Jeff Fisher to present identity design workshop
at School of Visual Concepts in Seattle

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, will present a day-long workshop on identity design Monday, February 23, 2009, at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, WA. The workshop, to be held from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM, will cover a variety of identity design topics including creating new identities, redesigning an existing logo, identity design in an digital world, where many logos go off track, and more.

Tuition for the professional development seminar is $265. Registration is limited and attendees must be an advanced design student or working design professional. Participants are encouraged to bring doodling materials to the presentation. Additional class and enrollment information is available on the SVC website.

Fisher, author of Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands (HOW Books, 2007), will sign copies for individuals bringing the book to the workshop.

The School of Visual Concepts, located directly east of the Seattle Center at 500 Aurora Avenue North, offers day and evening portfolio courses and professional development workshops in graphic design, computer graphics, advertising, letterpress printing, and business practices for freelancers and creative organizations. Founded in 1971, SVC adheres to a policy of having classes and workshops taught by top working professionals, rather than by full-time academic faculty members. For more information about SVC, call 206.623.1560 or visit the School of Visual Concepts website.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

2009 Articles about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Articles, mentions of Jeff Fisher and sightings of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs online and in print:

Top 10 PsPrint Blogs of 2009, PsPrint (December 2009)

A new review of my first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success, Design\, by Kitty Florido (December 2009)

10 simple, yet effective logos , Wildfire Marketing Group, by Jeremy Knauff (December 2009)

25 Naughty Logo Designs – Don’t miss the fun!, Graphic Design Blog, (December 2009)

40 Logo Designs with negative beauty - An interesting trick , Logo Design Blog, (December 2009)

Creative Medical Logos - 22 Logos to inspire , Corporate Logo Design Blog, (November 2009)

How to Network On-line for Your Next Big Project , Method to the Mayhem, by Calvin Lee (November 2009)

10 Inspirational Interviews for Designers, Powerusers, by Nikhil Misal (November 2009)

Gardens and Their Designers, Design Observer, by Timothy Jack Ward (October 2009)

Braintalk with Jeff Fisher, Sharebrain, by Thomas Ulbricht (October 2009)

Interview Series: Jeff Fisher on success and freelancing , Freelance Show, by Neil Brown (October 2009)

Self-Promotion the Social Way, HOW Magazine, by Jeff Fisher (October 2009)

Sidebar: 8 tips and tricks for professional and effective 'Self-Promotion the Social Way', HOW Magazine, by Jeff Fisher (October 2009)

Best Logo Designs Created by You - Part 1 , ImJustCreative, by Graham Smith (October 2009)

How Do Creative People Use Twitter? , Fresh Asylum, by Aliyah Marr (September 2009)

Interview with Jeff Fisher LogoMotives' Jeff Fisher , PsPrint, by Brian Morris (September 2009)

Episode 5 – Social Networking with Jeff Fisher , Escape from Illustration Island, by Thomas James (September 2009)

Designing A Church Logo? Some Things to Remember , eGrace Creative, by Brandon Cox (September 2009)

Jeff Fisher of Logomotives: Toot! Toot!, Against The Grain/Neenah Paper, by Julie Sims (September 2009)

Freelancing Finesse, Creative Freelance Conference, by Julie Sims (August 2009)

"Experience Matters", YouYube video, by Summit International Awards (August 2009)

A Study in Black and White Logos: Designer Jeff Fisher shares some of his past mono-color logo work, CreativePro.com (August 2009)

Quickies: 10 Readable Branding Books, Fuel Your Branding, by Beth LaPierre (August 2009)

40 Weird and Playful logos – A Double treat! , Graphic Design Blog, by Charles B. Johnson (August 2009)

Career: Office Anthropologist, HOW Magazine, by Julie Sims (August 2009)

Five Logo Design Heroes, eGrace Creative, by Brandon Cox (July 2009)

Designers' Couch: Interview with Jeff Fisher, by James Costa (July 2009)

38 Business Cards of Top Graphic Designers – The inspiring creative gurus, GraphicDesignBlog.org, by Charlie B. Johnson (July 2009)

Crazy Train, Toots Style: Local Design Savant Turned Clown Has the Last Laugh, Just Out, by Ryan J. Prado (May 2009)

Thoughts on Design: Back where it all started, CobaltCow Brand Development, by Nathan Sarlow (May 2009)

NO!SPEC • CreativePro: Spec Work and Crowdsourcing, NO!SPEC, by Catherine Wentworth (May 2009)

Business Card Design: Better Than A Plain Ol’ Business Card, Smashing Magazine, by Kat Neville (May 2009)

Creating Images From Text, Famous Logos, by Roberta Seldon (May 2009)

Care And Feeding Of In-House Designers, HOW Blog, by Megan Patrick (May 2009)

'Make it Big' by Blogging an interview with Jeff Fisher and Sheri L Koetting, The Creative Group e-Zine (May 2009)

85+ of the Best Twitterers Designers Should Follow, Mashable, by Cameron Chapman (May 2009)

Thought Leader Thursday: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, Wildfire Marketing Group (April 2009)

10 Creative Minds of the Design Industry, Powerusers, by Nikhil K. Misal (April 2009)

Spec Work and Crowdsourcing: Gambles that Don't Pay Off, CreativePro.com, by Pamela Pfiffner (April 2009)

The Upside of Working for Free, FreelanceSwitch.com, by Martha Retallick (March 2009)

Using Twitter to Promote Your Book, FreelanceSwitch.com, by Kristen Fischer (March 2009)

