Articles, mentions of Jeff Fisher and sightings of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs online and in print:
Creating the Perfect Logo with LogoMotives’ Jeff Fisher, by GraphicDesign.com | USA (May 2014)
Design plagiarism is alive and well in Nottingham, by Together Agency | Nottingham, UK (January 2014)
© 2016 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Showing posts with label identity design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label identity design. Show all posts
Business Logos
(Clockwise from upper left)
KidStuff PR
Client: KidStuff Public Relations
Location: Black Earth, WI USA
KidStuff PR is a public relations firm dealing with toy stores, toy manufacturers and performers for children. The design won a Summit Creative Award (Bronze) and appears in the books American Corporate Identity 16, The New Big Book of Logos, New Logo World (Japan), Graphically Speaking, and Logo Design for Small Business 2.
Al Bauer Advertising
Client: Al Bauer Advertising
Location: Portland, OR USA
In 1980, my first year out of college, ad agency owner Al Bauer asked me to design an abstract icon to identify his firm. Early in the process he selected this design - which most likely evolved out of my interest in the minimalist logo imagery I studied in school during the 1970's - thinking it represented how advertising was orderly until something went completely out of whack. About a week later he realized it was very abstract lower-case a and b letterforms.
American Telecom
Client: American Telecom
Location: Portland, OR USA
This logo re-design, executed in 1997, appears in the books The New Big Book of Logos (HBI, USA, 2000), New Logo: Two (Page One Publishing, Singapore, 2004) and The New Big Book of Logos (Paper, Harper Design, USA, 2003). The design was also honored with an American Corporate Identity award and, as a result, was featured in the volume American Corporate Identity ‘99 (HBI, USA, 1998).
Read more about the logo on bLog-oMotives.
WordWright
Client: WordWright
Location: Portland, OR/Seattle WA USA
The logo for a technical, business and grant writer appears, in its various forms, in the books New Logo & Trademark Design (Japan), Logo and Trademark Collection (Japan), Print's Regional Design Annual, the Japanese book Logo World, Letterhead and Logo Design 7, Logo Design for Small Business 2, The Big Book of Logos 3, and the Spanish book Logos: From North to South America.
Read more about the WordWright identity on bLog-oMotives.
All logo designs © 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. All rights reserved.
2013 Articles about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Articles, mentions of Jeff Fisher and sightings of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs online and in print:
Wilfully Plagiarising? LogoThief Is On Your Case, by Graham Smith, The Logo Smith (November 2013)
Stolen Design is Bad Design, by Shawn MacDonald, 989 Design (November 2013)
Catnapped, LogoThief (November 2013)
31 Must-Follow Twitter Accounts for Graphic Designers, by Brian Morris, PsPrint (September 2013)
The Benefits of Pro Bono Work, by Bryn Mooth, The Creative Group (September 2013)
When it Comes to WWDC 2013, Sometimes a Logo is Just a Logo, by Michael Simon, Mac | Life (May 2013)
3 Reasons Why Logo Design Contest Sites are Bad for your Business, by Patrick Sesko, Sesko Creative (March 2013)
Getting the Most From Your HOW Design Live Experience, by Bryn Mooth, HOW Design (March 2013)
Designers Tackle Copyright & Intellectual Property Issues, by Terry Lee Stone, HOW Design (January 2013)
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Wilfully Plagiarising? LogoThief Is On Your Case, by Graham Smith, The Logo Smith (November 2013)
Stolen Design is Bad Design, by Shawn MacDonald, 989 Design (November 2013)
Catnapped, LogoThief (November 2013)
31 Must-Follow Twitter Accounts for Graphic Designers, by Brian Morris, PsPrint (September 2013)
The Benefits of Pro Bono Work, by Bryn Mooth, The Creative Group (September 2013)
When it Comes to WWDC 2013, Sometimes a Logo is Just a Logo, by Michael Simon, Mac | Life (May 2013)
3 Reasons Why Logo Design Contest Sites are Bad for your Business, by Patrick Sesko, Sesko Creative (March 2013)
Getting the Most From Your HOW Design Live Experience, by Bryn Mooth, HOW Design (March 2013)
Designers Tackle Copyright & Intellectual Property Issues, by Terry Lee Stone, HOW Design (January 2013)
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Toot! Toot!*: 'iheartlogos' third volume gives logo love to Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity designs
The newly released book iheartlogos season three features two logo designs by Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.. The inspiration-filled volume, published through the iheartlogos website, features 391 logos created by 121 designers from 20 countries around the world.
The Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs showcased (above) are the logo for the North Portland Business Association (representing businesses in the designer's own neighborhood) and the safe sex self-promotion design for A Rubber's Ducky.
The identity re-design for the North Portland Business Association took the industrial history of the area, prominent landmarks and the familiar local blue heron into consideration as design elements. The symbol also appears in the books Logos From North to South America (Spain) and the Big Book of Logos 5.
A duck's head doubling as the shape of a condom, with a reservoir-tip, was a subtle "life preserver" message in the A Rubber's Ducky safe sex image. The logo appears in the books New Logo & Trademark Design (Japan), The New Big Book of Logos, LogoLounge - Volume 1, New Logo & Trademark Collection (Japan) and Logos from North to South America (Spain).
Logo images included in the book were judged and voted on by other designers submitting logos, and individuals registered to vote, at the website iheartlogos.com. The limited edition book is currently available exclusively on the site, for $25. Season four of the iheartlogos competition is currently accepting logo entries.
Fisher, a 35 year design industry veteran, 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. Other book projects are currently in the works.
The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 160 books on identity design, self-promotion and the marketing of small businesses. He often travels – nationally and internationally – to present courses, seminars and workshops on design, branding, marketing and social networking. In addition, Fisher is a nationally-recognized speaker, making numerous presentations each year to design organizations, design schools, universities and business groups.
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.)
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Logodotes: Cat Adoption Team concept
[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.]
It's always interesting to be contacted by a nonprofit organization with a request to design a logo pro bono. I get numerous such requests each month. These days, to give myself permission to politely decline some inquiries, I only consider donating my services if the project is related to education, nonprofit performing arts groups, children's causes, HIV/AIDS or issues in which I have a strong personal interest.
I had certainly heard of the Cat Adoption Team (C.A.T.), the Pacific Northwest’s largest nonprofit, limited admission cat shelter with its own on-site full-service veterinary hospital. My initial contact with the organization came via an email from a graphic designer doing volunteer work for C.A.T. She explained that she was a fan of my own identity design work and asked if I would possibly consider designing a new logo for C.A.T. as it approached its tenth anniversary celebration.
