Go West!

We've been busily working away to create Connect at West Edinburgh,  a new initiative that seeks to matchmake office space in 10 business parks to the west of the city, with the companies hoping to make Edinburgh their home.  

A joint project with the City of Edinburgh Council, EBF and property companies within the city, it will be unveiled this week at MIPIM, the leading international real estate fair for potential investors into the city economy; following a successful launch in Edinburgh last week. 

We developed a brand that symbolises one of the key aspects of West Edinburgh.  Whether looking at superfast broadband, excellent road connections, bus services or rail access, West Edinburgh enjoys some of the best connections in the city and offers about 5 million sq ft of prime office space.  The Connect logo evokes ideas of both a transport map and a circuit board, combining this important infrastructure message. We've also delivered a website which showcases the opportunities available to businesses and contains useful information about locating your business in the west of the city.

As news about opportunities and events comes to us, we'll continue to update the site blog over the coming months.  If your business is based out in West Edinburgh and you'd like to tell us why it's been great for you, you should email our dedicated address, westedinburgh@prettybright.co.uk to tell us about it!  West Edinburgh is also on twitter.

Bringing the outside in...

Perhaps this doesn't sound too inviting on these cold wintry days, but it's exactly what we helped our friend Wallace Shaw (above) from Wallace's Arthouse Scotland to do in one of his reception rooms.

Wallace had a hankering to bring his room to life by creating a feature wall across his bank of four huge storage cupboards...  Originally toying with projection or sketching directly onto the surface, we suggested a custom vinyl wallpaper, designed to his specification to display a high-contrast forest glade.

Finding the right picture, we set to work measuring the panels, scaling and setting the artwork and calling our amazing print suppliers who made the final magic happen.  It's a very technical job to get just right (trying to make sure there's a tree trunk along all those shut lines!) and we're delighted with the results.

If you're ever looking for a great place to stay in Edinburgh, you need to meet Wallace.  He's awfully sociable and runs absolutely the nicest boutique B&B we've ever come across.  

Find out more or say hello at www.wallacesarthousescotland.com

What do you think?

The Great Polish Map of Scotland

We've been working with MAPA Scotland to raise awareness of the great Polish map of Scotland in the grounds of the Barony Castle Hotel at Eddleston in the Borders. A vast concrete relief map built by Polish volunteers, its an important icon of the enduring cultural and historic ties between Scotland and Poland. 

Discovering Edinburgh's Town Centres

Over the weekend, some artwork is being installed around the city highlighting the vibrant local centres in Edinburgh, each one a destination in their own right. From the Corstorphine to Portobello, Edinburgh's local centres boast unique and independent retail, restaurants and leisure opportunities each with their own individual character.

Handy maps showing locations and bus-routes have been incorporated where space permits, or you can get your own 'Discover Edinburgh's Secrets' map from the City of Edinburgh Council.

We've tried to capture different aspects of all the unique local centres in creating both the artwork and maps for the Council.

Tollcross Passport

We've been working on a campaign with the City of Edinburgh Council that's all about Building Stronger Town Centres. Hot on the heels of the West End Passport, we're keen to encourage people to discover the diverse and different businesses in Tollcross with a publication created in partnership with their local Tollcross Traders Association.

Discover Edinburgh's West End

We've enjoyed producing a "West End Passport" for the City of Edinburgh Council as a promotional tool for this area of the city.

Easily explored from the city centre, Edinburgh’s West End is a vibrant and eclectic mix of highly individual shops, cafés, bars, restaurants and more. Alongside big name brands, you’ll discover a bustling group of independent, unique and characterful businesses, each with something special to offer.

Pandamonium in Corstorphine :-)

Home to Edinburgh Zoo, Corstorphine has seen a lot of media attention this year as the home of giant pandas Sunshine an Sweetie.

With their help, the City of Edinburgh Council wants to let people know about the great selection of shops, services, eateries and businesses that call Corstorphine home. We captured things on camera, to create a number of banners can be seen on lamp-posts in the area.

There's also a chance to find and win a gorgeous Panda soft-toy each month, hidden away in a local business. To find out more and get clues, follow @edinshopper on twitter.

Be Inspired, Be in Edinburgh - Marketing Materials for MIPIM - 2012

We were thrilled to work with the City of Edinburgh Council to produce this year's brochure to represent Scotland's capital city at one of the world's most prestigious real estate and investment events.

As proudly stated on their website:  "19,000+ property leaders go to MIPIM to view projects, assess profitable ventures, strike deals and seek out market information."  For those of us who live here, it's easy to take for granted Edinburgh's excellent quality of life and the caliber of its workforce.  It was great to take a step back and review all the factors that make this a fantastic European city.

Enjoy the virtual copy above and click to enlarge. 

Thistle Street

Open publication

Well, the last push before Christmas saw the publication of a gorgeous little booklet for one of Edinburgh's most exciting boutique streets. Nestling beside George Street's fashion district and commercial offices, Thistle Street is an often quirky, always exciting destination with unusual and individual shops, consultancies and boutique businesses.

We have the pleasurable excuse of going there often as we have a number of clients tucked away along the street and it's interconnecting lanes.

It was particularly exciting to work with the local businesses and Edinburgh Council on a project to raise awareness of this real 'hidden gem' of a street; if you're looking for unique and different experiences of our beautiful city, Thistle Street should definitely be on your map!

You can get your own copy of the Thistle Street 'passport' from the local businesses and selected hotels, restaurants etc. It's full of useful information, a handy map and a selection of interesting 'privilege' offers from local establishments.

Or take a look at the virtual version above to discover more...

Branding mishaps

Just arrived in London for some weekend work with a client and came across this branding gem...