Toot! Toot!*: Designer|clown Jeff Fisher included in book 'RIPE: Rich, Rewarding Work After 50'

Designer Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives and Portland Rose Festival Character Clown Corps member Toots Caboose, is mentioned as a "ripe pioneer" in the recently released book RIPE: Rich, Rewarding Work After 50. The volume, by author, speaker and columnist Julia Moulden, is currently available at most online bookstores.

RIPE delivers the news that something wonderful – and unprecedented – is just beginning for those who have reached 50 years of age. Baby boomers like you are approaching the next phase of their careers with the confidence of mature professionals and the zest of beginners. They are becoming what Julia Moulden calls, “ripe”. Meet the ripe pioneers who told her, “This is the most deeply satisfying work I’ve ever done.”

RIPE introduces a twelve-week course that will help readers discover new passion, purpose, and possibility at midlife - and make a successful transition to the next, best phase of your career.

Jeff Fisher first became aware of Moulden, a columnist for The Huffington Post website, through social media posts regarding her blog entry, Ripe, Rich, Rewarding Work After 50. An email exchange led to Fisher being interviewed by Moulden about his design and writing career, playing outside of work, his experience of dealing with chronic vertigo, and - following improved health - becoming Portland Rose Festival clown Toots Caboose (above).

In the book, Moulden writes: 'Jeff Fisher, a graphic designer who became a character clown in his 50s, repeated to me what his grandfather said to him "Please tell me you'll never say, 'I should have.'" words to live by.'

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

'The Art of Self Promotion' book - a valuable marketing tool for any creative professional

Over the past 15 years, my work, writings and comments have appeared in nearly 140 books. I try to keep track of such things; making others aware of great design and business resources in the process. However, once in while I will come across published surprises in bookstores, online or even through the use of the Google book search tool.

It was through a Google book search, a couple of months ago, that I first became aware of my inclusion in the book The Art of Self Promotion, written by marketing expert Ilise Benun. I had not previously seen or heard about the book at all.

Benun and I do have a history of using each other as a source in books and articles, and speaking at the same conferences. She used me as a resource in her books Self Promotion Online and The Designer's Guide To Marketing And Pricing (written with mutual friend Peleg Top), in the HOW Magazine article eSelf Promotion, and in her Art of Self Promotion newsletter. Benun provided valuable information for my first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success (now available as a PDF on CD).

The two of us have been able to keep in touch over the years through multiple invitations to speak at the annual HOW Design Conference. I was also honored to make a presentation at the first Creative Freelancer Conference, an event coordinated by HOW Magazine and Benun's own firm, Marketing Mentor.

It was a real pleasure to see Benun at the recent How Design Conference in Denver. Seeing each other also gave me an opportunity to ask about the book The Art of Self Promotion.

It turns out that the book is a compilation of past articles from The Art of Self Promotion newsletter, published by Benun's own Marketing Mentor Press. The Art of Self Promotion is packed with valuable self promotion suggestions and examples. My own inclusion is in regards to the use of my "Toot! Toot!" press releases in marketing my design and writing efforts.

Benun was kind enough to give me a copy of the book when we last met. I would strongly recommend that all creative professionals get themselves a copy of The Art of Self Promotion - a great tutorial in marketing and promotion tactics.

© 2010 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Fuel Your Branding includes "Identity Crisis!" on its list of "10 Readable Branding Books"

Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands (HOW Books, 2007), by Jeff Fisher - the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has been listed as one of "10 Readable Branding Books" by the industry site Fuel Your Branding. Editor and creative strategist Beth LaPierre included Fisher's book along with volumes by branding experts Alina Wheeler, Marty Neumeier, Scott Bedbury, Allen Adamson, Seth Godin and others.

Fuel Your Branding offers resources, articles, interaction and advice to businesses seeking a successful brand to differentiate them in the marketplace and make them memorable to consumers. It is also a valuable tool for any professional in the business of branding.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

St. Croix vacation poolside reading list

Several longtime bLog-oMotives readers have pointed out that I have become a lax in posting my vacation reading lists as a resource for book suggestions. I apologize for my tardiness in providing such a list. Upon returning from over two weeks away, catching up seems to take a priority to the many things I'd like to be accomplishing.

Here's what I read during my March 2009 vacation to St. Croix:

• Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France, by Georgeanne Brennan • In preparation for a 2010 trip to Paris, and the south of France, I've been reading travel and food writing of the country. This book is a great record of an American family living on a farm in Provence and making the most of local relationships, customs, food and experiences. It also provides some great recipes.

