Contract Magazine - April 2019 - 20

the poetry
of experience
VIEWPOINT

Tristan M E Butterfield on branding beyond a brand.
What do you remember about the last time you
were moved by something? Maybe it was a perfect film, an exquisite meal, a walk along an
urban riverwalk at sunset-you likely felt something happen. This feeling is nearly impossible
to describe, because you can't pinpoint exactly
where it came from. Was it the costume design?
The pacing of each course served? The colors
of the environment around you? The person or
people you shared it with?
The answer is: it was all of it. That's the poetry
of experience.
Experiences are stories that you are swept up
and into. The film's director, the restaurant's
chef, the architect's design-they were seeking
to evoke an emotional transformation. Every
single choice they made was meant to engage
you completely, if only for a short while.

that push our clients closer to this place wherever and whenever we can.
This brand transformation moves far beyond
Instagrammable spaces and avocado toast.
The poetry of experience must instantly affect
both a 22-year-old and his grandmother in similar ways. A certain level of sophistication and
finesse are necessary to pull this off. It is the
language of the apothecary, of the cigar shop,
of the hat maker-these are spaces that clearly
connect you to history yet feel new. They feel
like they're uniquely for you. They're exclusive.
You feel a certain way when you're in there,
which goes far beyond the product you come
to buy.
Tristan Butterfield is a brand and retail
leader for Gensler's North Central region-
bringing more than 25 years of experience
creating global brand transformations for
clients at every scale, from Liberty of
London, Ann Sacks, Baker, McGuire, Kohler,
Harrods, and Dolce & Gabbana.

I first felt the poetry of experience at age 16
when I bought a pair of vintage Levi's. The store.
The feel of the denim. The identity of the brand
matching my own. It struck me again when I
was winding through the Dover Street Market in New York, which simultaneously A strong believer in the power of narrative, Tristan utilizes his strategic design
subverts expectations for both street markets and department stores. And, that one background to align creative strategy with a client's business strategy. He has
time I was staring up at the Duomo in Milan and feeling like I was, almost literally, helped global companies translate their brands into many creative platforms
experiencing heaven on earth.
such as architecture, interiors, stores, showrooms, collateral, and digital systems, including using international television, print, and online advertising
Trends will continue to cycle, but what will not change is our desire to feel something.
campaigns, as catalysts for accelerated business growth. Butterfield has also
Brands must make the poetry of experience palpable in their physical spaces to thrive
driven the creative vision for product, furniture, lighting, wallpaper, and fabric
in 2019 and beyond. We already know that millennials (and Gen Z quickly following)
collections, most recently as chief creative officer at Baker Interiors Group.
aren't interested in "things" but in meaningful experiences. They don't measure their
happiness or success by the same symbols of previous generations. They don't care Butterfield's work has won international awards from Communication Arts,
about houses with paid mortgages or designer furniture, they want to feel alive and Red Dot, The Financial Times, Wallpaper* and House & Garden magazines.
connected to something that matters.
He has appeared on HGTV, ABC, Sony Asia, and Channel 4, and his work has
been featured in The Museum of Modern Art, The Royal Academy of Art, and
This shift is causing a period of total interruption in retail and design across the globe.
Le Biennale di Venezia. He has also been an invited speaker for Dwell LA,
Young designers, distrustful of "adults" who came before them, are questioning every100%Design Shanghai, Decorex London, and LCDQLA.
thing. They are ready to subvert, to rip up the rulebooks of style, to take what's being
sold to them and make it their own.
Design and architecture will not continue to reference only itself for motivation. We
will, and must, look to cinema, fashion, fine arts, and music as more than inspiration,
and, instead, as part of the process in designing the built world. We must keep story
and visceral experience at the absolute core of all we create, practicing interventions
20

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APRIL 2019

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Contract Magazine - April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine - April 2019