You probably know about the American Graphic Design Awards—it’s a national design competition that’s been held by Graphic Design USA for nearly five decades. This year, it attracted more than 8,000 entries, so we here at Big are especially pleased and proud to announce that four of our projects were selected to receive an Awards Certificate of Excellence.

We share these awards, of course, with the fantastic clients for whom we produced these projects—as everyone knows, you can only do great work when you have a great client. And our clients are the best.

Check out the winning projects below.

Commonwealth Catholic Charities—2010 Annual Report

The Country Vintner—marketing collateral

Saint Paul’s College—miracle campaign

Tredegar Film Products—corporate collateral

Because, chances are, the new guy is someone you’ll want to know. His name is Jim Ulmer, and he’s our new Business Development Director. Which means he’s not only charged with the development of new business for Big, he’s also here to help our existing clients make the most of their own projects. And Jim’s got the credentials: more than 25 years of experience in the financial printing industry, including 20 years as Senior Vice President of Sales for Bowne & Co. in Tampa, Florida. During his career, Jim has been involved in over 25 Initial Public Offerings and several follow-on offerings. In addition, he has handled the sales and production efforts for multiple annual reports, proxy materials, and general corporate compliance work, for both major corporations and start-up companies. And if all that experience isn’t enough to convince you, how about this? Jim has also been a registered apprentice member of the PGA of America, serving as an assistant golf professional at various golf courses in Michigan, Florida, and Virginia. Sound like someone you’d like to know? Then give Jim a call and say hi.

The Richmond Heart Ball, an annual black-tie fundraiser held by the American Heart Association, is one of our fair city’s biggest to-do’s—and a great way to make a difference. So we at Big were honored to help with the event by being the AHA’s design partner for the second year running. Actually, this was also the second year we helped with the AHA’s Go Red for Women Luncheon, another important part of the organization’s fight against cardiovascular disease and stroke. In addition to creating a variety of marketing materials for both events, we were also designated a Go Red Ambassador for the Luncheon and an Advocate of the Heart for the Heart Ball. All of which makes us pleased to report that this year’s events raised a combined total of $990,000, up from $950,000 last year.

Of course, our involvement wasn’t all work—we were privileged to attend both events, as well, along with some of our clients and friends. And for the Heart Ball, that meant pulling out the monkey suits and fancy dresses. Luckily, we clean up nice. Or at least that’s what we told each other. You can look at the photos and judge for yourself.

Yes, we know—here it is, nearly the end of January, and we’re just now getting around to the first post of the new year. Our only excuse is that things have been big-time busy here at Big. Which, of course, is exactly how we like it. And we hope things are similarly booming for our gentle readers out there. But before we get any further behind, let’s move on to our first news item of 2011. And as you might suspect from the graphic above, it has to do with typefaces.

There was a time when designers like us were the only folks who knew the names of typefaces, but now that a PC or Mac sits on nearly every desk, most everyone reading this is familiar with at least a few. And perhaps none are better known than Helvetica. Classic sans serif face and enduring workhorse, it seems to never go out of style. Which is part of why Helvetica has long been the only typeface in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

But now Helvetica’s getting some company. This past Monday, MoMa announced that Verdana and 22 other typefaces have been chosen to be admitted to its architecture and design collection.

Exciting, yes? Well, for us, anyway. We take type seriously at Big, and any time the talent and efforts of type designers are honored, we’re all for it. But even if you’re not a type geek, you might be interested in this particular design-cultural event, because these newly added faces are all digital typefaces. As in designed specifically for display on computer screens. Which makes this news yet another marker of our ever-changing times. And a reminder that design is as much about function as form, both utilitarian and aesthetic, respecting the past, but always moving ahead into the future. No wonder we love our job.

If Santa isn’t reason enough to be on your best behavior, our holiday video this year presents even more compelling incentive. Based on an old (very old) seasonal tradition. We did not make this up. Watch here.

It’s that time again—the week after Thanksgiving, which we traditionally celebrate (for two years running, now!) with a look at that most prestigious of the visual arts, the trace-your-hand-to-make-a-turkey illustration. This year’s masterpieces come courtesy of Crushable; here’s your link.

There’s a lot of subjectivity in marketing, as you might expect from a profession so closely tied to art and creativity. Which is not to say there aren’t a lot of precise and provable practices, too. But instinct does play a big and necessary role—there aren’t always numbers and facts to support your decisions, and so going with your gut is sometimes required. And that’s okay. Knowing when something feels right takes talent and experience; not everyone can do it.

Still, there are those who disparage marketing and advertising because it lacks a full complement of hard-and-fast rules. In fact, if you’ve worked in marketing long enough, you’ve probably heard people describe our discipline with the following phrase: “it’s not rocket science.” They’re implying, of course, that it’s easy. Or not important. But that’s all right. If we didn’t have thick skin, we wouldn’t be in this business in the first place.

And just to prove we have no hard feelings, and have plenty of respect for the science side of the equation, we’d like to point out something else that marketing isn’t: quantum physics. Because there was a big development in the field this week. Seems a team at CERN, Europe’s particle physics lab near Geneva, has managed to trap antimatter and keep it stable longer than anyone ever has before. We think that’s pretty cool, just because it has the word “antimatter” in it and we loved Star Trek when were kids, but you might want to know why this is important. If you do, you can find articles all over the web, but here’s one that goes into a little more depth. Just remember who sent you—a bunch of crazy artists and marketers.

Here at Big, we have an understandable interest in brand mascots—especially the ones we remember fondly from our childhood—so we always take note, not to mention cast a critical eye, whenever a beloved icon gets the Madison Avenue Makeover.

Mr. Peanut, the Planters mascot since 1916, is the latest candidate to be contemporized, with his new 3-D, CGI self debuting in TV spots just this past week. But don’t let the high-tech tools at work worry you; the creatives behind the new campaign (from the New York office of Being, a TBWA spinoff) were guided by nostalgia and strove for authenticity—the revised design is based on character appearances that date back to the 30s and 40s. So we still have our monocle, top hat, and cane, only now they adorn a shell that moves elegantly through three virtual dimensions. Mr. Peanut speaks now, too, with a voice provided by none other than actor Robert Downey, Jr. Again, no need for alarm—Mr. Downey may be a very of-the-moment celebrity, but he imbues Mr. Peanut with an appropriately timeless, unforced charm. So take a look at the new spot (available on Mr. Peanut’s very own Facebook page) and see what you think. If only the Kool-Aid Man had gotten as much respect.

If branding is a battle (and sometimes it is), then we have a new weapon in our arsenal. Or at least a new element in our office decor. Which is to say, in terms of settling into our new space (as you may know, we moved to a new location a couple months back), things are progressing nicely—we’re well beyond unpacking boxes and now attending to the aesthetics. You should stop by for a look-see. And maybe some cushioned combat—our new big pillow is part of a set.

We kid, of course, with our headline. Unless you’re looking to add election fraud to your resumé, voting once this coming Tuesday should be quite sufficient. Still, that one vote is imperative, so make sure your voice counts. Not that you really need us to remind you—media spending for this year’s midterms is expected to exceed $4.2 billion. Yep, that’s “billion” with a “b.” It’s a new record, no doubt reflecting the new level of divisiveness in our nation. But regardless of your feelings on campaign finance reform, your party affiliation, or whether you’re attending John Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity tomorrow, all of us in the ad biz can celebrate the fact that media placement rates will now return to normal.