• A Place of my Own: The Architecture of Daydreams, by Michael Pollard • I've always enjoyed Pollard's food writing. This tale, of his need to build a space of his own in which to work and relax, is very different than his previous books - but no less enjoyable. I wonder when I will build that studio above our garage?

• Venetian Stories, by Jane Turner Rylands • Venice is one of my favorite places to visit. I could return again and again. This book, written by the spouse of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection director (one of my favorite Venice museums)is like taking a walk along the canals and eavesdropping on all along the way. Each short story is somehow linked to others in the book. The sequel, Across the Bridge of Sighs: More Venetian Stories, is already on my nightstand.

• The Whole Truth, by David Baldacci • Our friend Bonnie, the owner of the house in which we stay in St. Croix, is an avid reader. When we arrive each year, there is a stack of books she's left behind. This Baldacci book was among that selection. It was an enjoyable, fast read - but it did come across a bit too much as the possible treatment for a movie.

• Death of an Englishman, by Magdalen Nabb (A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation) • Death of a Dutchman, by Magdalen Nabb (A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation) • Prior to leaving for vacation I visited one of my favorite local bookstores, Murder by the Book. In visiting with the proprietor, I mentioned that I enjoyed mysteries set in places where I have, or may, travel. She asked if I'd ever read any Magdalen Nabb books - and then told me they had none of them in stock. However, I was able to find used copies of the first two at Powells. The books, set in Florence, Italy (another favorite vacation spot), are detailed, well-crafted tales eventually solved by Marshal Guarnaccia. I'm currently reading the third in the series, Death in Springtime.

• The Customer is Always Wrong: The Retail Chronicles, by Jeff Martin • Not your usual business book. This volume is a collection of hilarious stories of situations that the authors have experienced while working in primarily retail situations. Anybody who has ever had a somewhat miserable retail job will appreciate the book.

• End Games, by Michael Dibdin (An Aurelio Zen Mystery) • I was saddened by the 2007 death of Michael Dibdin; due to the loss of a great Pacific Northwest writer and the end of the Aurelio Zen mystery series. Over the last 15 years I've read the intriguing 11 books, which give the reader an insider's look into the Italian way of life - and death. End Games did not disappoint; other than being the last from Dibdin.

• The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food, by Judith Jones • This was my favorite vacation read of all. In fact, I've been recommending it to friends and buying it as a gift for others. Cookbook editor (and writer) Judith Jones has led a fascinating life. For over 50 years, as an editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf, she has introduced readers to many culinary stars, including Julia Child, Marcella Hazan and Edna Lewis. Personally, I wish she'd spent much more time writing. The Tenth Muse tells all the juicy stories and thankfully provides the recipes to many of the dishes described throughout the book. Ed enjoyed the book so much it was filled with bookmarks when we got home. Four of the marked pages listed cookbooks that Jones edited for a variety of interesting cooks and chefs. I was able to track down used copies of three of the books for his birthday. One of them was released the year he was born.

• The Immaculate Deception, by Iain Pears (Jonathan Argyll Art History Mystery Series) • This book is the last in a series I've been reading over the past few months. Iain Pears has combined Italian locales, mystery, art, art history and great characters to create one of the best collection of books I've read in some time.

Vacations also give me an opportunity to catch up on the stacks of magazines constantly growing around my home. When you receive over 30 subscriptions a month it's difficult to keep up. On this trip I was able to take along copies of the following: Oregon Home, Out, Portfolio, Vanity Fair (each year I take the thick Hollywood issue on vacation), Entrepreneur (which included an article citing me as a design and branding expert), Fortune Small Business, Seattle Business, Fast Company, This Old House, Garden Design, and HOW.

Our annual trips to St. Croix are about relaxing. The island doesn't offer a great deal in the way of nightlife; especially when staying in a beachfront home outside of Christiansted. We usually take some movies, or DVD boxed sets of seasons of a television show, for nightly viewing. On this trip we watched two seasons - 44 episodes - of the highly entertaining Boston Legal.

The end of one vacation often means we start planning for the next. I suppose I should begin putting together the library for our annual summer gold-mining trip in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Yippee! I got my "Monsters" button...

One of the the fun things about annual HOW Design Conference is getting to meet, and hang out with, other HOW Books authors at the speaker reception and the yearly HOW authors dinner. This past May, my editor Amy Schell and book designer Grace Ring hosted the author event at Finale in Boston - where a diner's main course is dessert.

(Warning: This is a total "name dropper" alert. If you don't want names dropped on you please skip the next two paragraphs.)

My end of the table was occupied by my friends Ilise Benun and Peleg Top, the authors of The Designer's Guide To Marketing And Pricing: How To Win Clients And What To Charge Them. Across from me sat Chris Sickels of The Look Book; Stefan G. Bucher, the creator of 100 Days Of Monsters; and Crumble, Crackle, Burn: 60 Stunning Textures for Design & Illustration author Von Glitschka.

A ways down the table were Jim Krause of Index book fame; Decoding Design: Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication author Maggie Macnab; Debbie Millman who wrote the recently released The Essential Principles Of Graphic Design, and PRINT Magazine Editor-in-Chief Joyce Rutter Kaye. Of course, I was there as the author of Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands. It was an incredible evening.

("Name dropper" alert is over.)

I mention the HOW Books author dinner because, at the event, I had a great time meeting and visiting with Stefan G. Bucher. A few weeks later when I saw his profile on Facebook I certainly felt it was appropriate to connect with him as a "friend." He recently added to his Facebook profile with a The Daily Monsters Page. Earlier this week I had a Facebook message from Stefan informing me that the first 20 fans of the new Page would received a "Monsters" button. Well, I certainly wanted a button of my own.

I think the button (shown above in a photo I blatantly swiped from Stefan's The Daily Monster blog.) is a great piece of self-promotion. The unusual amount of text on the button reads:

Hi! How are you? I understand there are limits to the amount of copy you can put on one of these buttons and still expect it to be effective in a setting such as Comic-Con 2008, so I'll be brief: I have a website called dailymonster.com and a book that goes with it: 100 DAYS OF MONSTERS. If you have a minute, I hope you'll check it out at booth #1415. And if you were to tell a friend about the Monsters...well, that would be awfully nice of you! Thanks you for your time! Have a great day!

Brilliant! Wow, I've really rambled on and on here, haven't I? Well, the entire purpose of this bLog-oMotives entry was to say:

Yippee! I got my "Monsters" button!

Thanks Stefan!

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

There really is gold in them thar hills...

This past week was our annual camping and gold mining trip to the beautiful Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon. Our friend Mike's family has maintained claims on Eagle Creek for decades, and my partner Ed and I have been spending a week or two camping and mining with him for about 15 years. There's always a gaggle of great friends, lots of incredible wine, fantastic gourmet food and beautiful scenery. I've posted photos from this year on my flickr page.

With no cell phone or Blackberry coverage, each year presents a real opportunity for all participants to "get away." I suppose it's appropriate that Ed and I travel in the Get-Away Van. With the successful independent and corporate businesspeople in our group of campers, the vacation usually becomes an informal business incubator and therapy session as well.

The greatest pleasure of the trip for me is taking along the stack of magazines and books that have been gathering dust on my nightstand. This year I got to read four books during the week.

Having spent time around Florence, Italy on several previous vacations, the book The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston, was an interesting - and perhaps a bit gruesome - account of a serial killer case that baffled authorities in the region for many years. It presents a fascinating tale of how the Italian legal and investigative work and don't work. Continuing on the Italian theme, I read The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria by Marlena de Blasi. Her graphic descriptions of Umbria took me back to 1999 when Ed, myself and eight friends rented a villa outside of Perugia for a month. The book was a great follow-up to her previous volumes 1000 Days in Venice and 1000 Days in Tuscany.

Several travel books always seem to be a major part of any of my traveling "libraries" and this trip was no exception. I found myself laughing out loud throughout J. Maarten Troost's latest book Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid. I had similar reactions to his previous efforts The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific and Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu - reads on earlier trips.

Popular mysteries or thrillers are usually part of the vacation mix as well. This time it was Executive Privilege, by Portland author Phillip Margolin. The book was enjoyable, face-paced (big print) and somewhat predictable - a really good vacation read. Margolin, an attorney, is someone I've met several times. We kept getting introduced to each other when he shared office space with my former business lawyer.

I did get a little off track there with my book mentions. Getting back to the gold mining - we did find gold. We always do on these adventures. However, we're not getting rich. I think I'll be keeping my day job.

© Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Barnes & Noble Studio interviews book coverdesigner John Gall in new online series

In the the premier of the new Barnes & Noble Studio series Cover Story, John Gall, Art Director for Vintage/Random House, talks about the design process and shares his five secrets for creating a successful book cover. The series will explore the world of book cover designers through stories and anecdotes.

