About
Bigbang is an independently owned, creative led brand and design consultancy founded in 1997 in New York. We design with passion, intelligence, authenticity and commitment. Because we love what the power of design can do.
Leadership
The partners at bigbang bring decades of design and business experience to our work. They assemble and lead teams tailored to each project, are the primary contact for clients, and participate in the creative and strategic work we produce.
We believe the most successful work is done in an open atmosphere of collaboration and exploration, where everyone is encouraged to bring their best to the table. This also allows us and our clients to enjoy the journey as well as the results.
Maryann Berté
Founding Partner | Creative Director
Since founding bigbang, Maryann has directed a wide array of projects for prominent clients such as Disney, Proctor & Gamble, Viacom, Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon to name a few. In addition to her creative expertise, she is known for her capacity to integrate diverse view points to help clients solve business challenges and meet project goals. She is motivated by the joy of creative exploration, the power of good design, and the satisfaction of problem solving.
In addition to her work in design, Maryann and her partner, Wolfgang Schwarz, work together as fine artists creating original abstract artwork. The artist-duo developed their own brand and online gallery, M+W Fine Art.
Prior to bigbang, Maryann founded Berté Design Studio, which focused on fashion design services. Her first clients included Jones New York, Liz Claiborne, and Mario Valentino to name a few. When hired by Disney to design product collections, creative concepts and presentations for it’s newly established retail chain, her studio expanded it’s palette of services beyond fashion to include graphic design, illustration, and product development. By the late 1990’s, having evolved into a full service creative consultancy with a client base that include major entertainment & consumer products brands, as well as cultural and business clients, a re-brand was launched and the studio became bigbang.
Maryann began her career as a fashion designer at Jabé, where she collaborated with Marie Rucki of Studio Berçot Paris to design the Jabé sportswear lines. She then joined Francesca Sterlacci, NYC as associate designer of women’s high fashion apparel. By the early 1990’s, in addition to running Berté Design Studio, Maryann also co-founded (with colleague Arturo Chiang) the women’s designer apparel label, Chiang Berté. The line received high praise from buyers in it’s first season, and in only it’s third season garnered orders from Barney’s, Macy’s and Bergdorf Goodman.
Maryann is a graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology (Accelerated Design Program in Fashion, summa cum laude; Bill Blass Award for Design Excellence), and the University of Florida (B.A. in Anthropology).
As a student of anthropology, she became interested in our human desire to express ourselves and connect with each other through creative means, transforming the ordinary and elevating our spirits. A perspective that underpinned her approach as a fashion designer, and informs her creative work at bigbang. She’s also bigbang’s resident style guru.
Maryann speaks fluent English and German.
Wolfgang Schwarz
Founding Partner | Strategy Director
Wolfgang manages business operations and directs strategy at bigbang. He has helped ensure the success of a wide variety of projects for clients such as Procter & Gamble, DC Comics, Disney, Gillette, General Mills, and others. He also guides the technological aspect of our creative business. In addition to his technical prowess, he is valued for his ability to see the big picture and build consensus toward successful solutions.
Wolfgang and Maryann also work together as fine artists creating original abstract artwork. The artist-duo developed their own brand and online gallery, M+W Fine Art.
In the mid 1990’s Wolfgang joined Berté Design Studio. He quickly transformed the studio's technical capabilities, expanding it into the digital realm, and has kept it on the forefront ever since. By the late 1990’s the studio had evolved to become a full service creative consultancy, and together Wolfgang and Maryann Berté launched a re-brand as bigbang.
Prior to that, Wolfgang had combined his mathematical expertise with an entrepreneurial spirit to write and develop original software programs for complex Wall Street investment products.
As a physicist, he conducted fundamental research into new methods for etching faster, more powerful computer chips. His project earned both federal and private sector funding from DARPA and IBM. He designed and developed original hardware and software used to conduct the ultra-high vacuum laser experiments and analyze collected data.
Wolfgang is a graduated of Columbia University (Ph.D. in Physics, magna cum laude M.Phil. in physics, M.A. in Physics), and the University of Karlsruhe (Diplom Physik, summa cum laude).
Born and raised in Germany, Wolfgang first saw the US when he took a year off after high school to travel the country. He made his way through 30 of the 50 states on foot, by bus, motorcycle and car. Eager to experience the country’s diverse natural beauty and its people, he chose to stay with families he met along the way. His interest in cultural exchange, and his creative and intellectual curiosity are a valued influence on our work and success at bigbang!
Wolfgang speaks fluent German, English, and French.
Expertise
We employ a broad range of creative and strategic services to solve brand and business challenges.
We produce solutions that are integrated across platforms from print, to digital, to physical media.
In collaboration with trusted colleagues in the symbologie. group, we can expand the scope of services we bring to projects to include digital engineering, film and motion design, architecture and events.
Research
Strategy
Branding
Naming
Identity
Graphics
Illustration
Art Direction
Messaging
Communication
Products
Packaging
Style Guides
Publications
Digital Design
Digital Engineering
Photography
Film & Moving Image
Environments
Experiences & Events
Process
Our focus with every project, no matter what scale or scope, is to help clients harness the power of design. That means we go beyond producing work that is esthetically successful — we craft bespoke solutions that are meaningful, impactful, and inspire positive action.
This is how me make it happen...
Listen
We listen, research, and discover. We learn about our client, their culture, their audience, and the context of the challenge they bring us.
Think
We evaluate, ideate and stategize. Looking for insights and unique opportunities, we develop a meaningful plan of action.
Create
We explore, design and iterate. This is where craft meets concept, and the creative imagination and design expertise of our team bring the ideas to life.
Evolve
We review, learn and optimize. We follow up. It helps us evolve and improve performance. And it gives us the pleasure of watching our clients succeed.
Clients
Our clients run the gamut in size from global corporations, to start-ups, to individual artists. They span industries from business, to entertainment, to culture and more.
Yet they all share a few things in common. They are passionate about what they do, understand the importance of collaboration, and value the role design plays in the success of every endeavor.
We share those views and are proud to join forces with our clients to make good things happen.
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