Identity Re-Design: Hospice of Humboldt

Throughout my career I've had long-time client relationships lasting as client contacts move from position to position in their own careers. I first met Paul Mueller in Seattle, when he was associated with the Seattle Men's Chorus and I was doing design work for the organization in our shared office space. Years after I had relocated to Portland, and was doing all the graphic design work for Our House of Portland, Paul became the Development Director for the residential care facility for people with HIV/AIDS. After working together for a while, he then left to become the Executive Director of the Hospice of Humboldt in Eureka, California.

In 1999 came the call that the Hospice of Humboldt was having an identity crisis. For some time the organization had been graphically identified by a one-color, simple image of a tree and a roofline (below left). No clean, original art seemed to exist and the over-photocopied, over-printed logo was beginning to look a bit worn and bitmapped.

The Hospice of Humboldt offers in-home care for people in the community who are in the last stages of life, allowing them to die in a familiar environment, surrounded by their loved ones. Mueller expressed a desire to have an identity that reflected the beauty of the geographic area, warmth, love, care and a "down home" feel. He suggested that retaining some tree image, and some graphic representation that would relate to the roofline in the old logo, would probably help in the approval process of a new identity.

The design I created (above right) presented a cheery, colorful and perhaps simplistic solution to the organization's identity issue. The light in the windows of the house elements, and rays of the sun, conveyed warmth and comfort. The tree, hills and mountain images conveyed a sense of the local region served by the the hospice group. The identity put a new face of the organization of the web presence, stationery package, collateral materials and wearables.

Many of the marketing and promotion pieces produced are featured in The Big Book of Designs for Letterheads and Websites. The logo also was honored with a Bronze in the Summit Creative Awards and appears in the Spanish book Logos from North to South America.

Somewhere along the line another designer has tweaked the logo to what is now used on the organization's website. I don't mind the new type treatment, but the new tree image really comes across as scrawny.

(Note: My new book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands, contains case studies from 35 designers and firms located around the world. Learn more about the book on the Identity Crisis! blog.)

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives design
receives 2008 Summit Creative Award

Jeff Fisher LogoMotives has been awarded a Silver in the 2008 Summit Creative Awards, in the category of PSA Logo, for an identity concept for the Cat Adoption Team. The awards were created 14 years ago to recognize and celebrate the creative accomplishments of small and medium sized advertising agencies and other creative companies throughout the world with annual billings of under $25 million. Thousands of entries, from 25 countries, were submitted for consideration this year. Since 1998, Fisher has received 17 of the Summit Creative Awards honors, in a variety of categories.

The design for the Cat Adoption Team - a facility offering cat shelter, adoption, foster, hospice, and veterinary services - was a pro bono concept effort created as a replacement for the organization's original logo. Unfortunately, in the end, it was not adopted by the group; being deemed not "warm and fuzzy" enough as a representative symbol.

The 2008 panel of Summit Creative Award judges includes professionals from Oglivy & Mather, LXB Communication Marketing, brandUNITY, Wayne State University, Pizza4all, Mfx Interactive, Inc., Saatchi & Saatchi, The Halo Group, Upshot, EvoLogue, Gorman Consulting, Velocity Designworks, Paragon Marketing Communications, Stellar Debris Creative Studios, and Elevator.

Jeff Fisher has received nearly 600 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in nearly 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing.

Fisher is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the HOW Design Conference Advisory Council and the UCDA Designer Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. His book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, was recently released by HOW Books. His first volume, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, appeared on bookstore shelves in late 2004.

(* If I don’t "toot!" my own horn, no one else will.)

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives work
featured in 'Design for Special Events'

The design work of Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is included in the newly released book Design for Special Events: 500 of the Best Logos, Invitations, and Graphics from Rockport Publishers. The logo designed for the Sisters Rodeo appears in the volume by designer Peleg Top, of Top Design. Design for Special Events features a vast collection of designs for fundraisers, entertainment galas, private parties and conferences from around the globe.

Working with his sister Sue Fisher - then Creative Director of TriAd, her own advertising and public relations firm - designer Fisher created the first identity in the 60-year history of "The Biggest Little Show in the World." The annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event is held in Sisters, Oregon; the adopted hometown of the Fisher family.

The Sisters Rodeo logo was previously inducted into the Library of Congress “Local Legacies” archive. The logo was also honored with an Award of Merit in the Ad Federation of Central Oregon's annual Drake Awards and a Silver Award in the Summit Creative Awards. In addition, the design was published in Logo Lounge: 2,000 International Identities by Leading Designers and The New Big Book of Logos.