After expressing my interest in taking on the project, an appointment was made with the woman who was the group's Executive Director at the time. I appreciated the advertising and marketing background of this individual. She had a great understanding of branding - and the fact that the logo in use at the time (above left) may have served the agency well in its first decade, but it was time to convey a stronger, more professional and memorable public persona. With the emotional and historical investment in the existing logo, the was certainly a "never tell a potential client their logo sucks" situation. Personally, I felt the hand-drawn logo, with one black cat looking outside a window while another looked in, projected a melancholy and somewhat sinister image.
My hope was to create a simple, memorable logo, that would be appeal to both adults and children, as an identifier for the group. With the gift of an organization name acronym creating the primary word associated with the cause, I set about the design a logo turning C.A.T. into the graphic image of the animal. I got increasingly excited as I doodled (above right) and saw a recognizable cat form taking shape within the name.
My excitement was shared by the Executive Director when I explained the direction in which I was taking the project. As I fine-tuned the concept, I opted to make use of letterforms from the font Frankfurter to form the cat and then be used to spell out the organization name. The roundness of the letters created a soft, friendly, inviting design (above) for review by the client Board of Directors. The Executive Director seemed very pleased by my effort and felt it could successfully take C.A.T. into its second decade with a clever and professional graphic identity.
The Board of Directors did not agree. The Executive Director shared that the board members did not feel the design was "warm and fuzzy enough" to successfully represent the cause. She then graciously offered me an opportunity that no previous client had suggested. Given the fact I had donated my time and invested so much energy, into a design that I was convinced would best serve C.A.T and the Board of Directors disagreed; she was allowing me to remove myself from the situation if I chose to do so.
I accepted her offer to separate myself from the project. Afterwards I learned that other designers had less than successful past business relationships with the agency, too. The combination of a mostly volunteer organization, the historical and emotional attachments to the group's past designs, a voting Board of Directors sometimes becoming a "design by committee' presence, and other elements can make such projects challenging - for the designer and the client.
Soon after ending my participation in the C.A.T. project, I received a call-for-entries for a book to display 50 of the best international rejected, or "killed," design concepts. The C.A.T. logo concept design got a second life when it was accepted for publication in the book Killed Ideas: Vol 1.
The C.A.T. design went on to have more than nine lives beginning with winning a Silver Award in the Summit Creative Awards. It is also featured in the books Letterhead & Logo Design 11, American Graphic Design & Advertising 25, Designing for the Greater Good, LogoLounge Master Library Vol. 2, Logolicious, For a Good Cause (Spain), iheartlogos season one, Logo Design Vol. 3 (Germany), Logo Nest 2 and LogoBook (Spain). The logo also appears in the textbook Perfect Match Art Primary 5, by Prisca Ko Hak Moi - a collaborative project of publisher Pearson Education South Asia and Ministry of Education Singapore. Most recently it is an illustrative element in an article I wrote for the 2011 Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market.
© Cat Adoption Team
What became of the need for a Cat Adoption Team logo design? Well, another designer (if I knew the name I would post it here) did take on the project and successfully created an identity for C.A.T. (above). It seems that the organization got their more literal and "warm and fuzzy" feline representation within the logo design. It has been used as the agency's identity for some time now.
I had an immediate critical, rather than personal or bitchy, reaction to the new logo when first seeing it - and other logo designers have emailed me with similar thoughts. With the illustrative cat's head resting on the "C" letterform, that letter seems to visually close creating a noose-like appearance - or the cat's head seems to resting in wait for the falling of a guillotine blade or the ax of a a public executioner. Perhaps not the best graphic message for a "no-kill" cat shelter.
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
It's always interesting to be contacted by a nonprofit organization with a request to design a logo pro bono. I get numerous such requests each month. These days, to give myself permission to politely decline some inquiries, I only consider donating my services if the project is related to education, nonprofit performing arts groups, children's causes, HIV/AIDS or issues in which I have a strong personal interest.
I had certainly heard of the Cat Adoption Team (C.A.T.), the Pacific Northwest’s largest nonprofit, limited admission cat shelter with its own on-site full-service veterinary hospital. My initial contact with the organization came via an email from a graphic designer doing volunteer work for C.A.T. She explained that she was a fan of my own identity design work and asked if I would possibly consider designing a new logo for C.A.T. as it approached its tenth anniversary celebration.
After expressing my interest in taking on the project, an appointment was made with the woman who was the group's Executive Director at the time. I appreciated the advertising and marketing background of this individual. She had a great understanding of branding - and the fact that the logo in use at the time (above left) may have served the agency well in its first decade, but it was time to convey a stronger, more professional and memorable public persona. With the emotional and historical investment in the existing logo, the was certainly a "never tell a potential client their logo sucks" situation. Personally, I felt the hand-drawn logo, with one black cat looking outside a window while another looked in, projected a melancholy and somewhat sinister image.
My hope was to create a simple, memorable logo, that would be appeal to both adults and children, as an identifier for the group. With the gift of an organization name acronym creating the primary word associated with the cause, I set about the design a logo turning C.A.T. into the graphic image of the animal. I got increasingly excited as I doodled (above right) and saw a recognizable cat form taking shape within the name.
My excitement was shared by the Executive Director when I explained the direction in which I was taking the project. As I fine-tuned the concept, I opted to make use of letterforms from the font Frankfurter to form the cat and then be used to spell out the organization name. The roundness of the letters created a soft, friendly, inviting design (above) for review by the client Board of Directors. The Executive Director seemed very pleased by my effort and felt it could successfully take C.A.T. into its second decade with a clever and professional graphic identity.
The Board of Directors did not agree. The Executive Director shared that the board members did not feel the design was "warm and fuzzy enough" to successfully represent the cause. She then graciously offered me an opportunity that no previous client had suggested. Given the fact I had donated my time and invested so much energy, into a design that I was convinced would best serve C.A.T and the Board of Directors disagreed; she was allowing me to remove myself from the situation if I chose to do so.
I accepted her offer to separate myself from the project. Afterwards I learned that other designers had less than successful past business relationships with the agency, too. The combination of a mostly volunteer organization, the historical and emotional attachments to the group's past designs, a voting Board of Directors sometimes becoming a "design by committee' presence, and other elements can make such projects challenging - for the designer and the client.
Soon after ending my participation in the C.A.T. project, I received a call-for-entries for a book to display 50 of the best international rejected, or "killed," design concepts. The C.A.T. logo concept design got a second life when it was accepted for publication in the book Killed Ideas: Vol 1.
