Culture & Narrative

It is easy to accept that perception, memory and interpretation are imperfect in the abstract. The difficult part comes when a particular piece of evidence unsettles the account we have used for years to explain ourselves, another person or the course of our life.

Groups do not remember in the same way individuals do. Families, organisations and nations preserve records, repeat stories and inherit assumptions. Information can survive while its meaning fades, leaving institutions technically in possession of the past but unable to learn from it.

Our life stories contain other people, but we rarely possess their full story. We observe behaviour, infer motives and assign meaning. Over time, those interpretations can become so familiar that we forget which parts were witnessed and which parts were supplied by us.

We do more than remember what happened. We organise events into an account that explains who we are, how we became that person and what kind of person we expect ourselves to be next. Identity shapes memory, but memory also helps maintain identity.

Memory feels like retrieval, as though the past has been stored somewhere intact. It is closer to reconstruction. Each act of remembering draws on surviving fragments, later knowledge, emotion and the meaning an event has acquired since it happened.

We tend to think memory is where our account of an event becomes unreliable. But the process begins earlier. Attention is selective, perception is incomplete, and two people can experience the same event while noticing very different things.

Some forms of imposter syndrome are not about confidence. They are about authorship. For those shaped by rejection, secrecy, abuse, or parentification, the deeper wound may be the inability to feel legitimate inside their own competence.

Families do not always pass down facts. They pass down emotional maps. This essay explores how inherited stories become certainty, how certainty crowds out curiosity, and why maturity asks us to question the narratives we absorbed before understanding arrived.

Delayed disclosure of child abuse is common and explainable. This article examines the evidence behind silence, timing, and why it is often misinterpreted.

Luxury isn’t about wealth—it’s about what’s missing. From postwar security to digital-era silence, what we call “luxury” keeps evolving. This essay explores how rarity shapes desire, how the luxury industry sells emotional scarcity, and why the most coveted experiences today are often the quietest.

Trump’s AI images and media theatrics aren’t signs of dementia—they’re a deliberate strategy. What happens when outrage becomes the operating system of politics?

That free cheese cube creates an invisible thread of obligation—the same primal mechanism that once ensured tribal survival now shapes your shopping cart.

Estrangement can feel like a rupture, severing not just the bond with a parent but rippling into other aspects of your life. It can create unintended divides with other family members, echoing the same patterns of disconnection and misunderstanding that caused the original estrangement. These dynamics may leave you asking yourself: Am I doomed to […]

Estrangement is not a single event—it’s a journey. It begins with a fracture in the relationship, but over time, it takes on a life of its own. Feelings shift, circumstances change, and the meaning of estrangement evolves as you move through different phases of life. For many, the path of estrangement includes moments of progress, […]

Estrangement leaves a void—not just in the absence of a parent, but in the ways it challenges your sense of self and connection to the world. When you’ve spent years grappling with grief, anger, or longing, the idea of finding joy or purpose might feel distant, even impossible. Yet, beneath the layers of pain and […]

Estrangement from a parent often feels like walking a tightrope between grief and growth, anger and acceptance. As you navigate this emotional terrain, one of the most important tools for healing and self-preservation is the ability to set and maintain boundaries. Boundaries are more than just physical or emotional lines—they are acts of self-respect. They […]

How tobacco giants used addiction science to transform snack foods, engineering everything from Doritos to Oreos for maximum craveability.

Estrangement is an emotional labyrinth. It’s filled with twists of anger, grief, confusion, and—sometimes—moments of clarity. Among the most challenging aspects of this journey are the questions of forgiveness, anger, and acceptance. What does forgiveness look like when you’re still carrying the weight of betrayal? How do you process anger without letting it consume you? […]

Parental estrangement often leaves a gaping hole in your life, one filled with unanswered questions, unresolved grief, and a sense of loss that’s hard to articulate. For many, the journey after estrangement feels like standing at a crossroads, unsure which direction to take. But what comes after estrangement isn’t just about survival—it’s about rediscovering who […]

For many estranged children, reconciliation feels like the ultimate goal. The idea of reconnecting with a parent, repairing the bond, and finding closure is deeply appealing. It’s the story we long for—the parent finally apologizes, the child forgives, and the relationship becomes what it always should have been. But reconciliation is rarely simple, and in […]

Parental estrangement leaves a unique and often invisible scar. Unlike the grief that follows the death of a loved one—a loss society readily acknowledges—the pain of being estranged from a parent is laced with shame, confusion, and isolation. When the parent has chosen distance or rejection, the child is left grappling with questions that feel […]

My father died recently. He passed away without reconciling with me, without even telling me he was sick. For most of my life, we were estranged—not by my choice, but by his. My efforts to reconnect were met with silence, rejection, or brief moments of civility that ultimately led nowhere. Over the years, I asked […]

In airports worldwide, a retail transformation is underway. This "phygital" revolution blends digital convenience with physical shopping, addressing the unique needs of travelers. As this change unfolds, it's important to examine how phygital strategies are reshaping airport retail and their impact on travelers and retailers. The Airport Retail Environment Airport retail operates under specific conditions: […]

Now doesn’t this make you want to emigrate? And people wonder why I chose to move to somewhere at least 100kms from the nearest Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC or any multinational fast food chain.

  As a flow-on from the Milan design fair, Ikea set loose a team of street artists in Milan to stick B&W stenciled figures on subway ads (it had already bought), turnstiles, steps etc.  It was all with agreement from the metro system and, one presumes, payment to them too. Not sure this really fits […]

SpoonLidz(tm) is one of those remarkably simple “why didn’t someone think of it first” innovations. Basically it replaces on-pack spoons with something which is : built into the packaging itself (so  less storage space required), more sanitary (you’re eating off a surface which has been totally sealed), has less impact on the environment (made from […]

In celebration of Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary, they created an immersive “future room” concept at the Turkish modern art museaum Santralistanbul.  It was 90m2 with 270 degree projection mapping and a show lasting around 4 minutes showcasing Coca-Cola’s history.  Its a terrific concept and the work behind the presentation is spectacular but I can’t help feel […]

Airports are always looking for new ways to make money, improve wayfinding and make the airport experience more enjoyable. This example from Taipei creates some interesting ideas. I don’t know whether the airport is generating revenue from Hello Kitty branding these departure gates or whether they’d doing it purely as something fun. But consider for […]

The basic strategy for Hard Yakka ran for around 35 years and involved celebrating the hard working aussie working class.  The jingle, which if I recall correctly was written by Mike Brady, was mixed and remixed for a good 10+ years. From 1989 From 1995 Early 2000’s No longer using the original jingle And from […]

Pantone are pretty good at picking colour trends or perhaps its just that people follow what they say and therefore create products in those colours.  Either way we’re likely to see lots of turquoise in 2010, both in products and retail outlets. “Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from […]