On Brian Collins
How to play for a living.
Some people collect awards, accolades and accomplishments.
Brian Collins collects questions.
I’ve known Brian for years now, and I’ve still not met another designer with a deeper knowledge of design, art, architecture, literature, music, film, cartoons—of culture itself. His curiosity is endless. You can talk to him about modern painting, a Japanese architect, an obscure typeface, or the history of a forgotten brand, and somehow it all connects (wait til you see his library…).
But that’s not why I dig him the most.
Brian is excitable. After all these years, after building one of the world’s greatest creative studios (that does branding on an artistic level) and helping shape some of the most recognized brands on the planet, he still approaches the world like an joyful kid who just discovered something wonderful in a pond.
Brian’s done something remarkable—he’s managed to grow up without growing cynical. He’ll still ask the question no one else thought of. He sees the tiny detail everyone else walks past. He laughs easily and loves his orange hat. And he reminds me that the best experts never lose their play.
When Brian first invited me to use COLLINS TreeHaus for our first creative gathering, I felt like a kid who’d been handed the keys to the greatest clubhouse imaginable.
That’s what being around him feels like—you want to read more, make more, risk more, notice more. You remember why you became creative in the first place.
Brian has accomplished enough in his life to become selective with his attention and fearless with his humor, but he’s somehow protected the part of himself that still plays, still wonders, and still believes that creativity can change lives. That’s a rare thing, and it’s exactly what you’ll feel if you spend a few days with him.
This October, the two of us are opening the doors again for twelve people. Twelve. We do not have all the answers. But we have very good questions. And we know the future belongs to creative people who never stop wondering.
We invite those rare souls to a house in the woods on the shores of the windy Atlantic.
The Return with Brian Collins & James Victore
COLLINS TreeHaus, Woods Hole, Cape Cod
October 29—Nov 1, 2026