The C.A.T. design went on to have more than nine lives beginning with winning a Silver Award in the Summit Creative Awards. It is also featured in the books Letterhead & Logo Design 11, American Graphic Design & Advertising 25, Designing for the Greater Good, LogoLounge Master Library Vol. 2, Logolicious, For a Good Cause (Spain), iheartlogos season one, Logo Design Vol. 3 (Germany), Logo Nest 2 and LogoBook (Spain). The logo also appears in the textbook Perfect Match Art Primary 5, by Prisca Ko Hak Moi - a collaborative project of publisher Pearson Education South Asia and Ministry of Education Singapore. Most recently it is an illustrative element in an article I wrote for the 2011 Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market.
© Cat Adoption TeamWhat became of the need for a Cat Adoption Team logo design? Well, another designer (if I knew the name I would post it here) did take on the project and successfully created an identity for C.A.T. (above). It seems that the organization got their more literal and "warm and fuzzy" feline representation within the logo design. It has been used as the agency's identity for some time now.
I had an immediate critical, rather than personal or bitchy, reaction to the new logo when first seeing it - and other logo designers have emailed me with similar thoughts. With the illustrative cat's head resting on the "C" letterform, that letter seems to visually close creating a noose-like appearance - or the cat's head seems to resting in wait for the falling of a guillotine blade or the ax of a a public executioner. Perhaps not the best graphic message for a "no-kill" cat shelter.
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
2012 Articles about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Articles, mentions of Jeff Fisher and sightings of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs online and in print:
Benefits of Pro Bono: roundup of good deeds by designers, by Bryn Mooth, The Creative Group eZine (November 2012)
Copyrights, Trademarks and Infringements … Oh My! (Part 2), by Neil Tortorella, GraphicDesign.com (October 2012)
5 Steps to Finding the Best Clients, by Ilise Benun, HOW Magazine (September 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: How to Launch Your Neighborhood Brand and Engage Your Community, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (August 2012)
10 Steps to Creating Your Freelance Brand Personality, by Martha Retallick, FreelanceSwitch (August 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: How To Create A Neighborhood Logo, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (July 2012)
Indie: Last Call!, by Steve Gordon, Jr., RockPaperInk (July 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: Goals and Guidance for Creating Your Neighborhood Brand, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (June 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: Determining What To Change and How, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (May 2012)
designer conversations // Jeff Fisher, by Brian Gray, iheartlogos (May 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: Do People Have The Wrong Perception of Your Neighborhood?, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (April 2012)
10 Things you (probably) didn’t know about Jeff Fisher, by Ilene Strizver, The Type Studio (March 2012)
5 Steps to Finding the Best Clients, by Ilise Benun, HOW Magazine (January 2012)
Benefits of Pro Bono: roundup of good deeds by designers, by Bryn Mooth, The Creative Group eZine (November 2012)
Copyrights, Trademarks and Infringements … Oh My! (Part 2), by Neil Tortorella, GraphicDesign.com (October 2012)
5 Steps to Finding the Best Clients, by Ilise Benun, HOW Magazine (September 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: How to Launch Your Neighborhood Brand and Engage Your Community, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (August 2012)
10 Steps to Creating Your Freelance Brand Personality, by Martha Retallick, FreelanceSwitch (August 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: How To Create A Neighborhood Logo, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (July 2012)
Indie: Last Call!, by Steve Gordon, Jr., RockPaperInk (July 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: Goals and Guidance for Creating Your Neighborhood Brand, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (June 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: Determining What To Change and How, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (May 2012)
designer conversations // Jeff Fisher, by Brian Gray, iheartlogos (May 2012)
Neighborhood Branding: Do People Have The Wrong Perception of Your Neighborhood?, by Chris Young, Neighborhood Notes (April 2012)
10 Things you (probably) didn’t know about Jeff Fisher, by Ilene Strizver, The Type Studio (March 2012)
5 Steps to Finding the Best Clients, by Ilise Benun, HOW Magazine (January 2012)
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Retail Logos
(Clockwise from upper left)
WhatNots
Client: WhatNots
Location: Ogden, UT USA
The identity for an antique and collectibles seller. The design is featured in The Big Book of Logos 3 (HBI, USA, 2002).
Read more about the WhatNots project on bLog-oMotives
Robinwood Center
Client: Robinwood Center
Location: West Linn, OR USA
In 1981, fresh out of college, I was hired to create the logo for the Robinwood Center retail mall. The image was created on illustration board with a rapidiograph pen.
For The Birds
Client: For The Birds
Location: Portland, OR USA
For The Birds was created for a friend who was planning on opening a bird house store. The logo is featured in the books New Logo & Trademark Design (P.I.E. Books, Japan, 1998), Bullet-Proof Logos (HBI, USA, 2000), The New Big Book of Logos (HBI, USA, 2000) and Logo & Trademark Collection (P.I.E. Books, Japan, 2004),.
Read more about the For The Birds logo on bLog-oMotives
Walk Your Talk
Client: Walk Your Talk
Location: Silver Springs, MD USA
This icon was created for Walk Your Talk, an urban sportswear company that projects a positive message with their products. The design has been featured in the books Logos from North to South America (Index Book, Spain, 2005), Logos Cafe (Page One, Singapore, 2005), Fashion Identity (Index Book, Spain, 2007) and Logos from North to South America (Paper-mini, Index Book, Spain, 2007).
See more retail logo designs by Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
All logo designs © 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. All rights reserved.
Were these clients expecting original logo designs?
Quite often these days I am receiving emails, tweets, Facebook messages and direct messages, from design professionals around the world, expressing concern that they have come across a logo design that was much more than inspired by one of my own original identity creations. I really appreciate the vigilance of the design community.
In February 2012, one copyright infringement situation was brought to my attention by way of a personal email from a designer in Denmark, a tweet with the offending page link and a direct message from another designer on Twitter. Much of the concern shared by other professionals has been the result of the design industry's recent experience with LogoGarden and the large number of copyright violations of my own work found via Google reverse image searches.
Still, my curiosity was piqued - and I did a Google reverse image search using the logo image from Austin. Initially, I found a Shutterstock graphic (above) that was being sold by the company until at least 10.12.10. I suppose it was "inspired" by my design, as there are some very obvious similarities. I then came across numerous sites around the world offering the image for sale or as a free clipart download. The search then resulted in finding many logo designs making use of the image, or variations of the graphic.
Here are some of the examples I discovered:
• Logos for a real estate investment concern; a Chinese company marketing first aid kits; a television show in Argentina, student housing accommodations in Syria, home medical services in Illinois, and a Michigan county program (with watermark lines from a clipart site still in place when enlarged).
