Toot! Toot!*: Designer/Author Jeff Fisher to judge first HOW Magazine Logo Design Awards

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, will be the judge for the new HOW Logo Design Awards competition. Sponsored by HOW Magazine, the leading creativity, business and technology magazine for graphic designers, the competition has a new submissions deadline of December 15, 2009.

All entries must have been produced between July 1, 2008 and December 1, 2009. There are no specific categories for designs to be submitted and work entered may have been created for real world clients, as student class assignments or just for fun. The fee for each entry is $30. Submissions are to be made online through the HOW Logo Design Awards website.

The 10 winners will be featured on the HOW website, get $150 worth of HOW books and receive a 1 year subscription to HOW magazine. In addition, a graphic will be provided for posting on websites, blogs and/or online portfolios announcing a winners' status.

Fisher, a 30+ year design industry veteran, is the author of The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success: Ideas and tactics for a killer career and Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands. He is currently writing the book LogoType, about typography in identity design, with a scheduled release of late 2010.

The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 130 books on identity design, self-promotion and the marketing of small businesses. In recent years, Fisher has judged numerous competitions, including American Advertising & Design 25, the Logopond Awards, The Create Awards, and the Summit Creative Awards.

In January, Fisher was named one of design industry publication Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch in 2009.” 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

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Resource links from HOW Magazine DesignCast 'How to Survive as a Freelance Designer'

Thanks to all who participated in my HOW Magazine live DesignCast "How to Survive as a Freelance Designer." During my hour-long presentation I mentioned a number of additional resources. As promised, I'm posting links to those sites, blog entries and books:

• Resource 1: Make use of online portfolios as promotion tool

• Resource 2: Network outside of design - Biznik; StartupNation

• Resource 3: HOW article on social networking for self-promo purposes

• Resource 4: Side-bar from HOW social networking article

• Resource 5: BoDo (Business of Design online)

• Resource 6: Design book submissions and competitions

• Resource 7: Example of a self-created marketing/media kit

• Resource 8: Examples of my "Toot! Toot!" press releases

• Resource 9: The Design Entrepreneur by Steven Heller

• Resource 10: Savvy Designer's Guide to Success by Jeff Fisher

• Resource 11: Designers Guide to Marketing & Pricing by Ilise Benun and Peleg Top

• Resource 12: Designer's Guide to Business & Careers by Peg Faimon

• Resource 13: Breaking Into Freelance Illustrations by Holly DeWolf

• Resource 14: Customizable contract/project agreement example

• Resource 15: Design entrepreneur - Von Glitschka

• Resource 16: Design entrepreneur - Patricia Zapata

• Resource 17: Design entrepreneur - Cameron Moll

• Resource 18: Associates programs such as Amazon - LogoMotives Design Depot Bookstore

• Resource 19: Using Twitter and Facebook Fan Page as a business tool.

• Resource 20: HOW Magazine Business Annual

• Resource 21: HOW Magazine Self-Promotion Issue

• Resource 22: Mentioned by HOW editor Bryn Mooth - FreelanceSwitch.com

My next HOW DesignCast, "Using Social Media as a (Free!) Marketing Tool," is scheduled for February 18, 2010. Watch for additional information at the HOW website.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher Logomotives

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Logodotes: North Bank Cafe

[Over the 30+ years I've worked professionally as a designer, interesting side stories have come up about my identity designs. This is one of an ongoing series of "Logodotes" - anecdotes about my logo designs.]

In the summer of 2009, I was very sad to learn of the passing of one of my favorite, and most fun, clients. Cecilia Murphy was one-of-a-kind and a Portland institution. It made me smile when, in doing one of the newspaper's "Life Story" features, The Oregonian began the article with "Cecilia Murphy lived by the unofficial motto "'more is more.' Less was not for her."

In that same newspaper article was the minor mention: "She had a short-lived coffee shop." That's how I met the vibrant force known as Cecilia Murphy.

In late 2003, Murphy contacted me to assist in helping brand her latest venture - a coffee house and cafe in the St. Johns neighborhood of North Portland. She conveyed a desire to have the business project an image of the television show Northern Exposure meeting North Portland. Some Victorian elements were to be mixed with comfortable over-stuffed furniture and a few rustic Northwest touches - including vintage mounted heads of hunted wildlife.

Her eyes twinkled as she suggested that the cafe identity might included the image of a winking moose, with long eye-lashes and a "big rack." I knew that Murphy meant antlers in this case, but her smile told me she knew exactly what she had said. Throughout our conversation the moose was referred to as "she."

