As we mentioned earlier in the year, we’ve been awarded four prestigious 2011 Hermes Creative Awards for our work in design, social media and animation.

The Pixel8 team are thrilled to be awarded a Gold and three Platinum trophies as judged by judges from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) from over 4,400 international entries.

Our awards arrived in the office today and we couldn’t wait to get them on display. It’s the most recent in a series of great achievements by the Pixel8 team and a good sign of things to come. Our biggest thanks go to all those who worked so hard and gave it their all. The awards are as follows:

• Gold Award for Web Design: Accident Compensation Website (Design/Illustration/Graphic Design category)
• Platinum Award for Video/Corporate Image: Pixel8 ‘Powered by Smart Pixels’ animation
• Platinum Award for Social Media: Hotel Indigo Facebook & Twitter Campaign
• Platinum Award for Video/Internal Communication: Hotel Indigo Brand Refresh Journey Animation

Ed Thorne, Director of Global Brand Management for Hotel Indigo and Crowne Plaza at IHG spoke of the awards in relation to Pixel8’s brand refresh, “We’ve had great feedback from customers and our hotel colleagues alike, winning these awards not only confirms this feedback but it’s also a great boost for the team.”

In response to the success in the Hermes Creative Awards, Jamie Watson, Pixel8’s Joint Managing Director said, “These awards are testament to the way that the clients trusted us to deliver creative and effective marketing communications that reflect their overarching values and vision for the future.”

Hermes Creative Awards recognizes outstanding work in the industry while promoting the philanthropic nature of marketing and communication professionals. Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talents exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. To see all Gold and Platinum Winners in 2011 visit Hermes Creative Awards.

It has been an very eventful, very cultural bank holiday weekend for Manchester starting with Manchester City Council’s official I Love MCR day on Thursday, one of the world’s largest Gay Pride festivals and the beginning of Eid al Fitr as well as a very special guest appearance of Jenson Button tearing through the streets of Deansgate in his Formula One car.

A three day motoring event hosted by mobile giants Vodafone culminated with the F1 star fresh from his podium finish in Belgium at the weekend. Despite miserable weather, Button took to the streets in the latest Vodafone Mclaren F1 car and entertained the huge crowds with a deafening engine and speeds of up to 105mph on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares.

One of our resident motor enthusiasts Al Woods managed to snap a few shots of button in what was a great and eventful weekend for our great city.

In the wake of the riots something much more important than a little social disorder emerged in this great city. An amazing community spirit seemed to develop like never before, Manchester City Council were quick to respond with their “I (heart) MCR” campaign, echoing the iconic New York slogan that was embraced by New Yorkers, tourists and fans the world over.

The campaign has taken off on a large scale and shops, bars, restaurants and cafes are adorned with the rapidly growing slogan. People are wearing the T-shirts, tables are covered in the drinks coasters and windows are full of the posters. Just like New York, Manchester is undergoing a branding revolution. The city is making a name for itself more than ever before and it’s residents are at the very forefront of this movement, happy to show that they really do ‘love Manchester’.

Although we don’t have a high street window to show it, the Pixel8 office has also become decorated with this great slogan, our very own Al Woods decided to take to the streets to capture his love for the city, take a look and see if you can recognise where he is:

Once upon a Smile approached Pixel8 Manchester about a logo design for their charity along with an icon character style/illustration which would represent their charity at fundraising events. Once upon a Smile wanted a fun character that would appeal to everyone, so we created a cuddly bear called Sidley. The charity will be featured on this Saturday night’s Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire by Emmerdale actor Danny Miller.

This is a classic example of the importance of brand conveying a single, clear message.  On the one hand we have Subway – a company with very focused branding designed to sell subs.  Subway do slightly deviate but only within the category, for example, the Breakfast Sub and with sides, for example, meat balls.  If you were to ask a consumer what Subway exists to sell they would be able to tell you straight away.

It’s competitor next door was not so clear- an Indian Takeaway that had resorted to crossing into completely different categories, for example, English breakfasts, diluting the brand and sending a mixed message.

With so many brands targeting consumers every day, brand focus is essential to creating a proposition that has longevity and clearly differentiates itself from the competition.

Pixel8 recently won an International Hermes Creative Award for our animated Brand Development Journal illustrating the journey we travelled with USA based, global boutique brand Hotel Indigo.  Pixel8 were appointed by IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) to refresh the Hotel Indigo brand ahead of major international expansion.

We created the animation for IHG’s Atlanta based Director of Global Brand Management, Upscale Brands, Ed Thorne. Ed wanted an atmospheric and bohemian internal presentation about Hotel Indigo’s development that was still completely on-brand. Lasting just 90 seconds, the animation begins with the image of a hand scribbling a Hotel Indigo logo in pencil on a napkin; reflecting the humble beginnings of the brand.

The animation then shows Pixel8 flying across the Atlantic to Atlanta, Georgia and embarking on a global journey, stopping off along the way to conduct focus groups, select Pantone references, commission photography and create tone of voice. The animation illustrates just some of the research, analysis and prep work that we carried out for Hotel Indigo.

Pixel8 Art Director, Al Woods explains, “The brand we developed for Hotel Indigo was relaxed and low key, and our on-brand presentation reflects perfectly. It deliberately raises more questions than it answers and doesn’t force a corporate message. Its gritty, quirky and illustrative feel is totally new to its U.S. audience and is key to its success. From top level internal corporate presentations to trade fairs, IHG has used our mixed media, stop frame style animation to great effect; it has really pulled in and held onto audiences’ attention. It also worked well as a catalyst for discussion.”

Feedback from IHG’s Ed Thorne included, “From the choice of music to the edgy graphical style, this clever and characterful animation really sums up the developmental journey that Pixel8 has travelled with the Hotel Indigo brand. It further underlines for me the reasons why I chose a UK-based and globally-looking branding agency to deliver a worldwide brand strategy.”

We strived to create something distinctive and warm to communicate not just the Hotel Indigo brand, but also the personality and technical skill of Pixel8. The International Hermes Creative Award shows that we succeeded!

Watch Pixel8’s Brand Development Journey for Hotel Indigo

For more details about Pixel8’s brand design and development services please call us in Manchester on 0161 228 6489 – 0845 230 1336 or contact us by e-mail today.

A brand name establishes the basis for visual recognition. A good name is synonymous with a good reputation, therefore establishing that the name and logo appeals to the target market from the outset is vital.

Brands rely on visual differentiation to stand out amongst their competitors.  An icon needs to be functional and evocative, engaging with consumers whilst also being flexible enough to be applied to a variety of different media formats.

Formerly known as ‘Sweet Express’, Kingdom of Sweets  is  a sweet shop for adults, one that relies on the classics from the past to make the consumer feel like they are investing in a memory.  They came to Pixel8 with a dated logo that didn’t reflect the desired direction of the brand for 2011. Visually, their ‘Sweet Express’ logo was colourful, however the font alongside the simplistic use of colours and shape did not sell the brand to full effect.

In many cases, you can measure the success of a brand if you can recognise it from its graphic symbol alone, e.g. Nike is renowned for its ‘tick’, Starbucks for its ‘mermaid’ etc.

As it was, the Sweet Express icon didn’t feel like it could hold its own in an extremely competitive market place.  We asked if the text was removed would the graphic alone successfully represent the brand? The answer was no. This was something we knew that we could help the client with.

The graphic design team at Pixel8 provided a number of logo design concepts that gave the guys at Kingdom of Sweets enough variation and choice to select a new logo that they felt would take them forward, and allow them to stand out amongst the competition.

Having had a website redesign to bring them up to date, the task now was to assign a logo to their brand, whilst also not losing the brands already established reputation.  In terms of brand consistency it’s a brave decision to re-name a young brand.  The risk is losing the current brand recognition losing market resonance.

Kingdom of Sweets settled on a final logo. The fonts reflect the informal and fun element of the brand with bright, eye catching colours to maintain a strong visual presence.

Last week on a visit to London, some of the Pixel8 team saw how the logos had been used on their stand in Euston train station. It’s great to see our work doing exactly what it is supposed to once it leaves the studio!

If you would like more information about how Pixel8 can help your brand, just call us in Manchester on 0161 228 6489 – 0845 230 1336 or contact us by e-mail