Big Ideas Collective blog - creative communications York, Leeds

‘There’s nothing new under the sun.’

Solomon said this and he said it ages ago; in essence it’s true, but as far as ideas go what Solomon didn’t have in abundance was information. 

Knowing what inspires you is the key to recharging your creative batteries..

In times of so much doom and gloom on the news and the seemingly gleeful negativity of the presenters, everyone needs to recharge their enthusiasm and positive energy – that is what the summer is for...

The last thing you want is for your customers to feel alone, especially where your products and services are concerned.  So, how can you make sure you're giving the 'feel good factor' with your copy?

How are you coming across?  At BIG we believe in started 'em young...

Wilson Machin delighted with his new 'threads'

Unless strictly necessary, secrecy and keeping information to oneself is not always wise or indeed possible – so, rather than trying to work it out alone – share. Without open communication a project will be lifeless, opportunities will be missed and life would be dull...

Sometimes you just need to take a few minutes out, and really focus on that idea stuck in your head...

I was reminded this week about a great book - 'The Jelly Effect' by Andy Bounds (available at all good online book retailers, plus some "soon to close but so much nicer" high-street outlets). I would love to say that I was reminded about it because I had successfully used one of the many tips included in the book, but no, it was for a far more negative reason.

Can't take a compliment?  You're not alone and you're also missing out.

Roger discusses bread, human capital, human beings and where the real profit lies...

Thoughts on Galliano and good English...

Art Director Ned takes us through the first steps of any creative communication project at BIG.  With apologies for his taste in music (or maybe not?).

I've been on one of my annual family-related trips to China for the past couple of months and continue to be impressed by the economy and efficiency of the Chinese culture. Far from the wasteful trends of the Western world here are just a few examples...

Seeing the Light

What's the secret to great presentations?

Jules gives us the inside track on possibly the most important of all ...

Business management guru and best selling author Tom Peters said:

"Design - it’s a word with wide interpretations...  To most people it's the gloss over, icing on the cake, the pretty bit afterwards, but it's so much more than that, it's a the core of an idea, an evolution of thoughts, problems and solutions."

It set me thinking... Just look at nature and how everything is meticulously designed to work, thrive and survive, or else it becomes extinct...

Twelve years ago I needed a 600 ft sq studio to do what I do today. The last decade’s technological advances in the design industry has meant that I can now operate from a rucksack, from anywhere and with a larger toolbox.

Would you climb Everest without a guide? How writing a good design brief is only half the journey…

For something as fundamental as the concept and execution of design it’s important to get it right. Design is important, a recent study by the Design Council identified that for every £100 invested in creative communications, £225 is added to turnover, which means the savvy organisations bring in the creatives at an early stage of the process.

One way we strive to build trust and respect is through networking and speaking at events where we share our research, knowledge and information.

Despite all the online chatter, talking to people face-to-face is still the most powerful way of getting a message across.  Yet, possibly through nerves or inexperience, we often find we are sabotaging our own efforts. 

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Wrinkles, hair, spots?! All of these surface features are obvious. But how often do we look in the mirror and look deeper into our consciousness, our character and our soul?

Hard working, brand building.  What goes into creating those memorable catchphrases and why? 
Welcome to The Anatomy of a Strapline.

Do you often hope for the worst simply to try and avoid it?   If you do find yourself sabotaging your own efforts you're not alone, but how do you stop yourself ?

The joys of flexible working; nappies and all!!

In this seemingly frantic world of business time is a valuable commodity and one of the most powerful investments we can make.

At the Big Ideas Collective we know that cash flow is vital to the survival of any business of any size, from the large to the small - particularly the small.

In today's competitive market it's not enough to simply have a recognised brand: a great illustration, a powerful unique selling point or a low price. Today's consumers are far savvier than ever before and they want to know more about the story behind the product or brand, its provenance and ethics.

                                     … consumers expect to be informed and therefore make an informed choice.

When you sit down and tell someone your opinion over a pint in the pub you are communicating; just as you are when you complain to a shop assistant, tick a box on a form, answer an online survey or enter a prize draw.  Every minute of the day we are communicating with our body language, the spoken and written word, while being persuaded, informed and often alarmed by others. 

