Indigo

A horrific week at work!

2011-09-22T09:05:00.001Z

As fam trips go, I think I landed the big one. ‘Can one of your team dash off to Corsica and check out our beach resort in San Lucianu?’ our Mark Warner client asked. ‘Me! Me! Me!’, I couldn’t help exclaiming. So here I am doing my mystery shopper impersonation and blending into the background.

It was a really hard week of work. With beautiful weather and an array of watersports, the office was quickly forgotten, although they said they loved the postcard. The work just kept getting tougher; in the water the windsurfing board showed me who was boss as I tumbled backwards into the waves. On the other hand, as I remember it, getting up on stage and taking part in the ‘open mic night’ was a real triumph!

Overall a fantastic week, Mark Warner holidays are thoroughly recommended!

I have been chosen...

2011-05-20T08:46:00.008Z

Designers can be big kids at the best of time (ouch!) but this work adventure takes the biscuit. Thanks to Disneyland® Paris one lucky art director got the chance to experience the Magical Moments Festival on the slim promise of it helping with future creative briefs. The chosen one zipped out on EuroStar and enjoyed three days of hair-raising thrills and spills of Disney Studios® Park and more fun at every corner in Disneyland® Paris. "Mickey Mouse was a childhood hero", our doodler gushes, "there were familiar faces waiting at every turn!" So no excuses when the next communications brief lands on the desk then, we want a happy ending!

Painted into a corner!

2011-02-07T10:34:00.000Z

Some fairly serious retouching was needed to our office in December. Photoshop doesn’t have a smell but if it did, surely it couldn’t whiff quite as badly as having a pack of hefty painters on your windowsill applying three coats of white gloss. Taking the hint that staff health and safety was not all it should be, plus the determination of the men at work to paint the windows shut; we thought it was time to consider our options.

Rest assured, we have re-emerged in more fragrant surroundings where the only burly is the hurly burly of crowds in hot pursuit of a shopping bargain.

Who upset the maître d’?

2010-10-20T08:19:00.004Z

Our natural curiosity was aroused by this social poser. We’re pretty quick to get on the same wavelength of any consumer, but this one has us beaten. Whose moccasins might we find under this table to walk the fabled mile in? Reserving a table for one, set with just four wine glasses and a single seat facing the wall is a pretty sad Saturday night!

There’s nowt so queer as folk.

Feeling hot, hot, hot!

2010-07-09T15:48:00.005Z

Our Year 10 Work Experience student Charlie blogs...

Summer. A time of sun and laughter. Temperatures of 30c,
day-dreaming about refreshing ice creams, football down the park and dips in the swimming pool. This is Summer, but the picture above was my view for two weeks.

But now, courtesy of Indigo, I'm red hot at Adobe Creative Suite CS4 and the time spent with them has been invaluable to my education. It’s helping to guide me towards an enjoyable career in design, thanks Indigo.

Chicken or egg?

2010-07-06T08:22:00.005Z

We love Sketch Block! It's our favourite chunky font that perfectly combines a touch of informality with an confident air of reliability. It took us months to find this reluctant star and encourage it to headline on our website. But the other day, whilst cooling off with a passionate frappé, there it was on the High Street. Now we’ve discovered not only is it cool on the street but it has also shot to fame on some Johnnie’s website and been seen piled high in a warehouse full of car phones. Cheers!

Smoke Gets in your Eyes

2010-04-20T16:21:00.002Z

We thought it wasn't only the airspace in and around London that the ash cloud had claimed this morning. As a smoky cloud billowed past our window, we feared the worst. But it was all in a day's work for one of our quick thinking Art Directors; thanks to a jug of water the troublesome cloud was dealt with, without even the need for military back-up. And once the dust settled and the smoke cleared it was evident Marlboro country and not the land of fire and ice was to blame.

Winds of change

2010-03-12T17:07:00.008Z

It was a case of up, up and away for a member of our design team whilst celebrating the launch of our new look website. He was blown away (quite literally) and was last seen seen heading towards St Paul's.

Well me hearties – that was 2009!

