At the beginning of 2022 we unveiled our new name; Gryphos (pronounced: grif-fōs) Creative Agency after operating under Owen Graffix, Inc. since 2009.
This change has been what we call a ’slow boil rebrand’. We began this rebranding process 2 years ago with redefining the focus of our agency, and conveying that focus to the market in a manner that is both effective and consistent while retaining our core drive. We wanted to show that we weren’t a print shop or a quick clipart logo shop, but rather a creative agency that's more personal and in-depth that has a deeper understanding of what makes brands work.
We are an agency that focuses on building brands with strong names, presence, brand imagery, and marketing materials that remain effective long-term in any market. Trust and honesty are at the top of our priorities list.
We've had a Gryphon as our logomark since the inception of the agency and for good reason. When our agency was born we wanted an icon that displayed our dedication to honoring and keeping safe one of the most valuable things a business can own, it's branding. The Gryphon is a mythical creature that in many folklore guards the gold of the kings as well as other priceless possessions. This "King of the Beasts" is composed of the head and talons of an eagle, and the body of a lion (king of the sky, and king of the land). This strong imagery still holds meaning for us and gave the perfect jumping-off point for the rebrand. While we knew we weren't going to remove the Gryphon from our branding, we still needed to revisit him a bit in our logo revamp. During the transition phase of this rebrand we incorporated the updated logomark with the previous name to "ease into" the full rebrand of the agency.
The name was key. We had to get it right. Our old name just wasn’t firing on all cyclers, so the new one had to run smooth. We wanted to really bring home the Gryphon element from the start. This new name had to be legendary. Mythos is defined as a pattern of beliefs expressing often symbolically the characteristic of prevalent attitude in a group or culture. Our agency believes in guarding and creating valuable branding for businesses, and holding companies to a high standard of business with honest advertising. This merging of Gryphon and Mythos seemed to be the perfect fit to convey the two messages, forming “Gryphos”.
While this is all ‘well and good’ some would say, why did you decide to rebrand in the first place? To which we answer in true honest fashion…
1- "Graphics" while is true to what we “do”, has over the years become widely used in the printing sector, which leaves a lot of people associating that term with a printshop. While we offer printing services in certain cases through trade printer accounts and work closely with printers, we are not a print shop and will never be one (printer jams and maintenance are NOT our thing).
2- Focusing... we've been gradually moving towards brand focus over the years, but wanted to signify this focus more within our name and marketing. Our true name didn’t show that we were an “agency” nor did it convey that we are focused on branding in any way. The former name was more conducive to the method verses the broad nature of our services. "Creative Agency" we feel conveys our broad spectrum of services and defines us as an agency.
3- We spent many years with the old branding and believed that it was time for a “face lift” anyways when we started this process. The facelift discussions always lead to the what, why, and how questions. We felt we weren’t hitting things right, so we pivoted to adjust the projection of the company and establish ourselves in a manner that is going to reach those that understand the value we provide.
All this said, we are who we've always been: a dedicated group of designers who are focused and steadfast on helping businesses by creating strong, long-lasting brands that stand out in any market, and we always will be.