Jeff Fisher has received nearly 600 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in nearly 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing.

Fisher is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the HOW Design Conference Advisory Council and the UCDA Designer Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. His book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, was recently released by HOW Books. His first volume, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, appeared on bookstore shelves in late 2004.

(* If I don’t "toot!" my own horn, no one else will.)

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Excavated Design Artifact #18

The cleaning out of old files, and archiving of past design projects, continues - and I haven't even touched a four-drawer filing cabinet and several boxes of files stored in my basement. My collection of project elements from the past 30 years is a bit overwhelming. I seem to have enough "excavated artifacts" and "before and after" project examples to fill an entire book - perhaps I should write one on those specific topics.

I just came across my rough concept for a publication called The Reel Scoop (below left). While living in Seattle in 1987, I was contacted by a potential client who was initiating a new monthly newspaper, which was to provide parents with the information they needed to know about movies their children might might want to see. The identity for the paper needed to appeal to both kids and adults.

My rough concept is actually a little more detailed than many of my "excavated artifacts." The design, in black felt pen on a now yellowed piece of tissue paper, shows a piece of film incorporating the words "THE REEL" over the word "SCOOP," created from hand-drawn letterforms and the graphic image of movie camera. Prior to presenting the idea to my client, as a photocopy, I attempted to clean it up a bit with the Liquid Paper and white tape seen on the original design.

This one and only concept shown to the client evolved into the final logo with no major alterations (above right). It was easy for readers to find the movie review publication on newsstands and bookstores with the attention-getting logo used as the nameplate across the top of the front page.

Due to the incorporation of the art as letterforms in the name, David E. Carter used The Reel Scoop identity as an example in his book Bullet-Proof Logos: Creating Great Designs Which Avoid Legal Problems.

(This post originally appeared on bLog-oMotives.)

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Identity Re-Design:
Portsmouth Community Development Corporation

Originally the Portsmouth Community Redevelopment Corporation, a nonprofit housing organization, was very simply identified with a rough illustrative treatment of the acronym PCRC, in a formation suggesting the roofline of a home (below left). The type associated with the logo was never consistent. However, the font Optima was used quite often.

With a change to the name Peninsula Community Redevelopment Corporation, the organization wanted a new identity, but wanted to retain some element of the old image. The previous icon was tucked into the “roofline” of an illustration of a house and the font most often used for the text was retained. The new image (above middle) conveyed a much clearer message of the organization being involved in the housing business. As a circular logo, the image was also much easier to incorporate into a wider variety of collateral, marketing and promotional items.

A later name change, to the Peninsula Community Development Corporation, resulted in another logo update (above right), and a change of the colors to be used by the organization. A little less emphasis was placed on the original logo acronym treatment by using a lower percentage of the new color. The color change provided a greater opportunity to reintroduce the nonprofit's revised imagery and made it easier to distinguish newer written communications from those sent during the "blue period."

(Note: My new book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands, contains case studies from 35 designers and firms located around the world. Learn more about the book on the Identity Crisis! blog.)

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Sports Logos

(Clockwise from upper left)

Sisters Rodeo
Client: Sisters Rodeo Association
Location: Sisters, OR USA

This identity was included when the Sisters Rodeo was inducted into the Library of Congress “Local Legacies" archive. The rodeo logo received an Award of Merit in the Central Oregon Drake Awards and a Silver in the Summit Creative Awards. It also is featured in The Big Book of Logos 3, LogoLounge - Volume 1 and Design for Special Events.

Read more about the Sisters Rodeo logo at bLog-oMotives.

Queen Anne Royals
Client: Key Bank/Queen Anne Branch
Location: Seattle, WA USA

The Queen Anne Royals was the bowling team for a bank branch located in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood. With the personalities of the team members, it's no accident that the crown looks a bit like a jester's hat. The logo appears in The New Big Book of Logos and New Logo & Trademark Design (Japan).

Subaru Hoop Shoot
Client: Subaru Northwest/Portland Trail Blazers
Location: Portland, OR USA

This logo represented a Subaru advertising promotion, in association with the Portland Trail Blazers professional basketball team, to give a car to an audience member shooting a basket from half-court.

Series 2002
Client: North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association
& Rose City Softball Association
Location: Portland, OR USA

This logo was used to represent the City of Portland in a bid to bring an international gay and lesbian softball tournament to the city. It was then used to promote the local event when the bid was won. The logo is featured in The Big Book of Logos 3.

All logo designs © 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. All rights reserved.

