I analyze the visual and linguistic signs and symbols in everything (from packaging to pop culture) to unpack their deeper meaning, how that’s being communicated, and what it signifies in its cultural context — that which consumers can’t tell us themselves.

In the movie The Founder Michael Keaton’s Ray Kroc decodes McDonald’s golden arches: “It doesn't just say, delicious hamburgers inside. They signify family. It signifies community. It's a place where Americans come together to break bread. I am telling you, McDonald's can be the new American church, feeding bodies and feeding souls. And it ain't just open on Sundays, boys. It's open seven days a week.”

Using semiotic analysis, that’s what I can tell you about your brand, your competitors, your category… what the logos, colors, fonts, imagery, taglines, copy, brand and product names, etc. all actually mean in culture 😊

“The Future Of…”

Spotting patterns and connecting dots in emerging behavior, needs, desires, culture, products, design, etc. to help my clients think about what’s important in what’s next.

I go out in the field (see “IRL Exploration <3”!), I go deep at the desk, I talk to experts and cutting edge early adopters… I’ll tell you about it long before mainstream culture picks it up.

I’m always getting out and about:

• retail safaris & expeditions

• visiting museums, exhibits, shows

• flipping through zines

• attending events & shows

• hanging out in third spaces

• lots & lots of walks (for spontaneous moments of discovery and interaction!)

interviews & groups

diary studies / digital ethno

fieldwork (see above!)

observation

online discussion boards

projective techniques

"homework" & artifacts

end to end:

questionnaire design & writing

programming

field management

(advanced) analysis

story-driven reporting