• Symbols representing a glass and window business in Bangladesh, a real estate firm in Andora, a nonprofit organization in Scotland, a Chinese real estate representative, a website in China and an insurance company in British Columbia.
• Images including those for a "design contest" in China (with the contributor being called out on the site for not submitting an original design), a business selling Turkish products in Russia, a window manufacturer in the Ukraine, a Pakistani student organization, a health care program in Michigan and an architecture firm in the Czech Republic.
• Identities for a Canadian community grants program, a Chinese job placement firm, a real estate broker concern in Brazil, a Russian news-related website and an in-home health care business.
I also found the image being used as an illustrative element on many websites, the cover graphic for a National Household Education Survey Report book in China and in many other applications.
With the image found in use all over the world, I wonder how many of the owners of these businesses, and organization administrators, think they are represented by a truly original design - and how many designers represented their work as such.
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Three paperback design book releases highlight the identity work of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
The logo design efforts of Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives are featured in three recent paperback book releases from major industry publishers. The examples are featured in the books The Best of Letterhead and Logo Design and Letterhead and Logo Design 11 from Rockport Publishers, and The Big Book of Logos 5 from Harper Design.
The Best of Letterhead and Logo Design contains Jeff Fisher's identities for Black Dog Furniture Design and the triangle productions! theatre company shows The Food Chain and Girls' Night Out. Logos for writer Kimberly Webster, retail establishment Peggy Sundays, and the 100-year-old W.C. Winks Hardware were also selected. All of the businesses are in the Portland metropolitan area. The volume is a collection of the best designs from the previous four Letterhead and Logo Design books released by the company between the years 1999 and 2007.
Compiled by the firm Design Army, the book Letterhead and Logo Design 11 features the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives design concept for the Cat Adoption Team.
The Big Book of Logos 5, a nearly 400-page volume from authors David E. Carter and Suzanna MW Stephens, showcases designs for the Benicia Historical Museum (Benicia, CA), Four Rivers Community School (Ontario, OR), the annual golf tournament and auction events for Residence XII (Kirkland, WA), Twisted Elegance Interactive (Seattle, WA), The Parenting Alliance, and the Young Native Writer's Essay Contest sponsored by the Holland+Knight Charitable Foundation (Tampa, FL). An icon produced as part of the international Fluerons of Hope - Font Aid III effort, benefiting those impacted by the tsunami of 2004, was also selected.
Portland clients highlighted in the volume include interiors firm NoBox Design, the VanderVeer Center anti-aging clinic, the City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center program, Bella Terra Landscape Designs, the AIDS residential care facility Our House of Portland, and architect Thomas Fallon.
Logos for the community activist organization Association for Responsible Inner Eastside Neighborhood Development (AFriend), the Reed College Fall Thesis programs for 2004 and 2005, The Spring Showcase presented by the Philoptochos of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, and the now closed Balaboosta Delicatessen were also recognized.
Identities honored for North Portland individuals, organizations or events included those for community organizer Mike Verbout, St. Johns Window Project, Portsmouth Neighborhood Association, North Portland Business Association and University Park United Methodist Church's annual North Portland Pride BBQ and Festival.
Selected designs include images created for George Fox University's Tilikum Center for Retreats & Outdoor Ministries (Newberg, OR) and the Emerge Medical Spa at Bridgeport (Tigard, OR).
Gay/Lesbian community logo images to be in the book include designs for Just Out newsmagazine (Portland, OR) and the Diversity Training program of DiversityBuilder.com (Brentwood, TN). In addition, my "I DO!" image, in support of same-sex marriage, and the logo for the designer's own marriage to partner Ed Cunningham are celebrated.
An identity created for a presentation at the 2004 HOW Design Conference was also published.
Fisher, a 35 year design industry veteran, 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. Other book projects are currently in the works.
The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 160 books on identity design, self-promotion and the marketing of small businesses. He often travels – nationally and internationally – to present courses, seminars and workshops on design, branding, marketing and social networking. In addition, Fisher is a nationally-recognized speaker, making numerous presentations each year to design organizations, design schools, universities and business groups.
More information about Jeff Fisher, and his design and writing efforts, may be found on the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives blogfolio.
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
2011 Articles about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Articles, mentions of Jeff Fisher and sightings of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs online and in print:
Homes & Gardens Northwest Photo Contest 2011 [Honorable Mention], The Oregonian Homes & Gardens (December 2011)
The Designer's Guide to Blogging, by Richard Baird, The Designer's Survival Guide (November 2011)
Logo Design Awards 2011: Graphic Designer of the Year, Famous Logos (November 2011)
I ditched my big bank!, by Charles Riley, CNN Money (October 2011)
Find Logo Thieves with Google's Image Search, by Terri Stone, CreativePro.com (October 2011)
Logo Garden’s bitter harvest, by Steve Douglas, The Logo! Factor (August 2011)
Grand Theft Logo, by Judith Mayer, Northwest Indiana Creative (August 2011)
Logo Garden Sells Logos It Doesn’t Own, by Armin Vit, Brand New (August 2011)
Chuck Green's Design Likes, by Chuck Green, ideabook.com (July 2011)
Logo Design: Trains, by Paulo Gabriel, Abduzeedo.com (July 2011)
Secrets of Success with Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, by Carlos Castellanos, Drawn By Success (July 2011)
30th Anniversary Issue: In Their Words, Media.Inc Magazine (June 2011)
Is Freelancer a Negative Term?, by Ilise Benun, Creative Freelancer (June 2011)
It's Spring! (Somewhere), by Ellen Shapiro, Dig It! (February 2011)
Learning to Love (or Survive) Speaking Events, by Debbie Swanson, FreelanceSwitch (February 2011)
© 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Theatre Logos
(Clockwise from upper left)
Driving Miss Daisy
Client: triangle productions!
Location: Portland, OR USA
An identity for a 2002 production of the play by Alfred Uhry. The logo design appears in The Big Book of Logos 3 (Watson-Guptill Publications, USA, 2002) and The Big Book of Logos 3 (Paper, Harper Design, USA, 2004) .
Three Viewings
Client: triangle productions!
Location: Portland, OR USA
Logo for a stage presentation of three monologues set in the same funeral parlor over a period of a couple months. The identity is featured in the Japanese books New Logo and Trademark and New Logo and Trademark Collection.
A Christmas Twist
Client: triangle productions!
Location: Portland, OR USA
A somewhat traditional holiday logo design for a play taking an irreverent look at the seasonal festivities.
Waiting For Vern
Client: triangle productions!