Excavated Design Artifact #17

I recently received the latest issue of Flying House Magazine, the current publication of the Seattle Men's Chorus and Seattle Women's Chorus. An article in the magazine reminded readers that the 2009-2010 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Seattle Men's Chorus (SMC). I'm pleased to have been part of the graphic history of the SMC for quite a few years and recently, as I continue to archive my 30 years of project elements, I came across a large file of design concepts for the group.

As mentioned in a previous "excavated artifact" entry, I once shared office space in Seattle with the performing arts organization. Back in 1987, one of the first projects I executed for the Chorus was an identity.

In my old project files I found a number of black felt pen concepts, sketched on sheets of typing paper, for what would become the Seattle Men's Chorus logo. My first doodle included a little black bow tie as a design element over the "M" in a "SMC" representation. As is the case in about 80-85% of my logo design projects, this initial "brain fart" would remain a constant throughout much of the logo creation process and end up playing a major role in the final image.

Some other rough concepts (above) included an image of a man in a tuxedo (which I would incorporate into a future season ticket brochure design for the SMC), a bolder treatment of the SMC/bow tie idea, and a silhouette of a conductor using the Space Needle as a baton. Additional ideas (below) included more Space Needle imagery, an elegant intertwined monogram image, a clef note flipped to represent the "S" letterform, and an emerald-shaped border (a reference to Seattle's "Emerald City" nickname and the gay community's attachment to the film The Wizard of Oz).

With an office staff, good-sized Board of Directors and large membership of singers, this project could have become a "design by committee" nightmare. However, I worked one-on-one with the SMC marketing director, who seemed to steer the project effortlessly through the process by submitting a very limited number of concepts to decision-makers. In my files I found his own feedback in the form of a doodle suggesting that my heavy "SMC" image, with the bow tie, be incorporated within an emerald shaped border. The result, hand-drawn in the pre-computer time - with spray glued typesetting dropped into place, was finalized as the logo for the Seattle Men's Chorus (below).

The identity was very successful in one color (sometimes black; sometimes emerald green), as a metallic foil image, foil-stamped in gold on some items and in a variety of treatments on wearables. It served the Seattle Men's Chorus well until the organization was rebranded by the Phinney/Bischoff Design House in 2005 - nearly two decades later.

My association with SMC continued through the early 1990's; even after I had moved back to Portland. During that time I designed several season ticket brochures, designed and produced numerous event programs, created print ads and invitations, did design work for the international GALA Choruses Festival when held in Seattle, and much more.

I also created a number of additional identities for SMC (above). A logo was produced to represent the major donors' organization, the Seattle Men's Chorus Director's Circle. I designed the initial SMC donor publication, Chorus Quarterly, and its identity. As SMC moved into publishing of programs for other performing arts organizations, I adapted the organization logo to brand its new Emerald City Arts department. My favorite has always been the identity for Philandros, a sub-group of the Seattle Men's Chorus.

I always look back on my work with SMC fondly. It was an incredible opportunity to work with a dynamic arts organization and all the wonderful people involved.

(This post originally appeared on bLog-oMotives.)

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*:
Fisher to speak at 2008 HOW Design Conference

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, will be a speaker at the 2008 HOW Design Conference to be held May 18-21 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA. This annual creativity, business and technology conference for graphic design professionals will feature nearly 50 speakers and wide variety of topical sessions and workshops.

Fisher's session, Planning, Packaging & Promoting Yourself as the Product, will take a look at the challenges faced by graphic designers in marketing their own services. On Tuesday, May 20, the designer/author will have a book signing in the How Conference Bookstore.

Attendees can choose from more than 50 sessions in a variety of tracks, including Creativity & Inspiration, Design Disciplines, Career Development and more. Optional events include pre-conference workshops, a networking lunch, Boston design studio tours and more. The Conference will also host a Design Resource Center with exhibits featuring paper, stock photography, computer hardware and software, and products from other industry vendors.

More than 3,000 graphic designers, art directors, creative directors and illustrators are expected to participate in this year's Conference. The 2008 HOW Design Conference is presented by HOW Magazine, the creativity, business and technology magazine for graphic designers. HOW is published by F+W Publications, Inc. in Cincinnati, OH.

For additional information, and to register, visit the HOW Conference website and the HOW Conference blog. (The semi-early bird deadline, for conference registration savings, is Friday, April 11.)

Jeff Fisher has received over 600 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in more than 100 publications on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing. In late 2007 HOW Books published his latest book, Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands. Fisher's first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success, was released by the publisher in 2004.

Fisher, is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board and the HOW Design Conference Advisory Council.

*If I don't "toot" my own horn, no one else will.

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives