100% Design - London

Lynne and Teresa enjoyed a visit to 100% Design in September.

Teresa noted the move to realism, the growing interest in sustainability and the promotion of ‘Made in Britain’ as added value. This was exemplified by the award winning London based furniture company Pinch, with simple cabinetry details in their beautifully crafted wooden furniture – ‘produced by the best quality makers in the UK’. www.pinchdesign.com

We both thought the ‘homework’ desk designed by Robin Grasby is ingenious. Everything you need in a desk. No wonder it’s a prizewinner – see www.robingrasby.com

Lynne joined in with Robin and Nick Carter’s ‘Public Perception of Colour’, choosing the Pantone chips that best matched her perception of each colour group. You can see the results at http://www.robandnick.com/ and try the test for yourself at http://www.robandnick.com/ppc.php

Back from the East...

Nick is now back in London after an exciting 2 year stay in Hong Kong and via a memorable holiday in the Vancouver area. So overnight, we have boosted our retail design capability in the UK. We are currently discussing some interesting projects…

And it's goodbye from Veronika...

Good bye Big Idea....

I have really enjoyed my time at Big Idea.
Every day felt like an adventure for me, because of the new enviroment and tasks.
It was really interesting to see the German and Asian market, which I have spent a lot of time working on.

I will never forget this time in London and especially at Big Idea.

Thank you!

Veronika

Big Idea proud to be representing Jokey in Asia…

We are proud and excited to announce we now represent Jokey – Europe’s leading producer of plastic packaging – throughout Asia.

We believe our clients in Asia will love the Jokey range for its quality, innovation and outstanding compliance to hygiene and environmental requirements.

The Jokey range is fantastic – at the moment Jokey produce over 300 different containers for over 6,000 customers.

The packaging is modern in design and easy to handle, available in many shapes, from round to oval and rectangular, in a wide range of colours, stackable, with lid removal protection, impermeable, lightweight and all Jokey containers can be recycled. The containers are safe for food and can even be used for hazardous goods! Not to forget, Jokey containers also look stunning!

With a choice of decoration – from the high impact beauty of IML (in mould labelling) to 8-colour offset printing or classic silk screen printing.

So, we’re looking forward to helping clients choose the best Jokey container for both their practical needs and to make a mark for their brands and products.

But it's hello to Veronika!

Yep, as we say goodbye to Jieun we're pleased to say hello to our new intern from Munich.

Hello!

My name is Veronika Zenz I have been lucky to be given the opportunity to work for Big Idea as an intern. I am from Munich, Germany and graduated my apprenticeship as an event manager successfully in August 2008.

After I started as a project assistant in an event agency until March 2009. I am very happy to have been here and I hope to get some experience for my further business. 

Veronika.

Sadly it's time for our intern Jieun to go back to Seoul...

Time to say good-bye, I am afraid. During the time I have worked as an intern here, I noticed studying in university and practical business are very different. Especially, I have learned that researching, on which I have spent lots of time,is very important in real Marketing. Correct and various research should be based first.

I would continue my study about Marketing in Seoul, South Korea with this good experience.

I was really happy with BigIdea.

Thank you all indeed!

Good bye.

Jieun. 

New intern for the London office...

Hello!

My name is Jieun Lee and I have been lucky to be given the opportunity to work for BigIdea as an intern for 4 weeks. I am from Seoul, South Korea and I have studied Business Management at the

University of Seoul.

During my BA course, I developed a strong interest in Marketing and therefore I wanted to gain some real work experience.

At the moment I have been working on the Selva wood flooring project which I  am really enjoying.

and I would like to say that I am very happy to work at BigIdea!

HK Art Auction preview... with cocktails!

Be sure to RSVP if you're coming along.

So long, farewell, adieu, auf wiedersehen...

I have to say good-bye!

I have really enjoyed working as an intern at Big Idea. I’ve learned a lot and got a good impression about what it is like to work for a creative company. Now I know how to position a brand, to specify a typical target group and which colour will be trendiest for the year 2009! 

Working with Big Idea inspired me and has made me realise that this is the kind of work I

would like to do in the future. That’s also the reason why I am leaving after only two months. I’ve found a job in the same business area in my hometown, in Austria. The perfect job for me! 

Without working for Big Idea and gaining the experience I would not have even applied for this job. Because of this I want to say thank you to everyone at Big Idea! It was only

a short time, but this time has shown me the direction for my future.

Many thanks,

Victoria

HK Vacancy: Window Cleaner

Must have a good sense of balance and a head for heights!!?! Applications to the 16th floor please.

New intern at the Big Idea office London

On Monday 9th March Big Idea are pleased to welcome Victoria Unger who will be working with us an intern for 12 weeks in our London office. Victoria is from Seekirchen Austria and has recently graduated with a Masters Degree in Culture & Event Management from the University of Applied Sciences, Kufstein, Tirol.

Victoria is fluent in English and German and can also speak French and Spanish, so we think she is the ideal person to help us on our Selva wood floor projects.

This will be the third year Big Idea have taken a marketing intern from the Internship in London team - www.internshipinlondon.com - following the two successful placements of Violeta and Lucas last year.

Big Idea pleased to welcome (back) Ian Sandall...

I am very pleased and excited to welcome Ian Sandall back to Big Idea as Business Development Director based in our London office. As one of the original founders of Big Idea, it's great that we'll all be working together again. Ian will focus on business development bringing his fantastic energy and commitment to our client relationships. His experience and skill in all sorts of communication including advertising, video and websites will add to our Big Idea capabilities and enable us to add even more projects and services to our already diverse portfolio.

Robert.

The new eco aware B&Q flagship store...

On 18th Februrary, Robert, Lynne and Shino paid a visit to the new B&Q flagship store in New Malden, South London. It's in a great location right on the A3 and proclaims to be B&Q's "greenest store". All credit to B&Q on these green initiatives of which the key features are:

• A wind powered signage tower – it's huge and I wonder how they got planning consent

• Thermal pile ground source heating and cooling – not sure exactly what this means but it sounds impressive

• Passive ventilation and natural lighting – the design certainly provides plenty of natural light in the store

• Roofing harvests rainwater

• 10%+ on site renewable power generation.

The result is a multi level, bright store that's easy to shop and creates a pleasant shopping experience. It's big and so are the ranges and they can be difficult to shop. The decorative range lacked a spring feeling but this could just be a timing issue.

There were more staff than in your average B&Q in amazing black and orange uniforms with up to 7 B&Q logos – we suspect that only Lewis Hamilton displays more!

For such a pleasant store the B&Q café was somewhat a missed opportunity. Located on the second floor it's a large inviting space with a utility feel.

Overall we enjoyed the experience and we even bought some spring bulbs on special offer. It's a big move forward for B&Q and the challenge will be to maintain the operational standards over the coming months.

Wyevale Bicester Avenue website goes live!

We've just completed the website for the award winning Bicester Avenue Home and Garden Centre for Wyevale. The site features all the latest news, promotions and events taking place at the site – take a look at www.bicesteravenue.info

Nippon Paint Australia - exhibition stand

Part of the launch for Nippon Paint in Australia we created a touring exhibition stand to showcase the brand, the innovative products and wide range of colours. We played on the Japanese heritage for the exterior graphics and the interior was all about the brand in Australia. A large video wall for presentations (and the odd game of Nintendo wii) and a fun 'colourful juice' bar were incorporated to entice visitors in. We worked closely with Harry the Hirer (harrythehirer.com.au) in Melbourne who built, printed, installed and managed the whole show. 

Steve Gilman OBE

And here's the actual moment of Steve's investiture at the palace... once again, well done Steve, we salute you!