2010-01-20T10:29:00.006Z

Having charted the turbulent seas of a stormy year, some of our swashbucklin’ shipmates couldn’t resist the chance to indulge in International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Shiver me timbers landlubbers, we heartily apologise if our telephone answering technique went out of the porthole and all you heard was a “Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum”, but just occasionally it’s good to let your pigtails down.

In the year past we extended a warm welcome aboard to new friends at Siblu and Newmarket. Here’s to more exciting voyages with them and a treasure chest of discoveries in 2010.

Only one thing left to do – get shipwrecked at the Christmas party!

15 minutes of fame

2009-08-04T16:59:00.004Z

Well Andy Warhol was right, everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame. Even if you are made of clay! These little guys will certainly remember their bleary-eyed first steps into the limelight, as they were hoisted up into the heavens and successfully placed onto the 4th plinth at the weekend.

Only by now, sadly, they will have been burnt to a crisp in a very hot kiln and hopefully immortalised and available on Ebay - so keep your eyes peeled for the duo that put Indigo firmly on the Trafalgar Square map!

Minerva II

2009-07-30T10:40:00.002Z

We like type. So, on our travels when we happened across a small tribute to master typographer, engraver and painter, Reynolds Stone (1909-1979), we couldn’t resist a quick snap.

2009 marks the centenary of his birth, so it’s the perfect time to show a little appreciation of a man who spent some time in his formative years working with Eric Gill (another of our heroes, Gill Sans et al). Stone’s work is more widespread than you might think; he engraved the coat of arms seen on a British passport, created the lettering for masthead of The Economist and designed the font Minerva. Bravo.

Minerva I

2009-07-30T10:21:00.002Z

Perched on the clifftops our intrepid reporter snapped this not so gleaming vessel moored up in a sheltered bay. Are these the first spy shots of another addition to All Leisure’s growing fleet of cruise ships we ask ourselves?

No, we reasoned, more likely a dreadful case of ‘passing off’. If you call your tanker ‘Minerva’ the crew are less likely to mutiny when asked to spend weeks moored in the Channel waiting for the oil price to rise before unloading the precious cargo. They’ll be expecting small ship cruising, country house style!

Hidden agenda

2009-07-17T09:18:00.003Z

Agencies are famous for launches, pulling strings and flying kites. At Indigo we are no exception but in our case they are just as likely to be found on a wet and windy cliff top as they are in our working week.

The management said the trip was all for the greater good and murmured ‘teamwork’, ‘bonding’ and ‘engagement’. No one really cared; we simply flew kites for a couple of hours until our arms dropped off. And then we went for a drink.

Message in a Bottle

2009-06-11T13:40:00.006Z

It’s always refreshing to squeeze the last drop from any campaign, reaching the target audience wherever they are hiding. So, we are pleased to announce that Indigo has developed a new technique to find the older traveller residing in the West Country - recycle newspaper advertising at the local village fete!

Much to Annick’s surprise, up popped a half page Discovery Cruise Sale ad on the bottle table in the depths of Dorset. At 15p our intrepid reporter just had to see if the wrapping concealed a bottle of wine, or water. And the answer...well, on a cruise what would you expect to see plenty of?

An Eye for a View

2009-03-30T10:58:00.005Z

Compelling photography can do wonders for a destination. And, as an agency that has a good number of longstanding travel clients, you would think that our staff would have an eye for good shot by now. The rolling hills of the historic county of the West Riding of Yorkshire spread out before you and a dramatic spring sky, what better ingredients could you ask for?

Our nameless team member, who had the chance to capture it all, clearly likes to tell it as it is. Too timid to face the chill wind from the north, our intrepid traveller managed to enhance the view with a car bonnet, a concrete bollard and rusty picnic table. Perhaps it’s no wonder that this piece of Yorkshire was given to Lancashire in 1974!

Snow Joke

2009-02-12T11:07:00.004Z

There’s no business like snow business! After a week or two of snowy weather, here’s our best action shot. Those who made it through the blizzards and public transport nightmares were driven on by the thought of a mouth-watering giant cheeseburger (with thanks to our friends at St. Germain). It’s amazing what an incentive to get to work will do.

Eat your heart out Boris.

