Clowning around: 2011 Character Clown Corps pics

The official 2011 Portland Rose Festival Character Clown Corps season of clowning around has come to an end. Toot Caboose, in his third year as a member of the Clown Corps, and his clown pals had a great time participating in National Train Day, the Fred Meyer Junior Rose Parade, the Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade and other activities. Many of their antics are documented in this Flickr gallery of clowning images.

If you have any desire to be a member of the 2012 Portland Rose Festival Character Clown Corps be watching for application and audition information early next year on the organization's web page.

© 2011 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives design included in LogoLounge 'Shapes and Symbols' book

The logo design work of Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is represented in the recently released book LogoLounge Master Library, Volume 3: 3,000 Shapes and Symbols Logos. The volume, written by Catharine Fishel and Bill Gardner, and produced by the web presence LogoLounge and Rockport Publishers, features logo design examples from around the world.

The logo for the Oregon winery Nicolas Rolin is displayed in the book. The icon within the design is based upon the Hospices de Beaune (or Hôtel-Dieu) toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in eye-catching geometric patterns. Located in Beaune, France; the hospital was built for the poor and needy in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin and his wife, Guigone de Salins. At the time Rolin was Chancellor to the Duke of Burgundy.

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. Several 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 140 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

Clowning around: Toots Caboose and pals do love a parade; two within one week is fan-frickin'-tastic!

Toots Caboose, the alter ego of designer and author Jeff Fisher - the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives is clowning around for his third season as a member of the Amtrak Cascades Character Clown Corps for the Portland Rose Festival. The annual activities got off to an early start in May, with National Train Day at Union Station.

Toots on a Union Pacific caboose, next to SP 4449 - “World's Most Famous Steam Locomotive” - at Portland's Union Station during National Train Day. [Photo by clown pal Jumbo/Brian Ross].

A railroad engineer clown is always a big hit at National Train Day. Over five hours of clowning - and literally having hundreds of photos taken with children and train afficianados - is a bit exhausting, but it's an incredibly gratifying and enjoyable event.

This week, with the Portland Rose Festival in full swing, it's time for two historic parades and some serious fun:

Toots and the caboose of UP 956, Union Pacific's famous miniature train, at the 2010 Portland Rose Festival Junior Parade.

• Fred Meyer Junior Rose Parade: The oldest and largest children's parade in the United States will be held on Wednesday, June 8th.

Pippa and Toots Caboose in the 2009 Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade [Photo by Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian].

• Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade: The Grand Floral Parade is Saturday, June 11th. In 2010, in addition to being seen by a national television audience, nearly 500,000 people lined the streets of downtown Portland to view the event. Toots is looking forward to seeing the Union Pacific Miniature Train in the 2011 parade.

For more photos of the 2010 Amtrak Cascades Character Clown Corp activities, check out this gallery of images

© 2011 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity designs included in Iconify.it 'Firsts & Favorites Logo Showcase No. 1'

Logo designs by Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, have been included in the Iconify.it blog entry "Firsts & Favorites Logo Showcase No. 1." Designer Scott Lewis invited a number of industry peers to submit their first professional logo design and the personal favorite creation from their own identity portfolio.

Fisher's first professional logo effort was executed, as a student in 1978, for the Chinese Student Association at the University of Oregon (above left). The dragon-inspired image was created using the design tools of the time; India ink, ruling pens, Speedball pens, and art brushes on illustration board.

Produced 31 years later, directly at a computer, the designer's current favorite identity is that for the Stumptown Clowns troupe (above right). As his alter-ego Toots Caboose, Jeff Fisher is a member of the entertainment organization.

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

© 2011 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Calls for entries: Upcoming graphic design competition and book submission deadlines

All of the following competition or book submission deadlines present great opportunities to showcase your design efforts, market your work on an international scale through the published books, and "toot!" your own horn to clients, peers and the media:

Bright Ideas in Logo Design 1
(Bright Books - USA)
Deadline: Enter Now!
No entry fees charged

HOW Logo Design Awards
(HOW Magazine - USA)
Deadline Extended: 29 June 2011 (late fees waived)
Entry fees charged

HOW Poster Design Awards
(HOW Magazine - USA)
Deadline Extended: 29 June 2011 (late fees waived)
Entry fees charged

London International Awards
(LIA - UK)
Deadline Extended: 29 June 2011
Entry fees charged

The Designer's Web Handbook
(HOW Books - USA)
Deadline: 30 June 2011
No entry fees charged

American Graphic Design Awards
(Graphic Design USA - USA)
Deadline: 30 June 2011
Entry fees charged

