The elephant in the room
As two women who appear outwardly Orthodox, we’re often asked the question: how does your religious life relate to your work? Our initial response has always been, “It doesn’t. It’s not relevant. This is only about the work.”
But if we’re honest with ourselves, our work is not an independent entity, standing alone, far away from the enigmatic self. Our work comes from a combination of the raw creative force and our skill sets, experiences, and worldviews — the holy, the mundane, and everything in between.
“Creatio ex-nihilo,” the belief that, “something came from nothing,” asserts that creativity is indeed a spontaneous force. Through constantly learning and refining ourselves and our tools, we make this force useful and known in the world.
We chose our name because to us, “Nihilo” represents this mysterious starting point, the empty space from which creativity flows.
It is in this place where we begin each new undertaking: empty, and ready to receive.
Creativity may come from nothing…but the work comes from something
In the creative industry, “art for art’s sake” is not enough to make a project successful. There are real strategic problems that need solving. In our experience, the tension between unhindered creativity and practical constraints is the very thing that allows us to bring forth the best work.
Practically, this means we are extremely research-based. We delve into learning, asking, and understanding well before the creative process begins. We allow ourselves to sit with the client and the information prior to taking action, assuring that our knowledge of the questions and problems is deep and complete.
This results in a very tight structure of goals and clear performance indicators for each project — a framework we can hang our proverbial hats (in our case, headscarves) on.
Throughout the lifespan of a project, we work collaboratively with our clients and partners, nurturing the unexpected that surfaces when from different points of view come together. To this, we believe that diversity of perspective is not only good practice, but absolutely necessary for achieving the best results.
This emphasis on diverging perspectives is actually the crux of our agency — specifically, the magic that happens when we combine creative disciplines, in our case, design and writing.
Through a refined and iterative process, we create the space for the “ex-nihilo,” the “something from nothing,” to turn into a “something from something.”
Our Agency
Here at Nihilo, “Craft” is a word we return to again and again.
We aim to create work at the highest level of craft.
We believe that every touchpoint is an opportunity to interact with our customer. By focusing on craft, we aim to ensure that every single one of those interactions is vibrant, authentic, and wholly intentional. This, in turn, rewards our clients with dedicated and loyal customers who return again and again.
In short, we only want to do exceptional work that touches every single facet of brand communication.
And…you are?
Emunah Winer, director of visual design at Nihilo, specializes in brand identity, systems, and brand activation. Her work has been recognized by brand publications such as Brand New, Communication Arts, It’s Nice That!, and The Brand Identity. She has collaborated with clients and agencies across the world, such as Design Studio, DICE, Peter & Paul, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and The Little Beet.
Margaret Kerr-Jarrett, director of verbal design at Nihilo, specializes in the use of language in branding. She is also a poet. Her work has been featured by Communication Arts, Its Nice That!, Apricity Press, Lumina Journal, Bezalel School of Art & Design, and elsewhere. She regularly shares her perspective on branding and language in articles and podcasts.
In the beginning
Where do we start?
With a blank slate.
Find us at: www.nihilo.agency / LinkedIn / Instagram / hi@nihilo.agency /