Location: Portland, OR USA
A clock seemed like a natural centerpiece for this production about an actor in a two-man play waiting for the other actor to arrive. The logo is published in the Japanese books New Logo and Trademark and New Logo and Trademark Collection.
All logo designs © 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. All rights reserved.
Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives design for Portland law firm published in 'Relogo" book
The identity design work of Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is represented in the recently released book Relogo: Re-designing the Brand. The volume, from Chinese book company Sandu Publishing, features logo re-design examples from around the world.
Earlier this year, an editor from Sandu contacted the designer requesting the submission of any recent Jeff Fisher LogoMotives rebranding efforts for possible inclusion in the book. Fisher had just completed the implementation of his new identity for Portland law firm Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP (above, lower right). The new logo is an update of the logo he originally created for business in early 1997 (above, upper right).
Over the years, the graphic representation of two heavy law books, forming an S letterform, has become a very recognizable icon for the business. The original identity was honored with a Bronze in the Summit Creative Awards. It has also appeared in the 1997 PRINT Regional Design Annual and the books International Logos & Trademarks IV, New Logo & Trademark Design (Japan), The Big Book of Logos, Global Corporate Identity and The Best of Letterhead and Logo Design.
Fisher, a 33-year design industry veteran, 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. Other book projects are currently in the works. The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 160 books on identity design, self-promotion and the marketing of small businesses.
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.)
© 2011 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
Gallery of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives logo designs being ripped-off, used without authorization and providing much more than creative 'inspiration'
After numerous logo designs by Jeff Fisher LogoMotives were 'appropriated,' and offered for sale, by the site LogoGarden.com, I began to make use of Google reverse image search to research possible misuse of other identities created for business, organization and event clients. The following have been my findings:
11.11 - It's ironic that UGI Printing & Packaging in China/UK butchers the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity and uses it in a online client lesson on trademarks. Removal request/DMCA sent to site on 11.14.11. Received email that image will be removed from all three URLs found. Images removed as of 11.18.11.
02.12 - Identity for Russian company American Original certainly isn't. Instead, it's a blatant rip-off of my original 1997 logo for American Telecom.
11.11 - India firm Dreamsdesign ["Creativity in Abundance"] seems to abundantly rip-off the logo work of other designers, such as my original Stumptown Clowns identity. DMCA/removal request sent on 11.12.11. Received email on 11.13.11 from site owner saying he was unaware the logo was my design and it has been removed. Proclaimed ignorance as an excuse never works for me. How does someone not know ripped-off logo designs are in their own online portfolio?
02.12 - The Facebook page for Mediamaks, a London design firm, contained an entire page of logo designs appropriated from other designers - including my C.A.T. image. I filed a DMCA with FB and posted a message on the wall of the company's page. Within minutes I got the response that the designs were submitted by one of their team designers, would be investigated and removed. [Sorry - not a good enough excuse for me.] The entire gallery was removed almost immediately after that interaction.
I learned of the infringement via a personal email from a designer in Denmark, and a tweet with the page link from another design professional, and a direct message from a designer in South Africa via Twitter. All immediately recognized the C.A.T. logo design as my original creation.
01.12 - New year; new rip-off. Chinese websites catgoo.net, catgoo.com and idc.catgoo.net are making use of my C.A.T. design without authorization. Emailed removal request on 01.20.12. DMCA/removal request sent on 01.23.12. On 01.24.12 I received an email from the contact for the sites and was informed the matter is being investigated. As of 01.24.12 the logo is gone from all sites - although it is still the favicon for each.
12.11 - The Ciber Cat Internet cafe in Mexico blatantly nabbed my original C.A.T. logo design for its Facebook page and images in photo albums - including a holiday card. DMCA filed with Facebook on 12.07.11 and all images were initially removed by Facebook on 12.08.11. A new image incorporating the ripped-off logo was then posted on the page and again removed by Facebook on 12.09.11
12.11 - Wall mural of my 'appropriated' C.A.T. logo design at Mexico offices of Ciber Cat on firm's Google Maps page. DMCA filed with Google on 12.07.11.
12.11 - The Twitter profile of Ciber Cat - an Internet cafe in Mexico - with my original C.A.T. logo design icon as the avatar. DMCA filed with Twitter on 12.07.11. Image removed.
12.11 - The foursquare page for Ciber Cat, an Internet cafe in Mexico, even shows photo images of my ripped-off C.A.T. logo design on the office wall. DMCA needs to be filed via snail mail with foursquare.
11.11 - Chinese site C-Impress.com using C.A.T. logo, as an icon, without authorization. DMCA/Email requesting removal sent to site contact on 11.12.11
To me, it's unbelievable how blatant the copyright infringement is in this example representing a business in Scotland selling a variety of products for cats. I filed a DCMA with Facebook about the usage of the image as a FB Page profile pic and it was removed as an infringing image on 09.15.11. Received an email, in answer to my initial communication of 09.14.11, from Alicatz on 09.17.11 stating that an email had been sent to their web designer D & L Web Design for a response. On 10.11.12 D and L Web Design finally contacted me, asking for a "small period of grace (7 days)" to address the situation. The managing director of the firm explained they had been "massively misled, perhaps conned" by the graphic designer contracted to create the logo. Logo still appearing on Alicatz, and D and L, site as of 12.14.11.
The frustrated site owner sent me an unpleasant email in late December, saying he was to meet with design firm to correct the situation. As of 03.15.12 logo still appears on site of Ali-Catz and web design firm's "About" page.
09.11 - A rip-off of my original C.A.T. logo design appears in a Groupon China promotion for a soft drink
09.11 - My original C.A.T. logo design takes a trip to Ecuador as the ripped-off identity for a moped supplier. I emailed the owner of the company and requested immediate removal of the images. As of 09.19.11 the logo was replaced with a new image.
09.11 - My well-traveled original C.A.T. logo design ripped-off and used to promote online sales of a women's clothing line.
09.11 - An example of my Cat Adoption Logo being offered for sale on a Chinese website. Email requesting removal sent to site contact on 09.13.11.
09.11 - The C.A.T. logo design continues its world tour, showing up in the portfolio of a web page company in Uruguay. Emailed removal request on 09.19.11. Image removed after filing DMCA on 10.11.11. I was told the posting "was a internal mistake."
09.11 - The theatre promotion site BroadwayWorld.com seems to think it's perfectly fine to use someone's original logo design without permission. I have emailed a request for removal of the image.
09.11 - It's never wise to nab a non-profit's logo, remove the law firm sponsor's ID, abuse the image and use it as one's own. I filed a DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement with both Blogger and Facebook. The images were removed within 24 hours.
