Big Fish Design Studio

I've been looking around the web at design studios for inspiration, and to see how they like to present themselves through their website. One studio that really caught my eye was big fish. They started in 1994, and since then have created "60 brand identities, over 1,000 items of literature, and gazillions of packs, written 27 brand strategies, 32 marketing strategies, a hell
of a lot of words, designed & built over 100 websites, art directed over 1,000 photoshoots, shot many 1,000's ofhigh definition images in our photographic studio, written, designed & produced 140 press ads and have directed & produced our first cinema commercial."

With a very impressive client list, awards, and an obvious love of what they do, big fish are certainly a bright team of creative minds.

Below is a series of work created by big fish. Fresh, clean and beautiful.

Bic For Her - just what I've always wanted.

It's ideal to know about your target market when creating and selling a product, but sometimes it can go a bit far. Bic is a huge seller of pens all around he world and so must have done a lot of market research, and had some success stories and also failures. Well I can show one failure.

Bic have created a Bic Cristal 'For Her' range. These pastel coloured pens are described as has a 'thin barrel to fit a women's hand', and an 'elegant design - just for her!'. Why do women need a specific pen? Surely as long as the pen works it's ok? I can understand why there are different lengths of pens, different types, ink, biro, pencil etc, but why have these pens been marketed at women? I'm sure there are men out in the world who would like to use a thinner pen. A more successful brand would have seen it being sold as being a slim version, useful for both men and women. I've come to wonder if Bic are running out of ideas for their products.

There have been many hilarious reviews of this product on the Amazon site, both in the UK and USA. Very sarcastic, witty, and tearing apart the product which may be useful but marketed badly.

The reviews on the Amazon.com site can be found here. The Amazon.co.uk site and more reviews can be found here.

Microsoft New Logo - Rebrand

Microsoft are unveiling a new logo, 25 years after the last update. With the company about to release Windows 8, and new versions of almost all of their products, it's the perfect time to freshen up the look. There are so many platforms for the windows products, including desktop computers, laptops, notebooks, tablets, phones and games consoles. It's important to make sure that their brand works visibly and efficiently without any weak points.

Microsoft Old Logo

Microsoft New Logo

Regarding the logo, I feel that it could have been a bit more exciting. This was an opportunity to really go for something new. The 4 squares are quite plain, however the kerning of the letters is perfect and pleasing to look at. I'm not saying that the logo is totally bad, and until I have seen how they are implementing it across the whole brand, it's wrong to criticise.

Australia Cigarette Packaging Law

An Australian court has backed a new law which stops all branding on cigarette packets. Instead the packaging will now be olive green and will feature graphic health warnings and images on smoking related illnesses.

The tobacco companies are huge, and I'm sure they will have tried to fight this new law, but I think that they probably presumed that the law would not be successful. Smoking laws have been getting stricter, with people not being able to smoke in public places in the UK, even at bus stops. I personally agree fully, and think that people who don't smoke should not be subjected to other people's harmful

Regarding the branding of cigarettes, it has been getting more restricted over the last 20 years. Advertising on tv ceased in the mid 1990s, with shops following in 1999. As with alcohol, the cigarettes can't promote that they are good for your health, make you look cool, professional or calm you down. It's all up to the recognisable logos, the colours, shapes and styles. Tobacco companies have argued that it will be easier for fake cigarettes to be sold, as the packaging will be easy to copy. I think this is probably true, but I think that preventing the companies from using bright, attractive packaging will be a step forward in stopping people smoking.

Britain is considering a law on plain packaging also. Australia have paved the way for other countries to follow in their footsteps, to try protect the health of their nation.

I hope that this law stays as it will hopefully save lots of lives, free up hospitals and clinics from people who have smoking related illnesses, and promote healthier living.

Royal Mail London Olympics 2012 Team GB Stamps

After the wonderful success of Team GB at the London Olympics this month, I think it's fitting that they are celebrated as much as possible. Stamps have been around for so long, and there have been many different collections and styles over the years. Every Christmas there are different illustrations, and it is also a good showcase for the people who design them.

Each of the gold medalists from the Olympics has been given their own stamp, with a photograph of them as they were competing or on the podium after receiving their medal. The stamps are a long rectangle shape, to give the most space for the image, alongside the Olympics logo, the words 'Gold Medal Winner' and the winners name and the queens head, which is a standard on all stamps.

Marcus James, the head of design and editorial at the Royal mail said ‘Most stamp projects take around two years to come to fruition,’ says James, ‘with a design period of eight-ten months. With these stamps we had about an hour to design them.’ The stamps had to be finished by the following day after the medal had been won, which is why they had to work quickly.

There are 29 Team GB gold medal stamps available until the end of 2012.

Coke Zero and James Bond Skyfall

After the success of Quantum of Solace, Coke Zero are teaming up with James Bond once again for the 2012 film, Skyfall. I thought their 'Unlock the 007 in you' slogan was good, but the Coke Zero Zero 7 idea was brilliant. I love a play on words - it seems simple but it takes a clever brain to implement the idea successfully.
In my opinion, Coke Zero has always been aimed at men. Diet versions of food and drink are certainly marketed towards women, and Coke Zero have made it ok for men to have a lower calorie drink without losing any of their macho image. James Bond is most definitely a macho man, and to associate the two brands works perfectly.
Below are some images of the Quantum of Solace Coke Zero promotion.

I'm looking forward to seeing the new promotional material, and if it beats the past offerings.

Toscatti Packaging

At first when I saw the images of these containers I thought it was paint, but after reading further I found it was clever packaging for containers by Toscatti. The creatives behind the design are Anagrama in Mexico. The colours are fresh and attractive, the packaging design is clean and tidy, and the sizes and styles of each container is easily seen. The typeface was designed specifically for Toscatti, and is rounded, friendly and importantly, legible.
I like this design, even if it still does look like paint swatches!