After thinking about the input for a moment, I told my client that I didn't think a female moose would have antlers. Murphy quickly replied, "Well, I guess we'll have a cross-dressing moose."

I appreciated the opportunity to be totally playful with the North Bank Cafe logo project. The moose image quickly developed as a fairly cartoon-ish creature. I researched moose hoof prints, to be used as bullets in the design, and had fun playing with type possibilities, prior to settling on Horndon as my favorite primary font for my initial design concept. Still, second-guessing myself, I was a bit unsure about having possibly taken the beast too far. I included one more conservative concept in the rough designs I presented (above left).

As is the case in 85-90% of my identity design projects, the client was immediately drawn to my very first concept. With a little fine-tuning it became the final logo for the North Bank Cafe (above right).

The North Bank Cafe was short-lived. Unfortunately, Cecilia Murphy is also no longer with us. I am happy that the cross-dressing moose of the logo does live on. It appears in the books Logo Design for Small Business 2, 1000 Restaurant Bar & Cafe Graphics (and its recently-released paperback mini edition) and 100's Visual Logos and Letterheads.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

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Toot! Toot!*: Recent paperback design book editions highlight work by Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Four recent paperback edition releases, of previously successful design books, feature projects created by Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Rockport Publishers is offering the paperback mini version of 1000 Retail Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In-Store, from firm JGA. Fisher's logo for the Portland retail institution W.C. Winks Hardware is included in the book.

The paperback version of Big Book of Business Cards has been released by Collins Design. The volume, by David E. Carter, showcases business card designs by Jeff Fisher for the hair and nail salon Slick, Pearl Real Estate and Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Luke Herriott's book 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between, another Rockport Publishers selection, displays Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity designs for Glo's Broiler, Balboosta, La Patisserie and the North Bank Cafe. This paperback mini edition also takes a look at the menu package created by the designer for Indies Restaurant & Bar.

A full-page magazine ad for the Portland business VanderVeer Center is given exposure in the paperback version of The Big Book of Layouts; also by David E. Carter.

Jeff Fisher, author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands (HOW Books, 2007), is a 30-year design veteran. He has been honored with over 600 regional, national and international design awards and is featured in over 130 books about logos, the design business, and small business marketing. The industry publication Graphic Design USA named Fisher one of its "People to Watch in 2009." His first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success was released in 2004 and has been reissued as a PDF on CD from MyDesignShop.com. Fisher is currently writing a new volume, with the working title of LogoType, on the topic of typography in identity design.

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

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Toot! Toot!*: Design by Jeff Fisher LogoMotives included in new 'Retro Style Graphics' book

A logo design by Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher Logomotives, is featured in the recently released book Retro Style Graphics. Written by designer and blogger Grant Friedman, the volume was published by Angela Patchell Books.

Fisher's logo design for the North Portland business Coyner's Auto Body (above) is showcased as an inspiration example in Retro Style Graphics. Coyner’s had been in business for 30 years without an identity. A long history in the business of passenger and race car repair conjured up an image of the nameplates, with connecting letterforms, on automobiles from the 1950’s through 1970’s. The House Industries font Bullet was the solution to creating a "retro" look in the design. The Coyner's logo also appears in the Spanish book Logos from North to South America.

The term "retro" is often used to describe trends in fashion, design, or architecture. It typically describes any item that was inspired by something from the past. Retro Style Graphics looks to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s for inspiration and contains all of the elements a modern designer would need to create graphics in the retro style. The book is a style guide that also includes a comprehensive collection of graphics, textures, patterns, fonts, colors, Illustrator/Photoshop brushes, and a design gallery for inspiration.

"This book has it all," said author Grant Friedman, "I wanted to write a book that gives designers all the tools that they would need to produce graphics in the retro style. As a designer, I understand how much time it can take to research ideas, produce, and then implement a design in a particular style. For this book, I wanted to produce resources that would save my readers time while also ensuring that my readers could maintain full creative control over their projects."

Many in the the international design community, especially online, know author Friedman as the founder of the Colorburned.com, a popular destination for design resources, inspiration and information.

Jeff Fisher, author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands (HOW Books, 2007), is a 30-year design veteran. He has been honored with over 600 regional, national and international design awards and is featured in over 130 books about logos, the design business, and small business marketing. The industry publication Graphic Design USA named Fisher one of its "People to Watch in 2009." His first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success was released in 2004 and has been reissued as a PDF on CD from MyDesignShop.com. Fisher is currently writing a new volume, with the working title of LogoType, on the topic of typography in identity design.

