, so unless you are a generation older or a fan of Cinema, you may not have. As a part of researching and developing Desert Signal, I decided to rent this movie. It’s an epic feature that was filmed in Marfa and featured Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor, and it was also the last film James Dean made. Certainly a masterpiece of filmaking and a story that takes on very nuanced stories about life. The kind of film of depth that we don’t see to frequently these days.

This movie had such an impact on West Texas and Marfa, that I decided to re-examine the brand for Desert Signal. What I arrived at was an identity that is more rooted in the history of the region, but also pays homage to two things. 1. the titles for the movie, and 2. the lore and mystery to the “Marfa Lights” to which the region is known for. That’s this thing with design projects is that they are an expedition of sorts. A survey of the past, present, and an interpretation of the future. We live in a age of generic branding for everything due to reasons that are not artful or have anything to do with a brand’s concept. It’s all paved in reasons now for website constraints, and other soul-less over-thinking.

A pivitoal moment in the movie Giant, James Dean’s character, Jett Rink, is proposed a critical choice to make. He decides to forego the easy buy out and cultivate a small piece of land that changes the course of his life. It’s that cultivation. That work. That time put into something that helps us all drill for as long as it takes until the payoff surfaces. Like anything in life, mind how you handle it, or it will handle you.