What’s in a name?

We're often asked why we are called Navajo?

It’s a valid question, and one that resonates with what we do – branding.

A name should mean something to someone, a person, a place, an experience, a dream, or as in our case, a moment in time.

It was the mid-90’s, Paul Iacovou who formed the company the following year was in the last year of his media studies. His final project brief was simply titled ‘A person’.

Jim Morrison (of The Doors) was his choice. Captivated by his persona, music and poetry, Paul dove into all things Morrison, eventually leading to the books that influenced the band.

aldous-huxley

Doors opening doors

Aldous Huxley’s ‘Doors of Perception’ drove Morrison’s interest of native Americans and their colourful world of altered states of consciousness and a connection to other worlds.

As a consequence, native Americans and the Navajo tribe became the focus of the project for Paul, a life-long fascination in their culture and ultimately a name for a soon-to-be creative agency.

Putting a face to the name

So, navajo had a name, but it still needed an identity. Experimenting with typefaces, Paul settled on Futura, a bold font that when applied to the word navajo, seemed to embody native America. The addition of orange sealed the visual harmony of their incredible heritage.

Six months later, navajo was formed and new ‘doors’ were opened.

Sometimes timing is everything.

futura

We are often contacted by people of the Navajo Nation, some happy and some inquisitive as to why we’ve used their name. One email said it best…

“Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it”.

We’re eternally grateful for the loan of their name. We’ve promised to return it one day…

navajo-boy