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.)

Photos courtesy of author Grant Friedman.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher Logomotives

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Before & after logos from Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Many of my identity design projects have been redesigns of existing logos. Over the years I have been contracted many times to update or makeover the logos of businesses and organizations. My "before & after" images of such projects get a great deal of attention in my marketing packets and through previous blog entries focusing on redesign efforts. I thought I would create a visual recap of many of the design efforts - with links to previous posts offering project explanations and anecdotes. (A few of the logo explanations will be the subject of future blog entries)

Holocaust Remembrance Project • Tampa, FL (Read more)

Balaboosta • Portland,OR (Read more)

Oregon Chapter - Association of Legal Administrators • Portland, OR (More info to come)

Cooke Stationery Company • Salem, OR (Read more)

Peggy Sundays • Portland,OR (Read more)

Diane Tutch • Portland, OR (More info to come)

The Sentinel • Portland, OR (Read more)

Samuels Yoelin • Portland, OR (Read more)

Monroe Orthodontics • Aloha, OR (More info to come)

Oregon Department of Forestry • Salem, OR (Read more)

House of Light • Portland, OR (More info to come)

Four Star Roofing • Beaverton, OR (More info to come)

Private Parties • Portland,OR (Read more)

B.A.S.I.C. • Portland Trail Blazers • Portland, OR (Read more)

Our House of Portland • Portland,OR (Read more)

PavelComm • Portland, OR (Read more)

VanderVeer Center • Portland, OR (Read more)

Lampros Steel • Portland, OR (Read more)

Rutherford Investment Management • Portland, OR (More info to come)

RiverWest Acupuncture • Portland, OR (Read more)

Caring Community of North Portland • Portland, OR (More info to come)

Shleifer Marketing Communications, Inc. • Lake Oswego/Portland, OR (Read more)

Dan Anderson Homes • Aloha,OR (More info to come)

Childpeace Montessori Community • Portland, OR (Read more)

Laugh Lover's Ball • Seattle, WA (Read more)

Valley Catholic High School • Beaverton, OR (Read more)

Hospice of Humboldt • Eureka, CA (Read more)

Sunriver Preparatory School • Suniver,OR (Read more)

Balloons on Broadway • Portland, OR (Read more)

Portsmouth Community Development Corporation • Portland, OR (Read more)

North Portland Business Association • Portland, OR (Read more)

Benicia Historical Museum • Benicia, CA (Read more)

Tel•Med • Multnomah County Medical Society • Portland, OR (Read more)

Smith Freed & Eberhard P.C. • Portland, OR (Read more)

American Telecom • Portland, OR (Read more)

Joy Creek Nursery • Scappoose, OR (Read more)

Just Out Newsmagazine • Portland, OR (Read more)

Tilikum Center for Retreats and Outdoor Ministries • George Fox University • Newberg, OR (Read more)

Travelady Media • Portland, OR (Read more)

(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

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Toot! Toot!*:C.A.T. identity by Jeff Fisher LogoMotivesgets new life in 'Letterhead and Logo Design 11'

An identity design by Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has been given yet another life in the recently released book Letterhead & Logo Design 11. The volume, produced by Design Army, is a Rockport Publishers release. The resource contains hundreds of inspirational logos and letterheads from designers around the world.

Fisher's selected design was the result of a request from the Cat Adoption Team organization to participate in a pro bono effort to create a new identity for the "no-kill" feline facility. In an "a-ha" design moment, while doodling one day, the designer came up with C, A and T letterforms creating a cat image. Confidently presented to the nonprofit's appreciative marketing, advertising and design-savvy Executive Director, the identity idea still required approval of the Board of Directors. With the governing body, the concept was DOA for not being "warm and friendly enough."

The design previously won a Silver Award in the Summit Creative Awards. It is also in the book Killed Ideas, Vol. 1 and will be in the volume Designing for the Greater Good. The work of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives has appeared in over three dozen books from Rockport Publishers.

Jeff Fisher is the author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands and The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success: Ideas and tactics for a killer career. He is currently writing the book LogoType, about typography in identity design, with a scheduled release of late 2010.

The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 130 books on identity design, self-promotion and the marketing of small businesses. In January, Fisher was named one of design industry publication Graphic Design USA’s “People to Watch in 2009.” 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

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