And the Winner is…

2008-09-17T13:27:00.029Z

The Indigo team are always keen to expand their travel knowledge and holiday experiences. So a travel blog competition seemed the perfect way to encourage everyone to try somewhere or something new. With a little help from Worldchoice and a Mark Warner travel writing assignment as the incentive, the carrot was dangled.

The final nominations were Jamie for ‘Jamie and Friends Do Dublin; Jason and his ‘Around the World in 80 Days’; Katherine co-starring in ‘Polly loves Paella’ and Annick for ‘World of the Vikings. Extracts from the winning entries, judged for their copy, photos and originality can be seen below. So without further ado I’ll tear open the gold envelope to reveal that the winner is…Katherine for her Spanish sojourn.

Polly loves Paella

2008-09-17T13:27:00.028Z

As the original home of Paella, we were quite excited about what weird and wonderful ingredients we would enjoy in Valencia. When we sampled a traditional local one, it tasted pretty good, even if we weren’t quite sure which food group most of it had originated from!

Valencia is a city full of great architecture with amazing buildings and facades nestled in amongst the twisty maze of the town centre. Even with a trusty map in hand, we still wandered in countless circles, but this wasn’t so bad with sights like the ‘Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias’ and a few glasses of sangria to get us through the day.

We visited an aquarium where I found a new contender for our Voyages of Discovery ads this winter. Move over penguins, here is a Beluga – this amazing creature was fascinated by its audience and pressed up right against the glass to get a better look at us.

Valencia also offers a 3km stretch of beachfront for the less cultured. This is where we found what few Brits there were, mainly in the form of stag-parties. I’m ashamed to admit this guy was in fact from Essex but what can I say? In my defence, at least I spared you the full frontal shot! All in all, Valencia was a great weekend destination. Thanks Worldchoice!

Jamie and Friends Do Dublin

2008-09-17T13:27:00.027Z

Top of the morning to ya! Yep, you guessed it, we went to Dublin, or Dubh Linn, as it was originally spelt, meaning 'Black lake', because of its natural treacle lake, being the biggest in Northern Europe. This was my first trip to Dublin, and knowing nothing about Bono's place of birth; we decided to take a hop on hop off Dublin city tour.

We found, Dublin is one of the friendliest cities in the world. Dubliners are more likely to buy a stranger a drink than anywhere else in the world! Mine's a Guinness!

World of the Vikings

2008-09-17T13:27:00.026Z

‘Because he was a classicist!’ are the first words I heard as I joined the intellectual glitterati in the cocktail bar onboard Minerva as we left Dover behind bound for Bergen. Smile and nod, I told myself. And drink… a lot. I made sure to schedule as many activities as possible to keep myself busy and away from the bar.

The gym was, as expected, empty, and after my morning work out, I made sure to go and reserve my spot for the 11:30 lecture on the ‘World of the Vikings’. There wasn’t much time to reflect on the fact that lectures were a good excuse for a mid-morning nap, because it was already 12:10 and time for a delicious buffet-style lunch on the veranda. And so it continued and before I knew it, it was time for the gala dinner.

Around the World in 80 Days

2008-09-17T13:27:00.025Z

To go around the world in 80 days? OK, I am the first to admit that I am no Phileas Fogg, so how did I achieve the impossible? From London, France, Italy, Holland and USA the whole world was at my feet, seeing places and sights that I had only dreamt about. I even managed to squeeze in the Shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral. Unbelievable!

OK confession time. My transatlantic trip started in London and ended in Windsor, at Legoland. But now I really am inspired to travel and see the REAL world.

It’s All Over Now Baby Blue!

2008-06-26T15:15:00.003Z

This could be the end of a beautiful relationship...as here’s one unnamed client atop her favourite gelding. Yes, we know that we promised not to put this picture on our Blog, but it’s the perfect reminder that if we can get the same smile in a meeting, we know that the creative work has hit the spot.

Anyway to get the best results, sometimes we have to break the rules. And to our un-named client, if you see this pic and call us, we’ll donate £100 to your favourite charity and a packet of Polos to the feathered beauty.

