What's in a name

13.06.2016 |

Often people wonder why Totems is called Totems. Let us tell you the story behind our name.

A totem in its original meaning is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe (source: Wikipedia). It is capable of expressing the internal nature of a subject. And this is in line with our daily business! We try to penetrate deep into the true characteristics and values of brands and companies, their identities and stories, to discover their innermost nature and translate it into an unique message. So that makes it quite logical, why Totems is called Totems and that for almost 20 years already, not?

Some interesting facts about totems:
- The word totem is of Native American origin
- The word is derived from the Algonquian word odoodem which means ‘family character’
- The totem may be regarded as a group symbol and as a protector of the members of the group
- Usually the totem is an animal or other natural figure that spiritually represents a group of related people
- The symbol of the totem may be tattooed on ones body, engraved on weapons, pictured in masks, or (among Native Americans) carved on totem poles

And some nice details about Totems:
- Totems has three founding fathers: Gerard de Gorter, Peter van Lier en Florian Gerlach
- Next year Totems celebrates its 20th birthday
- We are gathering the favourite ‘totems’ of all our colleagues; hold an eye on this site and our social media canals and get inspired!