999 has announced plans to expand its digital department by recruiting two new senior staff.

Digital account director Kenneth MacKenzie has been appointed from The Zen Agency and was previously head of digital at Picardy Media Group while web developer Lauren Agnew has been recruited from S1.com. Both bring top-level technical and strategic expertise to 999’s track record in creative brand communications.

In addition to services currently offered, which include planning, development, design and implementation of effective e-marketing solutions, the digital team will now provide internal communications; intranets and extranets plus effective e-commerce systems.

This will enable new and existing clients to capitalise on this fast growing channel whilst integrating current off-line brand communications.

999 Design, has been appointed to develop London South Bank University's student marketing communications for 2008/09.

The new account win, which followed a four-way pitch, comes on the back of the agency's commission to produce its third annual report for Digital UK - the independent organisation tasked with communicating and implementing the switch to digital TV across the country.

999's London office will lead on both creative briefs and has already begun designing the university's 72-page student handbook, which will be published in June targeted at existing and prospective students.

Additional key projects will include the design of seasonal recruitment marketing material and associated leaflets, posters and merchandise.

As part of the design brief, 999 has been tasked with developing a cohesive 'family' of student marketing materials, which will serve to strengthen awareness of the university's brand identity, and ensure they stand out in the UK's highly competitive higher education market.

Student Marketing Officer at London South Bank University, Xanthe Lewendon, said: 'As one of London's largest universities, we are proud to be part of the city and of our diverse, multi-cultural population of more than 23,500 students.

'In appointing 999, we felt their creative approach best reflected those aspects of our personality and the university's core values as a whole. Their ideas are original, vibrant and will communicate information to potential and current students in a way that we hope will leave them with a favourable impression of studying at LSBU.'

In addition to working with the university, 999 London will continue to work with Digital UK on the publication of its latest annual report.

Switchover began last October in Whitehaven, Cumbria, and the coming months will be key to ensuring the good progress made in the early stages of the programme's rollout continues.

Managing director of 999 London, Aileen Geraghty, says her agency aims to build on the success of last year's report – which won a coveted print award at the McNaughton Review earlier this year – by creating an informative, eye-catching design, which again plays on the successful 'We Love TV' theme created by 999 for Digital UK.

Additionally, 999 will continue to be responsible for the design and production of general communication materials and retail point-of-sale across the UK.

Love Saves the Day, with a number of outlets across Manchester, has commissioned 999 Design to develop a series of eye-catching labels and packaging across its entire product range.

Established nearly 10 years ago, Love Saves the Day has become an integral part of Manchester�s cultural and social district providing the city's discerning food lovers with a unique venue in which to meet and eat.

Love Saves the Day commissioned 999 Design to develop a series of eye-catching labels and packaging across its entire product range.

999 were tasked with creating a visually-appealing identity to support the
launch of Love Saves the Day pickles range with a remit to stay away from stereotypical, supermarket-style food packaging.

Instead, 999 created distinctive and quirky illustrations of 1950's Americana women to be used on the packaging. 999 will now be tasked with developing packaging for a variety of products including, coffee, wine, champagne, pasta and olive oil.

999 Design, has created the overarching campaign for the 2008/09 BBC National Orchestra of Wales concert season.

999 Design, has created the overarching campaign for the 2008/09 BBC National Orchestra of Wales concert season.

Celebrating the beauty of musical instruments, the campaign forms the basis for the orchestra's annual communications and will be applied to a wide range of new marketing material aimed at raising awareness of the 2008/09 concert season, which opens later in the year.

The campaign will include two 40-page concert season brochures and associated postcards, leaflets, posters and press advertising.

As part of 999 London's design directive, the consultancy was tasked with producing two fresh, distinct brochures that communicate clearly the orchestra's position as a trusted guide on orchestral music for the people of Wales and beyond.

The Cardiff Concert Season brochure is the first of two, full-colour, bi-lingual publications. To be distributed in the coming weeks it is a popular source of information, providing extensive news and listings of the orchestra's seasonal events.

A hard-hitting NHS campaign developed by 999 Design for the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has won a coveted UK-wide award.

The NPSA's high-profile 'cleanyourhands' initiative scooped the top accolade in the Strategic Communications Campaign category at the fourth annual Good Communication Awards, announced last week.

The brief, to develop the third year of cleanyourhands, centred on increasing awareness of the importance of hand hygiene in healthcare environments and ultimately prompting staff to clean their hands at the point of care.

999 produced an innovative visual strategy, targeting healthcare workers and patients with a raft of posters, leaflets and educational signs each featuring detailed photography of well-known hand gestures designed to convey the campaign's key messages.

Drawing on the traffic light awareness system employed in the NHS, 999 used red and green text on a bold, black background to communicate good and bad practices, and ensure each message stood out.

The 2008 Good Communication Awards, held at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and presented by BBC news anchor Peter Sissons, focused on recognising the public sector's efforts in working towards effective communication with its staff and the public.

Katherine Wilson, cleanyourhands campaign lead, said: 'This award was for year three of the campaign and we believe that these campaign materials are the most effective yet.

'For an ongoing campaign such as ours it's a real challenge to maintain momentum, as healthcare workers end up staring at the same posters and other materials day in, day out, but the hard-hitting design really makes them stand out in the hospital environment.

'999 Design were central to the development of year three and the radical new look they produced for the materials really drove home the importance of hand hygiene in preventing infection, with the images of real hands encouraging individual responsibility.

'999 also looked beyond the posters to see how else we could get the campaign message across, all of which has greatly contributed to its continuing success.'

UK-wide 999 Design Group has announced plans to expand its digital department as part of an ambitious growth strategy that will treble the company's digital design turnover over the next year.

The award-winning agency, which has offices in London, Manchester and Glasgow, has recruited two senior staff to beef up its digital division.

Account director Kenneth MacKenzie has been appointed from The Zen Agency and was previously head of digital at Picardy while web developer Lauren Agnew has been recruited from S1.com. Both bring top-level technical and strategic expertise to 999's track record in creative brand communications.

By investing in its digital division 999 hopes to significantly drive its share of the digital design market. Group-wide, the company reported turnover of £3.6 million for the last financial year and expects to see a growth of more than 200% in its digital work over the next 12 months.

In addition to services currently offered, which include planning, development, design and implementation of effective e-marketing solutions, the digital team will now provide internal communications; intranets and extranets plus effective e-commerce systems.

This will enable new and existing clients to capitalise on this fast growing channel whilst integrating current off-line brand communications.

Gavin Clark, managing director of 999's Glasgow office, said: "999 has always offered a digital design function but we have predominantly focused on the brand side. Although this is an area we excel at, the appointment of Kenneth and Lauren significantly strengthens our offering across a wider range of digital marketing services."

"Numerous agencies out there are strong on the technical aspects of digital marketing but often lack the creative or brand knowledge. By marrying these new technical skills with our existing brand and design capabilities, we aim to become a leading player with a truly unique offering."

Last year 999 announced it was planning to invest up to £1million acquiring a digital business and although the company is continuing to look for acquisition opportunities, its new-look digital division will be a great asset.

Mr Clark added: "Digital design is defining the future of our industry and at 999 we are now perfectly placed to meet increased demand in a way that will substantially grow our business."

This latest investment follows 999's announcement last November that it plans to double its turnover to more than £7 million by 2010 as part of an ambitious growth strategy that will also take the company from 43rd place in Design Week's national league table of UK agencies to inside the top 10 in the same period.

999 Design wins new Glasgow City Marketing Bureau account to revamp 'The Diary'

Simply titled 'The Diary', the A5-size, full-colour title has become a popular source of information among discerning city residents and tourists alike since its inception almost four years ago.

Providing extensive listings for a variety of festivals, gigs, exhibitions, family events and theatre shows, each edition of The Diary is read by more than 20,000 subscribers with another 80,000 circulated to a host of top venues and attractions across Glasgow and west central Scotland.

In addition, The Diary is also available to download from Glasgow City Marketing Bureau's website at www.seeglasgow.com

999 has been commissioned to develop the design and print strategy for the quarterly publication.

The Glasgow office has begun work on the year-long contract by designing the 20-page summer / autumn edition, which will be published in late June listing events taking place in the city during July, August and September.

As part of 999's design directive, the consultancy has been tasked with showcasing Glasgow as a vibrant, year-round destination and further raising awareness of the publication and events taking place throughout the city.

Head of Marketing for Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Tom Rice, said: 'We were very impressed by 999's creative ideas for revamping the design of The Diary, which retain the vibrant feel that the publication has developed, but at the same time better reflects the Glasgow: Scotland with style brand and complements our existing range of print and online material.'

999 Design re-developed the brand identity for Purely Mineral, the natural cosmetics company which has just won a UK-wide business competition.

999 Design re-developed the brand identity for Purely Mineral, the natural cosmetics company which has just won a UK-wide business competition.

The agency, which has offices in London, Manchester and Glasgow, is working with Purely Mineral to further develop the company brand, which will appear on its website, product packaging and all marketing material.

Purely Mineral has just been announced as the 2008 winner of the BT Business competition to find the next generation of entrepreneurs, after beating hundreds of other hopefuls from across the UK to win the �20,000 prize.

Currently, the Lancashire-based cosmetics company sells its range of mineral-based foundations, eye and lip colours, blush and make-up applicators online via its website www.purely-mineral.co.uk and the TV shopping channel, Ideal World.

Purely Mineral plans to use part of the �20,000 prize money to raise the profile of its image and are currently working with 999 Design to develop its brand for use on all products, marketing material and the website.

Andy Helme, Managing Director of UK-wide 999 Design, said: "We are thrilled that Purely Mineral has scooped the top award in such a prestigious event; it is thoroughly deserved and will enable them to take their brand to a wider audience.

"Purely Mineral asked us to create an identity that not only reflects their natural, wholesome image but would appeal to women of all ages. For this reason, we developed a look that is clean, neutral and sophisticated and would work well across all their marketing communications."

Established in September 2006, Purely Mineral sells completely natural makeup, which is renowned for its health benefits to the skin, and has been designed and developed with the modern British woman in mind.

Alison and Margaret launched the company from their homes in Heysham and Lancaster in Lancashire, with a view to securing a slice of the highly lucrative market for natural cosmetics, which is currently growing at 13% a year in the UK.

The company's sales growth in the second year is projected to be 70% over year one and Purely Mineral will continue to sell online at www.purely-mineral.co.uk and via TV shopping channels.

Allison, Managing Director of Purely Mineral, said: "We are delighted that Purely Mineral has won this competition as it recognises all our hard work. By re-developing our brand, 999 Design has created a fresher more sophisticated look that has enabled us to reach a wider audience and we hope to build on this success going forward.


"We would like to thank everyone who has helped us get where we are today; 999 Design who has re-developed our brand identity and the support we have received from Lancaster University's Research and Enterprise Services for the funding and research support, as well as North Lancashire Enterprise for providing business space and Lancaster City Council for offering business development advice."

MURDER was clearly in the air at the offices of 999 Design when the leading London-based design consultancy collaborated with the BBC on its newest project, Murder Most Famous, which launched on our TV screens on Monday (March 3).

The week-long series, which was aired on BBC Two until Friday (March 7), challenges six celebrities to learn the rules of writing a block-buster crime novel under the expert tuition of best-selling author Minette Walters - with the least impressive wannabe author being 'bumped off' at the end of each show.

Filmed in February, the show involves 'Strictly Come Dancing' star Brendan Cole, actress and presenter Sherrie Hewson, former tabloid editor Kelvin McKenzie, 'Rogue Traders' presenter Matt Allwright, 'Cutting It' star Angela Griffin and celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin experiencing life on the front line of murder detection; from training with the police and pathologists to meeting real life criminals and victims. Each celebrity was tasked with using what they learned in their training to complete daily writing assignments from which the overall winner, chosen by a judging panel of literary experts, will have their own crime fiction novel published as part of the Quick Reads series on World Book Day 2009.

In addition, the two celebrity finalists - Matt Allwright and Sherrie Hewson, who will go head-to-head in Friday's final showdown - were given an insight into creative design and spent the day working with the team at 999's London office where they received hands-on training in designing and producing their respective book jackets. Aileen Geraghty, managing director of 999 London, said: "We have worked with the BBC on a number of projects over the years and we were only too happy to be involved in Murder Most Famous, which provided the opportunity to demonstrate our creative skills and highlight the importance of good design to the celebrity finalists and the wider viewing public.

"Our remit was to design the book jackets for the finalists with the filming taking place in our office, which meant brainstorming with the celebrities off camera before working with them independently and sitting together at our computers to come up with and implement their ideas. We were delighted with the feedback that we received and we think whichever book is chosen by the judges will prove a worthy winner."

Liz English of BBC Learning said: "The enthusiasm and creativity that 999 Design has shown towards this project has been exceptional. Their challenge was to work with our celebrity finalists, none of whom had any design experience, and create two separate but equally visually engaging book jackets that, in the first instance, will capture the attention of the judges and, following publication, future readers. "The BBC has an excellent working relationship with 999 and their understanding of our brief from the outset ensured that they again produced fantastic work."

999 Design, has scored off the pitch with Premiership giants Newcastle United after agreeing a deal to develop the football club's marketing communications in 2008.

999 will roll out the year-long contract, with both parties currently in talks regarding a number of potential projects throughout this period.

Work will officially begin next month, with 999 tasked with the design and production of Newcastle's 2008/09 replica kit brochure, to be released to fans in the summer.

999 has a longstanding history of working with leading and renowned sports brands and clubs, including Reebok, Manchester City, Sunderland Golf and Puma.

The agency this week announced that it aims to continue to focus on growing this area of business in 2008 having last year won new accounts with Blackburn Rovers FC and world rugby club champions, St Helens.

John Harrison of Sports Direct, owners of Newcastle United FC, commented: "We are delighted to have agreed this contract with 999 Design, who can demonstrate a wealth of creative expertise and an impressive track record in the sports marketing arena.

"Initially, we have commissioned 999 to refresh and develop our range of marketing communications over the next 12 months beginning with our official 2008/09 replica kit brochure, which will be launched in the summer. There are a number of other projects in the pipeline and we look forward to forging a productive relationship in the months ahead."

RENOWNED Lancashire brewery Moorhouse's has tapped into the lucrative American real-ale market and won a national industry award thanks to the creative thinking of 999 Design.

The leading UK design consultancy was commissioned by the independent Burnley-based brewery earlier this year to support the launch of two new bottled ales in the US as part of an export drive.

999 was tasked with creating an eye-catching brand identity for Moorhouse's Blond Bitch and English Owd Ales that would appeal to the American audience while retaining the brewery's traditional rustic imagery.

Such has been the success of 999's campaign that Moorhouse's export sales Stateside have risen 10% while the brewery also scooped the Society of Independent Brewers business Award for Best Packaging Initiative in November.

Established in 1865, Moorhouse's Brewery is located near Pendle Hill in Lancashire - an area steeped in legend and tales of witchcraft dating back to the 16th century - and is famous worldwide for its premium cask-ales; Pendle Witches Brew, Black Cat and Blond Witch.

When developing the labelling for Blond Bitch, based on its UK counterpart Blond Witch, 999 remained true to the roots of the original brand by linking witchcraft with an image of a voluptuous blond girl. Additionally, the Owd English label was illustrated featuring a wizened looking country-style gentleman.

As well as designing the new illustrative bottle graphics, 999 also created the brand's stylish outer packaging, resulting in a coloured, eight-bottle takeaway pack incorporating a tear-off lid and handles on either side.

Moorhouse's Brewery, which produces 250 barrels of beer each week, employs 23 staff and has forecast turnover of £2.8m 2008. In addition to domestic sales, the brewery exports to the US, Canada, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden and Cyprus.

Moorhouse's managing director, David Grant, said: "The successful launch of our Blond Bitch and Owd English brands in the US has really been helped by the creative work developed by 999, whose understanding of our brief from the outset ensured that they produced such eye-catching and colourful bottle labels.

"Increasingly in the UK we are being recognised as a leading cask-ale brewer and it is extremely gratifying that this reputation is rapidly growing for our bottled beers on the other side of the Atlantic. We're also really pleased that the work carried out by 999 has received recognition from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA)."

The UK-wide agency scooped a top award at the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards on Tuesday (October 30).

Nearly 200 design consultancies from across Britain entered the awards, with 999 one of only three shortlisted in the visitor attractions category alongside leading London-based agencies Haley Sharpe Design and The Holmes Wood Consultancy.

999 Design co-founder Richard Bissland collected the accolade at a glittering ceremony organised by the Design Business Association and held at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in West London.

Established in 1989, the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise, reward and promote the integral role design plays in the creation of business growth. Designers and agencies must submit detailed information about commercial results which demonstrate the direct impact of successful design in relation to their project.

Awarded across 12 categories including corporate and brand identity, product and packaging, interior, print and point of sale, they are the global benchmark of commercial effectiveness and are highly regarded as the design industry's 'Oscars'.

999 Design was appointed as the lead creative agency tasked with brand creation and implementation for the 2006 Glasgow Mackintosh festival, which celebrated the heritage of renowned Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh throughout the year and attracted over 638,000 visitors to venues across the city.

After establishing the festival logo and key messaging, 999 brought the event to life across multiple communication channels including outdoor media, the creation of a website offering extensive information on more than 100 exhibitions and an eye-catching advertising display using 13 of department store Frasers' windows in the city centre.

Deborah Dawton, chief executive of the Design Business Association (DBA), said: 'Successful projects require the integration of the design brief with business aims and objectives from the outset. In winning this award, 999 clearly demonstrated the excellent value for money that a coherent, well-thought out and professionally executed design strategy can achieve. More clients should demand this level of return on investment from their design consultancies.'

The award-winning design agency, which was established in Glasgow in 1982 by Richard Bissland and Bill Gaughan, has unveiled it's new brand identity - a modern twist on a design classic.

The new identity replaces the multi award-winning design of 2001 and represents the new, all-embracing spirit of the company and will feature on the company website, www.999design.com, all company stationery, literature and signage.

The anniversary marks a turning point for 999, which works with a diverse range of public and private sector clients, including Highland Spring, BBC, Warburtons. Freeview, BT and Radley and Co.

Bill, founder and creative director, said: "At 999 we pride ourselves on delivering design that engages. We deliver creative, effective and comprehensive communications solutions for our clients and this approach has helped establish 999 as one of the UK's top agencies.

"We like to develop long-term relationships with our clients, many of whom have been with us for five or six years, and in a couple of cases, for going on 20 years! We believe the key to our success is working hard, really getting to really know our clients and their markets, and delivering the most creative and effective design solutions.

He added: "We love the challenge that each new client brings and we genuinely believe we are different in how we think and behave. And in launching 999's new corporate identity, we hope to demonstrate by example the importance of innovating and evolving to stay ahead in today's marketplace. Our current design was an award-winner in its day, but our business has changed significantly and the new mark better sums up our new values. Clever, effective & intelligent design delivered with a big friendly personality."

The Glasgow headquarters has been around since 1982, with offices in Manchester and London. Recognition north of the border has included collecting the coveted Scottish Design Agency of the Year title three times in the last ten years.

Bill said: "Although we appear to be relative newcomers on the London and Manchester design scenes, as a business we have been around for 25 years. This means we bring a wealth of experience and judgement to the table, offering further reassurance to major brands that they are in safe hands. And our policy of sharing ideas and resources throughout the group also offers clients the benefits of our big brand experience, the creativity of the best design talent from around the UK and a useful regional perspective."

999 Design has teamed up with Japanese street fashion label Onitsuka Tiger to develop a suite of marketing support for sports and fashion retailers across the UK.

The UK-wide agency, which ranks among the top 50 in the country, will design the Spring / Summer 2008 Look Book, trade catalogue and retailer point of sale material for the UK division of the Japanese fashion brand.

999 has been asked to create a look that will inspire and energise fashion journalists and retailers, ultimately encouraging them to promote, market and sell Onitsuka Tiger's new collection of apparel and footwear.

The agency will continue the design theme of bright, neon colours and street fashion - reflecting modern-day Tokyo - that it developed in earlier work for Onitsuka Tiger.

The Look Book, which features Japanese models wearing Onitsuka trainers, is set against a minimalist background using only simple props such as designer chairs.

The product photography is being brought to life by placing the images against a black background and splashing them with neon paint. The combination of black, neon and the large A3 format creates a stunning, high-impact brochure reflecting the cutting-edge street-style of the brand.

To complement this work, 999 will also design point of sale material and a 2008 trade catalogue and price list; a functional sales tool that features the new UK product line in a clear, easy-to-use format which the sales team and retailers can use as a reference tool and to place orders.

Onitsuka Tiger is a highly sought after footwear and clothing fashion brand, which was established in Japan in 1949, by Kihachiro Onitsuka.

This latest work builds on the Autumn / Winter 2007 Look Book and the trade brochure and price list which 999 have already developed for Onitsuka Tiger UK.

Penny Keen, Onitsuka Tiger UK Brand Manager, said: "We are delighted with the work that 999 has produced for Onitsuka Tiger. The design team has always taken a highly creative approach that really brings our brand to life and we look forward to seeing how they further develop these designs for our 2008 collection."

999 Design, has been given a boost by Freeview after being selected as the only incumbent to be retained by the digital TV provider following a shake-up of its media agencies.

999 will continue to oversee Freeview's below-the-line activity in 2008 following the hiring earlier in the year of DLKW, Grand Union and Mediaedge:cia to handle the company's TV, outdoor and online advertising accounts and media planning and buying respectively.

The award-winning agency has been working with Freeview since 2004, when it was tasked with creating a more defined brand identity - designed to engage with consumers and develop a stronger, ongoing relationship between Freeview and its viewers.

In 2006, 999 came up with the digital TV service's successful 'Free TV Land' campaign around the tag line 'where great TV is free', which is continuing to be used in Freeview's 2007 Christmas TV campaign, created by DLKW.

Additionally, 999 has also been responsible for the creative direction of all retail point of sale materials and trade press ads as well as the original identity for the website and Freeview's first ever TV advert in November 2006.

Freeview, which celebrated its fifth birthday this month by announcing that it is in 14 million UK homes - reinforcing its position as the most popular TV service in the UK - provides over 40 free digital TV channels, including BBC Three, ITV2 and E4, all for a one-off payment and no subscription.

Head of consumer marketing at Freeview, Sophie Alexander, said: "The enthusiasm and creativity that 999 Design has shown in the three years that we have been working with them, on all projects large and small, has been exceptional.

"Their dedication and highly professional account management has seen the agency become a core part of Freeview's marketing team and we're very pleased to be continuing our relationship with them as we continue to grow the Freeview brand."