Briefs

Rodney Fitch is still in takeover talks with Wickens Tutt Southgate. Although a deal is yet to be struck, sources suggest Fitch is the only partner currently in the frame.

Dawson Meadows has designed a logo and developed guidelines for the Dutch Meat Board’s new Controlled Quality Bacon mark.

Blueprint has won the design of the annual report for Abbey National, for the fourth year in succession, in a six-way paid competitive pitch.

Lydia Thornley has revamped the identity for HYPP, Homeless Young People’s Project, based in London’s East End.

Edward Briscoe Design has promoted its operations director Phil Jones to the post of managing director.

Blue appears to be the new colour in computer design. First there was Silicon Graphics’ blue workstation, and now there’s the eMate, Apple Computer’s turquoise number. Created by Thomas Meyerhoffer, the eMate is the first of Apple’s moves to target the education market. Based on the Newton Message- Pad system, it has a touch-sensitive screen which can be written on with the attached pen. Users can also be networked to the teacher. The eMate will be launched in schools worldwide early next year, and will then be released on to the general market. It is expected to retail at between 500 and 700.

Edinburgh’s taxi drivers are being encouraged to interact positively with the tourists they get in the back of their cabs. Teviot has designed the campaign material – ranging from leaflets to posters – based around the monetary rewards which can flow if cabbies make that extra effort. A bonjour here and an au revoir there will help create a better impression of the city for tourists, runs the logic. Teviot has borrowed taxi meter typography for its predominantly yellow and black designs. The client is Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise (LEEL). Teviot has also designed a LEEL-organised Natural Cook campaign, to promote Scottish produce.

Architect Scott Brownrig & Turner has drawn up the masterplan and designed a logo for Mythos Park, a mythology theme-park to be built outside Athens. Lighting and other specialists will be brought in once planning permission is gained.

Form continues its work for DJ Paul Oakenfold with the packaging design for his new Perfecto Fluoro mixed compilation CDs. The gatefold pack includes images inspired by heat and melting vinyl (pictured). Perfecto Fluoro’s name was inspired by the beach parties of Goa and Thailand, where fluorescent colours dominate and music is played on digital tape rather than vinyl, which melts in the high temperatures. Form, literally on form with recent work for Everything But The Girl, restrained the blue and yellow Perfecto Fluoro outer sleeve, creating a sans serif logotype and contrasting it with Stempel Garamond.

Milan design group King and Miranda is making its UK debut through a joint project with London design and manufacturing group Colebrook Bosson Saunders Products. According to Martyn Colebrook, Perry King and Santiago Miranda were briefed to create a task light that was ‘aesthetically simple with high quality engineering’. The light is designed specially for use with a VDU and uses low-energy bulbs. It will be distributed worldwide as part of Colebrook Bosson Saunders’ range of office accessories.

Indes Design Consultants has won the Horners Award for Plastics for its use of plastics in the design of the WM30 Mobile Endoscopy Workstation.

Dale Russell of Studio Russell is specialist consultant for Ford and not Rover as stated in Liz Farrelly’s feature Scout Masters (DW 4 October).