Idaho TV station KMVT 'appropriated' logo design I created for Portland Children's Relief Nursery Iron Chef event. I emailed the station asking for removal of the images from the site. I quickly got a response from the General Manager of the station, saying that my logo design for the Iron Chef event was presented to them by a Boise 'TV Idea bank.' He said the images would be removed by the company IT guy. The logo was removed from the site on 09.26.11
09.11 - My original 'Girls' Night Out' logo design was found being offered as a design for sale on the site of a Florida T-shirt printing company. I emailed requesting removal...First response: "Did not know it belonged to anyone."
Second response: "All logos that have a copyright have the little "c" on them. This does not. How do I know it is yours and you didn't see it on my website and claim it for yourself?"
Soon afterwards it was removed from the site.
11.11 - This web hosting company in Colombia stuck my original DataDork logo design upon a gear and used the result in an online ad. A DMCA was sent to the site on 11.29.11.
09.11 - Somehow my DataDork logo design traveled to Russia and is being sold on a T-shirt offered by a 'graphic designer.' Emailed removal request on 09.19.11. DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with webhost on 10.08.11. Site down as of 12.09.11.
09.11 - This site for outsourcing work to the Philippines doesn't seem to care that someone 'outsourced' my DataDork logo design for use as their avatar. I emailed the site, requesting removal, with no response. A DMCA was sent on 11.14.11 and the image was removed within an hour.
09.11 - I was somewhat stunned to see my "The Food Chain" logo being displayed on the blog of the Carrera de Publicidad Instituto Profesional de Chile [Advertising Career Professional Institute of Chile]. The '3 Big Fish' rip-off was used to identify a 2009 advertising workshop. I received a very nice email from the school's Director of Communications - who was mortified by the unauthorized use of my image. He stated that he was contacting the designer they hired for an explanation.
11.11 - The identity icon for Italian window/door manufacturer Pizzagalli Infissi appears to be MUCH more than inspired by my logo for DesignEire in Ireland.
09.11 - I emailed this web design firm in Ireland asking that my DesignEire icon be removed from their home page. I quickly received a response stating that the icon was just a "placeholder left on homepage mistakenly by their designer when the site went live." It was removed that day.
09.11 - My original Pizza Luna logo was removed very quickly from an archived restaurant logo design portfolio of design firm w/ Korean web presence. I sent them an email informing them I'd found the image in their online portfolio and it was removed within minutes.
10.11 - My Parenting Alliance logo icon somehow ended up in the online portfolio of a design student in Brasil. I posted a comment on the blog where the logo is displayed on 10.02.11. The image was removed by 10.03.11.
09.11 - It seems my street clothing Walk Your Talk logo design is attending a church school in Korea. An email requesting removal has been sent.
09.11 - Somehow my original 'Walk Your Talk" icon strolled onto the logo design portfolio page of a Hungarian design firm. I emailed the company and within a couple hours the image was removed.
01.12 - In September 2011 the copyright infringement of my Walk Your Talk design, by the Romanian non-profit Fundatia Alta, was first discovered. At that time, Facebook immediately removed the image from the offending page. Emails to the organization, and a DMCA removal request, were ignored in regards to the website. On 01.23.12 a new FB page was discovered and Facebook removed the image on 01.24.12. The website still includes the logo in question. On 02.04.12 I received an email from the organization, stating that the image they had been using had been created pro bono for them by a designer - and that it would no longer be used.
09.11 - My 'Walk Your Talk' logo design seems to be strolling through Romania, representing a nonprofit foundation. Email notification has been sent. No response to email. DMCA filed with Facebook on 10.07.11 and the profile pic was removed.
09.11 - The theatre department of a Presbyterian school in Georgia, 'appropriated' my For The Birds logo, decapitated it and used it as the identity for a show. I emailed the director of the department and in a very short time received an apology and assurance that the images would soon be removed. He also mentioned he would be having a talk with the artists for the department.
10.11 - My design for the company Pajama Parties being used as a Facebook Page profile pic. DMCA submitted to Facebook on 10.02.11. The image was removed by Facebook on 10.03.11.
11.11 - This theatrical Facebook page ripped off my Driving Miss Daisy logo design from the site of licensing firm Theatre Logos Agency - with the copyright watermark in place. DMCA filed with Facebook on 11.15.11. The image was removed by Facebook on 11.16.11.
11.11 - A Yahoo Maktoob page nabbing my Driving Miss Daisy logo design from the site of licensing firm Theatre Logos Agency with the copyright watermark in place, to use as illustration for a review of the movie. DMCA filed with Yahoo Maktoob on 11.17.11.
09.11 - Somehow my 2001 logo design for a 'Driving Miss Daisy' production hit the road and ended up in promoting a theatre presentation in Stamford, CT. The logo is licensed by Theater Logos Agency - but this company did not have permission for use. An email requesting removal was sent. I received a response saying the image was simply a "placeholder" on the site and it was removed.
12.11 - Still another theatre company, this time the Subset Players in New York, nabbed my original "Shkspr" logo design from the site of licensing agent Theater Logos Agency [ http://theatrelogos.com/ ] - with the © watermark in place - for use in promoting a production. DMCA filed with Facebook on 12.13.11. Image removed by Facebook on 12.14.11.
12.11 - Yet another theatre company, this time the Millennium Repertory Company in Tennessee, has nabbed one of my original theatrical logo designs from licensing agent Theater Logos Agency [ http://theatrelogos.com/ ] - with the © watermark in place - for use in promoting a production. DMCA filed with Facebook on 12.13.11. Facebook informed me that I was not authorized to file the DMCA because of the licensing by the TLA - even though I always retain unlimited rights to my original designs. A new DMCA was sent to the Millennium Repertory Company, Eventful.com and Facebook, with TLA being copied on the email. The images were removed from Facebook and Eventful.com on 12.14.11.
11.11 - MobiAsset.com - registered in Cairo, Egypt - used my Indies logo without authorization for their restaurant application marketing. The promo includes a faux testimonial from a restaurant that hasn't existed for years. DMCA notification sent on 11.06.11. The images were removed in about an hour and the existing "testimonial" was changed to be from "George Mitchell, Noodle Station Restaurant."
11.11 - Loco Kitchen restaurant - in Asahikawa, Japan - may have been established in 2011, but the business is using the palm tree from my 1993 Indies logo.
10.11 - Elements of Hawaii restaurant ID created in 2002 appear to be much more than 'inspired' by my 1993 Indies logo. My attorney has been informed of about this situation.
10.11 - The palm tree from my Indies Restaurant and Bar logo has become the ID for a coconut company in Mexico. A removal request email has been sent. Site down and undergoing redesign with new logo as of 11.14.11.