American Printing Awards
(Graphic Design USA - USA)
Deadline: 30 June 2011
Entry fees charged

International Wine Label Design
(To benefit Volunteer Center of Napa Valley - USA)
Preliminary Deadline: 30 June 2011
Entry fees charged

Best Practices for Graphic Designers: Grids & Layouts
(Rockport Publishers - USA)
Deadline Extended: 1 July 2011
No entry fees charged

HOW Interactive Design Awards
(HOW Magazine - USA)
Deadline: 1 July 2011
Late Deadline: 15 July 2011 (late fees apply)
Entry fees charged

LogoLounge Book 7
(LogoLounge - USA)
Deadline: 1 July 2011
Paid site membership required

New Talent Annual 2012
(Graphis - USA)
Deadline: 5 July 2011
Entry fees charged

Graphis Photography Annual 2012
(Graphis - USA)
Late Deadline: 5 July 2011 (late fees apply)
Entry fees charged

UCDA Design Competition
(University & College Designer Association - USA)
Final Deadline: 8 July 2011
Entry fees charged

cause/effect
(AIGA San Francisco - USA)
Deadline Extended: 8 July 2011
Entry fees charged

W3 Awards
(IAVA - USA)
Final Deadline: 8 July 2011
Entry fees charged

100 Best Annual Reports
(Graphis - USA)
Deadline: 11 July 2011
Entry fees charged

AIGA (Re)designAwards
(AIGA - USA)
Deadline: 22 July 2011
Entry fees charged

Annual Design Awards 2011
(ANNDAS - UK)
Deadline: 22 July 2011
Entry fees charged

Davey Awards
(IAVA - USA)
Final Deadline: 29 July 2011
Entry fees charged

2011 Labels of the World
(Neenah Paper - USA)
Deadline: 30 July 2011
No entry fees charged

iheartlogos
(iheartlogos.com - USA)
Season Two Deadline: 11 August 2011
Entry fees charged

HOW International Design Awards
(HOW Magazine - USA)
Deadline: 15 August 2011
Late Deadline: 1 September 2011 (late fees apply)
Entry fees charged

Creativity 41 Print & Packaging Competition
(Creativity International - USA)
Deadline: 26 August 2011
Entry fees charged

Bright Ideas in Layouts
(Bright Books - USA)
Deadline: 26 August 2011
No entry fees charged

Hand Drawn
(Print - USA)
Deadline: 1 September 2011
Entry fees charged

Communication Arts Typography Competition
(Communication Arts - USA)
Deadline: 9 September 2011
Entry fees charged

Creativity + Commerce
(Print - USA)
Deadline: 15 September 2011
Entry fees charged

Book of the Year, Volume 4
(Design & Design - France)
Deadline: 30 September 2011
No entry fees charged

Communication Arts Interactive Competition
(Communication Arts - USA)
Deadline: 7 October 2011
Entry fees charged

Bright Ideas in Brochures
(Bright Books - USA)
Deadline: 28 October 2011
No entry fees charged

LogoNest 02
(LogoNest - Australia)
Deadline: 31 December 2011
Paid site membership required

Bright Ideas in Use of Color
(Bright Books - USA)
Deadline: 6 January 2012
No entry fees charged

Bright Ideas in Logo Design 2
(Bright Books - USA)
Deadline: 2 March 2012
No entry fees charged

Bright Ideas in Business Cards
(Bright Books - USA)
Deadline: 4 May 2012
No entry fees charged

PAPERWORKS Letterhead Contest
(Neenah Paper - USA)
Deadline: Ongoing - judged quarterly
No entry fees charged

PAPERWORKS Text And Cover Contest
(Neenah Paper - USA)
Deadline: Ongoing - judged quarterly
No entry fees charged

(To make sure you are reading the latest bLog-oMotives design competition update click here.)

You may want to read my article about participating in design industry competitions and calls for book submissions: A collection of design competition - and book submission request - tips, tricks and observations.

A design competition calendar is also available at Icograda. Lürzer's ARCHIVE has an impressive online list of competitions sponsored by international magazines and organizations. Dexinger posts competitions of great value to industry professionals - however designers need to be aware that some of the listings are for "spec" work as a requirement for submission. Requests for new, or speculative, work as a condition of entering a "contest" are much different than legitimate design competition "calls for entries," in which previously created works are judged for possible awards, exhibition, or publication in an annual or other book.

My own work appears in over 140 graphic design books. Many of those inclusions are the result of design competitions, or requests for submissions, like those listed above.

© 2011 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives