BIG supports the Second Harvest Food Bank

During the holidays and every day, Second Harvest is deserving of our support.

Barbara and Cyndi gather donations for those in need

Donate foods.
The Food Bank needs nutritious, non-perishable foods:
Meals in a can (stew, chili, soup)
Tuna and canned meat
Peanut butter
Canned foods with pop-top lids
Low-sugar cereals
100% fruit juices in single serving boxes
Canned fruit packed in juice
Canned vegetables (low salt)

The Food Bank needs nutritious, non-perishable, single-serving foods for use in programs for children.
Pop-Top Tuna
100% Fruit Rolls
Raisins
Graham Crackers
Unsweetened Applesauce
Cheese and Crackers
Fruit Cups
Low-sugar Cereal Bowls
Pretzels
100% Fruit Juice Boxes
Granola Bars (without peanuts)

Please avoid donating items packaged in glass. If you have glass items in your donation, please package them in protective boxes to prevent breakage.

We request that you do not donate bulk quantities of rice, flour, or sugar. Although we appreciate and can utilize every donation we receive, the Food Bank does not have the repackaging facilities needed to properly distribute such items.

Donate funds
95¢ of every $1 donated goes directly toward programs that feed hungry people.

Donate Items
Besides food, funds, and time, Second Harvest welcomes other donations that help to defray general business and operational costs. Donating items means donated dollars can purchase more food to feed our neighbors in need!

Examples of item donations:
Technology (computer hardware and software)
Vehicles
Appliances
Shipping and packing supplies
Office and break room supplies
Janitorial supplies
Vehicle, warehouse, and maintenance equipment

Cyndi's niece joined us on Saturday. Thank you, Samantha!

Let us know if you would like to join us in volunteering next time!

What's gray and white with green around the middle?

Our amazing new business cards.

Needless to say, we are quite pleased with them. It was quite a bit of work (with some trial-and-error), but when they arrived it was like Christmas morning. The design team ripped open their card boxes with such excitement. And here they are:

Printed 2/2 on 130# Dull TopKote with edge painting

Thick as a credit card with edge painting...yum!

What's Up: November 2011

This month's meeting was full of great things!

Marit brought in this Jambox Jawbone speaker. The hard plastic top/cover allow for a 360 view of the product. The bottom of the box slides off to reveal a "door," which houses all the cords and a manual. We passed this one around, and even played music on it. The sound is as impressive as the package it came in!

Barb shared this Japanese candy from Nestle. Quite different than the Kit-Kat bars you find on the shelves at a local grocery!

 

Jason brought in this Biscotti packaging. The white box with graphics across the top are color coded for the flavors---it must create quite the shelf presence! The back contains a window to show the consumer that the product is individually wrapped. They must not have wanted to take away from the beautiful photography on the front of the box.

Jason picked up this Square Card Reader with Apple-esque packaging. The closure on the box is magnetic. Very well done, indeed.

Chava returned from Mexico with this collection of goodies from a coffee shop. Designed with Mexican flair and bold type, this was a hit at our meeting!

Chava shared this hair product with us. A simple package holds the hair product in place. Not only is the package cleverly designed, but so is the product! With a twist of the top and a swoop onto his head, Chava had a purple streak in his hair in the matter of seconds!

Cyndi picked up this candy, the tin caught her eye and something about "carbonated candy" was a bit intriguing.

Turn it over and WOW that's a big QR code.

John was doing some industry reading and came across the new BIG 10 logo. Consensus is that we like it. What do you think?

That's it for November. Stay tuned for December!

BIG boo!

For those of you who don't know, we take Halloween VERY SERIOUSLY around here. So seriously, that if you were to be...let's say, on vacation in Chicago, we'd make sure to put you into an orange dinosaur costume in the team photo JUST so you wouldn't miss out on our fun. That's how much we enjoy it!

But the fun and games don't stop there. We've got this jar of candy filled to the brim of sugary goodness that Barbara put together. If you can guess how many pieces are in it, we'll send you a BIG t-shirt! It's not "The Price is Right" style, so the person closest to the correct amount is the winner. Post your guesses on our Facebook page or on this post. Voting ends tomorrow at noon, so start counting!

How many pieces of candy are in the jar?

What's Up: October 2011

We have lots of fun things to share with you this month!

First up, is this perfume box that Barbara brought in. The box is on the left (love the metallics!) and the sleeve on the right went over the box. We couldn't quite figure out why it was designed this way; the sleeve is shorter than the box and when in place it does not look right. Perhaps they wanted to redesign the box but took a cost-effective way out by doing a sleeve only? The two are completely different designs, but promote the same product. Which do you prefer?

Chava picked up this unique bottle of wine, which we all agreed looks more like a bottle of Worcestershire Sauce. However, we'd recommend you drink it with your steak rather than putting it on your steak.

Cyndi went to the Alternative Press Expo (aka APE) and brought back this toy. The box is printed with his "story," very cute!

Marit found this book of Aesop's fables written entirely in Goudy. The stories themselves are even illustrated with type. Very clever.

Barbara took notice that this razor packaging was unique. The plastic peels away to reveal the razors, rather than pulling apart plastic from cardboard.

Chava brought in the packaging from his Kid Robot Swatch watch. The box and booklet were printed with some beautiful varnishes, and how could you resist the mustache-bunny creature thing?

Stay tuned for November's what's up. Have you seen any unique packaging while out shopping or cleaning out your attic? Share it with us at bigmouth@bigdesign.com!

Halloween button winners!

We've been busy creating buttons for our Halloween promo. We asked our Facebook fans to help us select their favorite three designs. We received so many votes, so thank you to all those who participated! Here is the final set:

We picked 10 random winners to receive the buttons, and they are:

Gabo ElBrayan Adonai
Ahani Adler
Jen Wolfe Meredith
Todd King
Shelly S
Johnnie M
Kari Dobashi-Barton
Liza Birmingham
Sheila Yabut
Sue Ramirez-Nune

Please send your address to us at bigmouth@bigdesign to claim your prize!

What's Up: September 2011

Whew, where did September go? Needless to say, it was a very hectic month in the studio. But as always, we made time for our monthly "What's Up" meeting. Everyone brought in great items to share for design/packaging inspiration. Here are our top three:

Barb brought in these vitamin drinks. Not only are they beautifully designed bottles, but the concept behind them are nothing like we'd seen. The vitamins are actually in the cap and release into the water when you twist the top. How cool is that?

 JD picked up this hair dryer. The box looks more like an ad than a typical package design with all the bold messaging. The shape of the box is quite unique as well. Good find, JD!

Chava found his inner-child with this sticker kit. The case has a drawer to hold the book, which showcases the stickers that come in the kit. The display window on the top gives you a peek at the stickers themselves.

And a BIG thanks to our facebook fan, Joey Martinez, for sharing this package! We are excited that our "What's Up" posts have sparked an interest in packaging with our friends. So excited, that we want to encourage others to do the same! Details coming on "What's Up With YOU". Can't wait to see what inspires our Big friends!

October's meeting is today, so stay tuned to see "What's Up!"