10.11 - Looks like a sloppy tracing tool was used to send my Indies Restaurant logo palm tree to a First Baptist Church camp in Huntsville, AL. I sent a removal request email to the pastor on 10.02.11 and the image was removed by that evening. The image reappeared on the site on 10.03.11 and a DMCA was filed with the site's webhost. The image was removed on 10.04.11.
10.11 - Facebook removed this Page pic for infringement after I found my Indies palm tree at a beach bar in Rimini, Italy.
10.11 - My Indies Restaurant logo palm tree takes a trip to Brasil and ends up as a wall decal for sale by Globo Signs. An email removal request has been sent with no response. The matter will be turned over to my attorney.
01.12 - This rip-off of my design for the City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center was found via Google on the Chinese site pooban.com, but it appears to have already been removed.
12.11 - Roberto Campos Construtora e Incorporadora in Brazil nabbed my City of Portland Neighborhood Service Center logo, minimally altered the design and features it in Shop Tour and YouTube videos.
12.11 - The logo for 2008 and 2010 National Disability Services conferences in Australia seems to be MUCH more than inspired by my Neighborhood Service Center logo for the City of Portland. NDS was notified of the issue via email on 12.05.11. I never heard back directly from anyone at NDS, but all images removed as of 12.19.11.
11.11 - A Toronto design firm was meticulous in butchering the Neighborhood Service Center logo I designed for the City of Portland - and should probably feel lucky it was a failed concept for their project. I posted a comment on their blog and sent them a DMCA on 11.29.11. The DMCA was sent at 11:00 and the image was gone by 11:15.
10.11 - A hatchet job on my City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center logo as it represents a nonprofit in Surabaya, Indonesia. A removal request email has been sent.
09.11 - LogoDesignXperts.com, self-proclaimed as "The World's Most Trusted Design Service," 'designed' a church using the major element from a logo I created for the City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center program. My initial email to them has gone unanswered. DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with web host Brinkster.com on 09.15.11. Image removed from site on 09.20.11.
09.11 - My logo design for City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center abused and used as a Facebook Page profile pic. DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with FB on 09.19.11 and image was removed.
09.11 - Use as a corporate cause identity in Italy doesn't justify rip-off of logo designed for City of Portland Neighborhood Service Center. DMCA sent to corporation. I received an email on 09.20.11 from Gottsche, the Milan advertising agency representing Aspiag Despar, requesting some historical background on my design. The image was then removed from the Despar website.
02.12 - I originally found the logo I designed for City of Portland Neighborhood Service Center on the Despar website in late 2011. After sending a DCMA to the Italian company, I received a somewhat accusatory email from the Milan advertising agency for Despar, questioning the originality of my own design. I was able to provide documentation and the logo was soon removed from their site. In revisiting the site, I noticed that they have since even edited the photo on the webpage to eliminate the logo on the over-sized check [lower right corner].
01.12 - Somehow the New Life Community Church, in Concord MA, feels it's OK to remove the tagline from my original 'What's for Dinner?' logo and use the design for an illustration in this post about a Bible passage. A DMCA removal request was sent on 01.23.12. The image was removed within 45 minutes. The response I received was "A ministry member found the image on Google and was not aware of the copyright infringement."
01.12 - Yet another blog writer who seems to think there's nothing wrong about using a logo, without authorization, as an illustration for an article in no way related to the identity. DMCA filed with Blogger on 01.21.12. As of 01.24.12 the image was removed by the blogger, replaced with photos and message from the writer apologizing and stating "no more Googled images for me!"
12.11 - A Twitter user removed the tagline from my original What's For Dinner? logo and used it as a profile avatar. A DMCA was sent to Twitter on 12.04.11. The image was removed by Twitter on 12.09.11.
10.11 - Flea Market Style magazine used my What's for Dinner? logo design as an illustration on their blog. A request for removal was emailed on 10.07.11. Image was removed 10.07.11.
09.11 - I find some irony in the unauthorized use of my What's For Dinner logo image on The Hacker's Paradise site - but not as a reference to golf. I attempted to post a message on the site, asking for removal of the image, but it was not posted. I emailed the site administrator, but have not had a response. A DMCA was filed with the site's host.
09.11 - The What's For Dinner? logo was found being used as the profile pic on 13 Facebook Pages. The copyright infringements were reported to Facebook and the images were taken down within a day.
09.11 - My What's For Dinner? logo design was used as illustrations on 10 blogs without permission. Most were removed by blog writers after receiving removal requests. Blogger had to remove three after DMCAs were filed.
10.11 - A SearchEngines.ru member conducts a "contest" for a theatre logo and gets a rip of my Family Values logo design as an entry.
11.11 - This Canadian 'designer' nabbed my Chameleon design concept and then couldn't be bothered to change the typeface for her Facebook profile image. She also used the graphic on her AgentSolo page. Not smart. DMCAs sent to both on 11.22.11. Image removed from Facebook on 11.23.11. Image removed from AgentSolo.com on 11.24.11.
09.11 - My original design for friend and hairstylist Micki King was found on a Zazzle vendors page, adorning bags she has for sale. Initial email to Zazzle was ignored. Then I tweeted this example and had a response in 6 minutes. Zazzle had the product removed in about an hour.
09.11 - It's totally bizarre that an ad agency in China is using my original Jeff Maul logo design to promote their services on multiple websites.
08.12
- Dog City, a dog school in Germany, is using the primary element from
my original 1997 design for Sunriver Prep as their logo graphic. My logo
for the school, located outside of Bend, OR, is made up of a river
element forming the letterform "S," a representation of the wolf mascot
of the facility, and a graphic treatment of the nearby peaks Broken Top,
Mt. Bachelor and the Three Sisters Mountains. (My type treatment was based on Papyrus at the
request of the client - I removed some of the "bumps" in the
letterforms.) An email was sent to the company on 08.15.12 and has been ignored by the company.
09.11 - UK's ‘Explore the Wild’ bought graphic used in website banner and background 'in good faith' from LogoGarden.com - it's my Sunriver Preparatory School logo design. The site owner was incredibly nice in this situation. When the images were removed he sent me an email saying:
"It sounds like quite a problem with artwork being copied, and I will be much more vigilant in future when purchasing such things – some of the offers looked too good to be true, and I can see why now."
My original Balloons on Broadway logo was 'appropriated' by a balloon company in Spain. Only the text was changed within the identity. Google Image Search found the altered image as a profile photo on Facebook. I filed a DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with FB on 09.11.11 and the logo was removed the next day.