London Calling

2008-06-26T07:47:00.012Z

It was more the Race of Her Life than a Race for Life. When you enter your first 5km race, raise a few hundred pounds for charity, come effortlessly past the post in just 34 mins and spookily get the race number 2012 – you can’t help but think that a gold medal in four year’s time is a distinct possibility. We guess there’s even a sporting chance that the BOC will adopt the stylish pink and black polka dot number as the official equivalent to go-faster stripes.

It all sounded too good to be true. We’ve just had a word with Lord Coe and the Olympic qualifying time for the Women’s 5k is a mere 15.09, anything less and you’re history. Way to go Katherine!

Ice Cold in Alex

2008-06-25T14:25:00.005Z

Why, oh why, would you plan your own not-so-dynamically packaged holiday in Egypt when several of your clients offer smoothly run holidays to the same country? Well, if you want to enjoy the delights of a sweltering NINE hour train ride and two hours by bus, it’s the best way to do it.

In fact the plot hasn’t changed in 50 years. Here’s Jamie, as Sir John Mills, coming to the end of an epic journey through the scorching sands, having stayed just one step ahead of the German tourists while dreaming of a freezing lager at his favourite Egyptian hotel bar. Cheers!

Bar takings are down

2008-04-25T11:43:00.005Z

Annick is on holiday!

A Voyage of Discovery

2008-04-21T17:13:00.004Z

As a company that has a host of travel clients you would expect your work colleagues to have a real sense of direction and perhaps a taste for distant horizons.

Well, following in the footsteps of Helen Mirren and Sophia Loren who launched a thousand ships last week, here's our very own Katherine sporting a glittering outfit and clutching a bottle. The maiden voyage may have involved Sri Lanka and Jamaica but sadly we are only talking tea and coffee here. Yes, you've guessed it, after nearly twelve months, Katherine has finally found the kitchen. Bravo.

The Big Stink

2008-04-21T11:39:00.004Z

There was something wafting on the breeze over the South East last Friday. For the best part of the day it seemed that Indigo was the source of the country's noxious woes.

We released our very own Cyrano de Bergerac to track down the origin of the unpleasant odour and for once it was useful to have senior management with their head in the clouds. For the first few frustrating hours our bloodhound searched every nook and cranny (and cut a dubious pose or two) but drew a blank. Eventually though he discovered that it's not only the weather that turns warmer in Spring. It brings a tear to the eye to reveal that the body of a slowly decaying mouse was located, lying at rest on top of a ceiling tile - definitely not heavenly scent.

Indigo goes to the ANNAs

2008-02-12T19:13:00.000Z

Keen to judge creative excellence as well as sample the champagne, a delegation of Indigo creatives and account handlers braved the winter weather to witness the annual Awards for National Newspaper Advertising bash. Favourites amongst the agency were Stannah Stairlifts, Barnados and Sky one with a nod to Incredible !ndia for a timely and well written ad. We left, feeling our clients deserved better recognition and determined that they too would enjoy a glass of champagne next year (the £25,000 cheque for the art director and copywriter wouldn't go amiss either).

Coming of age

2008-01-29T10:25:00.001Z

Fresh faced Managing Director John Pritchard, has long since kept people guessing just how old he is. A slave to fitness, he's a regular hockey player, completes the Super Circuit at the gym and still finds time to play a mean game of Telegraph Fantasy Football Manager.
However, in a rare admission of advancing old age, he was spotted recently trying on these curious items of clothing. Opinions in the office as to their purpose vary from Dads Army fancy dress, all the way to incontinence pants but everybody agrees they are a fashion faux pas and add at least 10 years. In his defence John claims they are fishing waders bought with a special trip to Cape Cod in June. As if we believe that.
Whatever they are and however old he really is, it's his Birthday today and we all wish him many Happy Returns of the Day.

Her name is Rio

2007-11-15T14:06:00.000Z

There’s nothing like planning next year’s holiday in company time. So watch out Brazil, Helen’s on her way! In fact it’s all falling into place now, there have been rumours of a gym membership revived, recent sightings of pink camo lycra and late night shopping at Selfridges – so it might just be that our Helen is planning to swap the family Christmas ba’ tat for dances on the sand.

The official company line is that WTM is just the place to see old faces, make new friends in the travel business and keep up to date with the latest holiday trends. We did all that and more. This year’s special thanks go to Karen at Rex Resorts for the masterly suggestion of bypassing the ridiculous restaurant queues and making do with a chocolate fondue lunch!

Rugby blues

2007-10-23T08:54:00.001Z

If only touch had been drawn as a one point line, England might just have scraped home. No, this isn't another view of Mark Cueto going over in the corner, before Stuart Dickinson cruelly intervened, but an example of just how seriously some of the Indigo team take their sport. We spent most of Monday persuading Simon (some say they could recognise him from any angle) to come back in from the windowsill and hang on for another four years.

Truth be told, after the weekend's sporting dramas; rugby failure, Lewis Hamilton fading at the last and Jamie, Indigo's Fantasy Football Supremo, only getting nine points for his weekend's work - it could be a bit of a long week.

Go to work on a carrot...

2007-10-01T15:33:00.000Z

It’s more effective than a ‘flu jab and prevents colds and sore throats; welcome to the Indigo fruit bowl. The management say it is the nearest to medical insurance the company is likely to provide and the staff aren’t complaining either – or sneezing or wheezing for that matter.

Despite a rather rudimentary look to the latest fruit bowl selection, this week’s guest buyer drew rapturous applause for the addition of a dozen crunchy carrots that were consumed within hours. And in case you doubt the title of this piece, it is now possible to make car parts (and snowboards and fishing rods) from carrot fibres - so before long you will be able to arrive on time at work, thanks to a bunch of humble orange root vegetables.

Well someone had to do it!

2007-02-26T15:45:00.000Z

The shinbone’s connected to the leg bone of none other than our bus lane biker and Creative Director Simon. That’s the trouble with the Caribbean lifestyle, it’s so frenetic that there’s no time to stop and have your picture taken. Thanks to Rex Resorts commissioning a new ad campaign, an experienced hand was needed to direct a week’s photo shoot on Antigua during the worst of the British winter. Our mole on location reports that, despite entering the spirit of the client’s honeymoon brand campaign, Simon managed to avoid proposing to the stylist….this time!

Lord Davenport

2007-01-31T11:11:00.000Z

It’s never too late to get ideas above your station. Here’s Account Manager, Will at the House of Lords assuming the mantle of an ermine clad man twice his age. With an invitation to their end of term celebrations, Herts County Council and their eAdmissions project team fixed it for our Will to do something he had always dreamed of and kept a pinstriped suit handy for. Should you wish to speak to his nibs in the near future, he’s back down to earth with a bump and his plumy tones can be heard answering our phones most days.

Hola!

2006-11-01T14:49:00.000Z

You can’t beat a good old pencil. Hand-drawn typefaces are in, loose illustrations are the style of the moment and whoa, it often pays to take a couple of minutes to plan ahead before designing on screen.

Here’s Indigo’s resident ‘Fat Pen’ (not a reference to any member of staff past or present) enjoying a well-earned break. The 5.7mm graphite payload has been taking a bit of a pasting in the past few months and a week off in the Spanish hills seemed fair reward. Sitting atop a spiky cactus isn’t everyone’s idea of fun but hey, it takes all sorts.

Late for work!

2006-10-03T16:48:00.000Z

OK, so it’s not the best photo you have ever seen, select focus and pressing the photoshop button would have made it whole lot more sexy, but it is definitive proof that it costs £50 to be late for work. The man in black in the bus lane at 09.02hrs in none other than Simon, our Creative Director, who is nonchalantly donating another good wedge to the city’s coffers. Who’d have thought that being a little to the left of centre would incur the wrath of London’s mayor?

The joys of public transport!

2006-10-02T12:51:00.000Z

Add a big red Ken Livingstone bendy bus, a pushy commuter and one Indigo Art Director and what do you get? Pantone 2627 (dark purple) is the answer!

It doesn’t really matter whether one alights from a bus, gets off of (uggh!) a double decker or more correctly, simply gets off the 251 from Waterloo, if you get pushed and fall over you will bruise easily.

Last week, Jason was so keen to come to work at Indigo that he took this cracking blow for the team and continued on his way. Full marks for perseverance and let’s just say that purple is now so last week and green and yellow are the colours of today.