WHO WE ARE

Totem is led by founder and principal Phuong-Cac "PC" Nguyen, an innovation and brand strategist who lives on a steady diet of culture and curiosity. Her jump into those worlds came after a career in journalism, where she reported and edited for various publications including the Los Angeles Times, Conde Nast Traveler and the Knight Foundation-funded investigative journalism start-up Mission & State. Her documentary film on Brazilian lowrider car and bike culture, "South American Cho-Low," was featured in the New York Times and aired nationally on KCET-TV.

At some point, she realized that her research and critical thinking ability had given her a knack for predicting the Next Big Thing, and this would be also useful beyond the public sphere. Cue brand strategy, trend forecasting and innovation work with Anheuser-Busch, Hilton, among others. Her Warner Bros. activation for the 2016 SXSW Interactive Festival was recognized by Adweek as one of the top experiences of the event.

Totem's team includes researchers, strategists, journalists, visual designers and those in between, who come together on an ad-hoc basis to solve challenges in the consumer, civic and institutional spheres.