My 'What The Butler Saw' logo was originally created for the triangle productions! theatre company in Portland. Like many of my design for plays it was then licensed with the Theatre Logos Agency [http://www.theatrelogos.com/]. This German site obviously nabbed the logo from the TLA site - the © watermark and copyright info are still in place!
10.11 - A SearchEngines.ru member conducts a "contest" for a theatre logo and gets a rip of my "What The Butler Saw" logo design as an entry.
03.12 - The LogoGarden situation of 2011 is revisited a bit by way of the Whoosh! Interactive website. The old homepage of LogoGarden is displayed in the Whoosh! website portfolio - with my ripped-off TraveLady logo design front and center. It was one of nearly 20 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs infringed upon by LogoGarden. Whoosh! was acquired by LogoGarden in 2011. A DMCA removal request was sent to Whoosh! on 03.20.12. Initially, I received a really nasty email from the company - and then the image was removed as of that afternoon.
09.11 - My original TraveLady logo design was recently used, abused and offered for sale by LogoGarden.com. Now it seems she's taken an unauthorized trip overseas. A removal request has been emailed to this site.
I also have a few previous examples in my archives:
02.11 - There are numerous companies around the world, providing a number of different services, with variations on the name 'LogoMotives." Although different in design, the horizontal image was more than inspired by my own identity - which I've used since 1997. I emailed the business in question and the logo was quickly removed, only to be replaced by the second image. At that point I consulted a lawyer and emailed the business in question that I was doing so. That second image soon disappeared as well.
05.08 - After several other designers found their original work being submitted to a logo 'contest' site by other so-called 'designers,' I took a look. The elogocontest.com site was were I found this image; poorly executed, but certainly more than inspired by my own logo design for the Seacoast AIDS Walk. I reported it to the site and it was immediately removed.
Additional online searches at the time, found two examples of my Seacoast logo design being displayed in online designer portfolios in China. Emails to the ISPs of the sites resulted in one image being removed and one portfolio being taken down.
05.08 - A design industry peer sent me this image in May 2008, noticing a strong resemblance to my Jeff Maul logo. A rip-off? Probably a bit too strong. Inspired by my logo design? Perhaps.
01.08 - One of the odder logo 'appropriation' stories in my career:
Friend and client, Ron Pitt informed me that his dear friend Ashley, whom he had known since birth as he was a longtime friend of her mother, had assisted him over the years with events and was an "expert balloon inflater." This past year, Ashley and her husband, Travis, had the opportunity to travel through East Africa with her parents. Being community-minded, they spent much of their time in small villages getting to know people, creating relationships and making new friends along the way.
The photos Ashley shared showcased one of the families they befriended. Ashley was the first to notice that one of the boys was wearing shorts with my logo design for Ron's business, Balloons on Broadway.
Unfortunately no one is able to adequately explain how the Balloons on Broadway logo ended up embroidered on the leg of a boy's shorts on a continent far away. As Ron noted, "We've never embroidered shorts, nor done much marketing in East Africa (*wink*). In fact we only had one screen run of 12 t-shirts with that logo and they all ended up on the back of our staff. That's it."
"The only way I can rationalize it is that the logo appeared in a publication of some sort in the UK (perhaps one of those listed above) and since Kenya's part of the Commonwealth, the publication ended up there and was spotted by someone who thought it would be a good knock-off," he added. "The boy's mother said she bought the shorts at the local market and couldn't quite understand what all the fuss was about - the kid just needed some shorts."
The search for other examples continues...
Related articles
• UCDA "Designer" features "Logo Rip-off" article
• Google's reverse image search: Indies Restaurant
• Google's reverse image search: A designer's best friend in finding and fighting unauthorized usage
• LogoGarden.com harvests pros' logos - including Jeff Fisher designs - and sells images on site
© 2012 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
I learned of the infringement via a personal email from a designer in Denmark, and a tweet with the page link from another design professional, and a direct message from a designer in South Africa via Twitter. All immediately recognized the C.A.T. logo design as my original creation.
The frustrated site owner sent me an unpleasant email in late December, saying he was to meet with design firm to correct the situation. As of 03.15.12 logo still appears on site of Ali-Catz and web design firm's "About" page.
Second response: "All logos that have a copyright have the little "c" on them. This does not. How do I know it is yours and you didn't see it on my website and claim it for yourself?"
Soon afterwards it was removed from the site.
"It sounds like quite a problem with artwork being copied, and I will be much more vigilant in future when purchasing such things – some of the offers looked too good to be true, and I can see why now."
I also have a few previous examples in my archives:
02.11 - There are numerous companies around the world, providing a number of different services, with variations on the name 'LogoMotives." Although different in design, the horizontal image was more than inspired by my own identity - which I've used since 1997. I emailed the business in question and the logo was quickly removed, only to be replaced by the second image. At that point I consulted a lawyer and emailed the business in question that I was doing so. That second image soon disappeared as well.
Additional online searches at the time, found two examples of my Seacoast logo design being displayed in online designer portfolios in China. Emails to the ISPs of the sites resulted in one image being removed and one portfolio being taken down.
Friend and client, Ron Pitt informed me that his dear friend Ashley, whom he had known since birth as he was a longtime friend of her mother, had assisted him over the years with events and was an "expert balloon inflater." This past year, Ashley and her husband, Travis, had the opportunity to travel through East Africa with her parents. Being community-minded, they spent much of their time in small villages getting to know people, creating relationships and making new friends along the way.
The photos Ashley shared showcased one of the families they befriended. Ashley was the first to notice that one of the boys was wearing shorts with my logo design for Ron's business, Balloons on Broadway.
Unfortunately no one is able to adequately explain how the Balloons on Broadway logo ended up embroidered on the leg of a boy's shorts on a continent far away. As Ron noted, "We've never embroidered shorts, nor done much marketing in East Africa (*wink*). In fact we only had one screen run of 12 t-shirts with that logo and they all ended up on the back of our staff. That's it."
"The only way I can rationalize it is that the logo appeared in a publication of some sort in the UK (perhaps one of those listed above) and since Kenya's part of the Commonwealth, the publication ended up there and was spotted by someone who thought it would be a good knock-off," he added. "The boy's mother said she bought the shorts at the local market and couldn't quite understand what all the fuss was about - the kid just needed some shorts."
The search for other examples continues...
Related articles
• UCDA "Designer" features "Logo Rip-off" article
• Google's reverse image search: Indies Restaurant
• Google's reverse image search: A designer's best friend in finding and fighting unauthorized usage
• LogoGarden.com harvests pros' logos - including Jeff Fisher designs - and sells images on site
© 2012 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
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