NEWSFLASH: Portrait of Roger Steare by Gareth Buddo appeared in the Times and Times online business section this week

Now find out how Gareth strives for the iconic image whenever he picks up his camera.

So much more than a good looking book…
We’ve just taken delivery of our new credentials document.

At BIG we’re involved with plenty of exciting online stuff: designing deeply groovy sites, thinking up tasty solutions and neat ways of navigation, not to mention saucy searches and...  wait for it...

At BIG we're always working with clients to ensure their sites are nice and easy for both visitors AND search engines to browse, and lately we've focussed especially on 'friendly URLs' (Uniform Resource Locators - the available information's 'address' or location). As much as the geeks among us love to see a few IDs, category codes and the like in their website URLs, nothing beats the simplicity of a human readable series of URLs, which relate directly to the content they are displaying.

Why should, "not breaking the rules", be an excuse for what the vast majority of us would deem highly dodgy behaviour? 

What has happened to the 'personal moral compass'?

So you have a new website: Congratulations.
And it has a load of extras in the form of a CMS with additional parsing facilites for a plethora of...

"CAN'T YOU JUST SPEAK ENGLISH PLEASE!?!?!?!?"

Welcome to the not-so technical world of your website.
Isn't it about time that us IT type guys made life just that little bit easier for you to look after your website - after all, who knows what better to say about your company than you?

Dolly Daydream first appeared in a song in the 1890s so she's been around doing what she does best for over a 100 years; man, however, has been doing it since time immemorial.

I recently sent a job to print which had an orange logo in the design of the letterhead and a glossy leaflet.
I prepared the documents for print using 2 different printing processes, and as a result had to pay special attention to the orange colour...

People continue to ask me what it is about photography that captivates me.

One day I reckon we’ll be able to wire up our brains, and record real time. Editing the precious frames captured as we see them. I’ve still got some really cool, but slightly fuzzy footage stored in there from 20 years ago…

BIG is virtual; that doesn’t mean we don’t exist. We’re very much in the real world, but our processes, day-to-day communication and information sharing is done online.

Now, this has many advantages to our experts and more importantly to our clients. All this virtuous virtuality means a highly cost effective alternative to housing and heating our team in bricks and mortar, a saving that goes to ensure our fees are highly competitive for the kind of creative talent on offer.

People ask me what it is about photography that captivates me...

It is always good practice to check over any copy you have written, especially if it is for presentation or distribution to others. You need to try and ensure that you correct all the typos, spelling and grammatical mistakes. Missed errors within your copy can be embarrassing and frustrating, but read on, we’ve got some ideas that will help you produce perfect copy every time.

For the start of this New Year we want to encourage thinking about those less fortunate than ourselves and what, I ask, is more ignored and diminished than the long suffering semicolon?

This diminutive, subtle, yet powerful grammatical signpost is to good writing what a shaft of sunshine is to a dull afternoon: a bit of a boost.

A "Corporate Philosopher in Residence" at the Cass Business School, London, people say that I have a really cool job title. . . And as well as being cool, it also nicely describes my work: thinking about Big Ideas. 

The spark behind the concept and rise of the Big Ideas Collective

Yes, it’s coming up to Christmas, and no, I’m not encouraging being a scrooge, but if you haven’t already been doing so, you can start thinking about yourself for once!

Fonts are an amazingly powerful tool in branding, which are often left till last or forgotten about completely. A font can tell you so much about a product, purely by the curve or slab of its serif it can speak volumes about quality or reams about rubbish.

It may seem simple but one rule to follow when creating and building a brand, to ensure its success, is... consistency.

Helping our clients with creative communication includes working to ensure that they and their printed and online sales tools are prepared well in advance of the coming deadline.

It's the f. in Photography that counts!

People enjoy finding like-minds, swapping information, sharing a joke, learning new stuff and getting ideas. Ultimately this kind of activity leads to trust and trust, as we all know, can lead to all sorts of exciting possibilities... 

Say 'hello' to the blog and find out why it could be great for your business, your customers and your bottom line.

Surely nothing could be simpler than an email signature - it's only a design thrown into an email. So why, in the age of web-standards and uniformity, is it so tricky to get one stationery design to work in all email clients?

The power of the computers we use today has brought the ability to use design software to many users. The ability to have the software on your PC does not however make the user a designer.