10 Great Logo Design, Branding and Identity Books, Logo Critiques, by Erik Peterson (March 2009)

30 Beautiful Logos, Abduzeedo/Abducted By Design, by Fabio Sasso (March 2009)

Making Public Speaking Fun, Communication Steroids, by Tim "Gonzo" Gordon (February 2009)

People to Watch in 2009, Graphic Design USA (January 2009)

Five Great - and necessary - Marketing Makeovers, Entrepreneur Magazine, by Gwen Moran (January 2009)

30 Must-Have Logo Books, You The Designer, (January 2009)

Jeff Fisher - Public Portrait | MonoExpression, MonoExpression (January 2009)

Over 50 Ways Designers Promote & Brand Themselves, I'm Just Creative, by Graham Smith (January 2009)

20 Weird Logos That Work (and Why They Do), VECTORTUTS, by Chris Spooner (January 2009)

Toot! Toot!*: Author Jeff Fisher cited as "marketing makeover" expert in Entrepreneur Magazine

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is featured as an expert on design and branding in the February 2009 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. Fisher, author of the book Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, was asked by writer Gwen Moran to critiqued several marketing element redesigns for the article Five Great - and necessary - Marketing Makeovers.

Joining the internationally recognized identity designer in commenting on the highlighted redesign projects are branding consultant and author Karen Post, the Branding Diva from Tampa, FL; and Lynette Xanders, the founder of Portland branding and research firm Wild Alchemy.

The expert panel reviewed the retail store makeover of Philadelphia shoe seller Ubiq; the collateral redesign for Patriot Consulting, Inc. of Iselin, NJ; and the new identity for Portland's Jive Software. The website makeover for CoffeeCakes.com, of Castle Rock, CO, and the new packaging for the Phoenix-based Fairytale Brownies were also critiqued.

Jeff Fisher has received over 600 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts and his work is featured in more than over 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing. His first HOW Books offering, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, appeared on bookstore shelves in late 2004, and was recently re-released in PDF format on CD. Fisher is currently writing a book about typography in identity design. In 2008, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives was recognized as one of the top 100 U.S. home-based businesses by the web presence StartupNation

More information about Jeff Fisher, and his design and writing efforts, may be found on the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives blogfolio.

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

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

"The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success"
re-released as searchable PDF on CD

My first book, the 2004 release The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success, has been re-released by publisher HOW Books as a searchable PDF on CD. It's great that the book has been given a second life in this new format.

Although the original edition of Savvy Designer is basically out-of-print, it is still possible to find new and used copies through third party sellers on Amazon.com, in some bookstores and elsewhere.

Many fans of Savvy Designer have also found my second book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, to be a valuable design resource. I am currently writing a new volume on typography in identity design.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Toot! Toot!*:
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives featured in Success-Story Marketing™ volume "Stories That Sell"

The small-budget media relations of Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, are featured as a case study in the new book Stories That Sell: Turn Satisfied Customers into Your Most Powerful Sales & Marketing Asset. Written by Casey Hibbard, the leading expert on creating and and managing customer stories, the volume is a January 2009 release from AIM Publishers.

Fisher's use of his "Toot! Toot!" press releases to tell the stories of his business and client success, while establishing valuable relationships with online and traditional print media, is highlighted in the book. In Stories That Sell author Casy Hibbard introduces the concept of Success-Story Marketing™, with insight from organizations such as Sage Software, SAP, Toyota, Kronos, Amdocs, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and dozens of other businesses, independent consultants, and nonprofits.

Hibbard, founder and president of Compelling Cases, Inc., has helped numerous companies create more than 450 customer stories over the past decade. She is featured in numerous books, articles, and teleclasses on the topic; and often consults with organizations one-on-one and conducts online customer-story classes.

Designer Jeff Fisher is the author of Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands (HOW Books, 2007). He has received over 600 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts and his work is featured in more than over 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing. His first HOW Books offering, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, appeared on bookstore shelves in late 2004. Fisher is currently writing a book about typography in identity design. In 2008, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives was recognized as one of the top 100 U.S. home-based businesses by the web presence StartupNation

More information about Jeff Fisher, and his design and writing efforts, may be found on the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives blogfolio.

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

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Design book reviewer flips through 'Identity Crisis!'

Teoh Yi Chie - an infographic journalist, illustrator, and cartoonist from Singapore - posts design book reviews with great photo imagery on the Design Shelf blog. I recently came across a review and video (above), with the reviewer flipping through my book Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, when posted on the Amazon.com page for the volume. I followed the provided link to the Design Shelf page for my book, which displays some great additional photo images.

Identity Re-Design: Private Parties

Back in 1994, a friend working for the catering company Private Parties contacted me about redesigning the firm's identity. The formal image conveyed by the existing logo (below left) was not successfully conveying the more casual and fun event planning being done for clients. Still, the business did not want to completely lose the public's visual reference to what had become an established identity in the local market.

The catering firm did coordinate some formal events, so I suggested maintaining the general look of the previous tuxedo image while changing out the bow tie element for a customized necktie. For the pattern on the tie I created simplified graphics (below) of a variety of fruits and vegetables that might be items incorporated in the menu offerings of the caterer. At the time, the owner even considered having similar neckties made for the staff. Instead of having the tie hanging straight down on the front of the shirt graphic, I gave it a little implied movement to project that the Private Parties personnel never stood still.

All these years later, the company represented by the logo is no longer in business. However, I do think the before and after images are still good examples of a company not totally losing an established business identity when updating the company logo.

Check out additional identity re-design projects from Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

(Note: My 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.)

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.