Chapter no.2

WHAT IS GRACE BRIGADE?

a black and white image of a circle with a hole in the middle

“Guttula Vitrea”

It slowly erodes and alters the organism, creating empty spaces and transparent bubble-like cavities, changing density and visibility.

2 µm

Before we begin, what is Grace Brigade?

We are a company that works on both eCommerce and brand direction projects.

So, on one hand, we design, build, integrate and maintain eCommerce ecosystems (and provide advice on the underlying business models and operations) while on the other we help brands develop a point of view, understand how it should be brought to life (beyond comms), develop a visual/verbal identity and craft imaginative communication strategies.

The two areas, while distinct, are connected because eCommerce – this is one of our tenets – should have a higher degree of brand direction, to better act as a flagship, not just a point of sale. At the same time – let’s be real! – Brand Strategies nowadays are expected to sell, not just “position”.

Our point of view doesn’t stop at “eCommerce and brand direction are connected”. We also think they share the same ailments and this understanding, which came after 20+ years spent working on both sides of the fence, is what brought Grace Brigade to life in the first place.

In short, we think there is too much complexity and too few ideas.

Ecommerce is mostly about digital non-places that look the same and cost a fortune. It’s too much tech that breaks down every other day. It’s best practices we are fond of saying – in which things instead of ingenuity. It’s the kool-aid of become simultaneously more pragmatic vanity metrics instead of impact.

Over on the Brand Strategy side, everyone is doing the same things too (K-pop idols? FOOH? Campaigns shot by ten or so photographers? Run Clubs?). It’s huge budgets covering the lack of ideas. It’s, again, vanity metrics such as EMV, being paraded in place of results.

At Grace Brigade we think these ailments are the hallmarks of an era that has run its course. We consider ourselves among the torchbearers for a new one. A new age – or a New Wave, as we are fond of saying – in which things become simultaneously more pragmatic and poetic.