Book cover design has always fascinated me and this is a great five-minute look at the process through the examples and tips presented by Gall.

Toot! Toot!*: "Really Good Logos, Explained"features Jeff Fisher LogoMotives efforts

Designer Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has been recognized with the publication of two of his identity designs in the new Rockport Publishers book Really Good Logos Explained: Top Design Professionals Critique 500 Logos and Explain What Makes Them Work. Fisher's logo creations for Good Pig, Bad Pig and Shopping and F***ing are among the designs featured and critiqued in the volume by creative industry experts Margo Chase, Rian Hughes, Ron Miriello, and Alex White.

Owner Brett Bigham executed the original pig illustrations that were incorporated into the identity for Good Pig, Bad Pig, his Portland-based greeting card company. The logo previously appeared in the Spanish book Logos from North to South America.

Shopping and F***ing, a play by Mark Ravenhill, was represented by a graphic of a shopping cart, complete with the usual wobbly front wheel. The show was produced and presented in Portland by the triangle productions! theatre company, for which Fisher has designed over 100 logos in the past 18 years. The logo also appears in the The Big Book of Logos 4.

In Really Good Logos, Explained, the panel of internationally acclaimed designers critique and appraise over 500 examples of truly exceptional logos, and explain what makes them work. The insight provided by these four outstanding editors is - like the logos themselves - succinct, specific and effective. Their comments provide a rare and insightful glimpse into the inner workings of excellent design, and offer a new understanding that is immeasurably useful to anyone working within the creative fields today.

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

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

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

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designreceives 2008 Summit Creative Award

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

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

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

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

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

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

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Cowboy Jeffie gets a Woody

Well, I already have several Woodys - from the movie Toy Story that is. I have my favorite talking Woody in my home studio. A small bendable Woody sits atop the armoire in my living room, waving to all visitors who notice (you can see him in the lower right hand corner of the photo in this bLog-oMotives post). There's an assortment of Toy Story toys around my house. In fact, there's quite a bit of cowboy memorabilia in my home - due to a life-long fascination with all things "cowboy." Yep, that's me as a young cowpoke in the photo on the right.

My most recent Woody acquisition arrived in my PO Box in the form of a copy of the two-disk 10th anniversary edition of Toy Story that I won from one of my favorite book publishing companies, Chronicle Books. Oh, how I'd love to do a book with them someday. I've always enjoyed their design books and their San Francisco store is my idea of heaven. So, it's only natural that I'm an avid reader of the Chronicle Books blog and subscriber to the email newsletter.

Late last year, through the blog and newsletter they introduced the book To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios, by Karen Paik. As part of the promotion a contest was held via the Chronicle Books newsletter. Readers were asked to submit their answer to the question: "Which Pixar character do you identify with most and why?" My response was:

I've always identified with Woody from "Toy Story." As a tall skinny kid I always wanted to be a cowboy - and seeing Woody in the movie took me right back to my childhood. I even had a little kid's cowboy birthday party thrown for me when I turned 40. My friends, who call me Cowboy Jeff, all brought me cowboy toys as gifts - including a talking Woody and many other "Toy Story" gifts for my collection of cowboy memorabilia.

Not long ago I received an email from Lisa Anne Logan, of Chronicle Books, letting me know that I was one of the contest winners and my prize would soon be on its way. The latest release of Toy Story could not have been more appropriate for me.

You know, I think this is the third time I've won a Chronicle Books prize. Last time it was an autographed copy of talk-show host Craig Fegurson's debut novel Between the Bridge and the River.

You might want to visit the Chronicle Books website, sign up for their newsletter to learn about special sales and contests, and check out their blog.

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

George Lois - an advertising legend

I recently came across the web presence of advertising industry legend George Lois. As a student, back in the mid-1970's in the Journalism School at the University of Oregon, we were studying the design and art direction work of George Lois - especially his work in publication design creating memorable Esquire Magazine covers. His advertising campaigns were presented to students as among the best of the best.

The George Lois website is a "work in progress," but it provides a lot of great eye-candy for those interested in graphic design or the business of advertising. Three decades after I was studying the work - and reading the writings - of this industry powerhouse, he's still at it today. I look forward to the expansion of the packaging and logo design sections of the site.

Books by Lois were recommended reading for students in the advertising program 30+ years ago. In recent years his $ellebrity: My Angling and Tangling With Famous People and his lastest book, Iconic America: A Roller-Coaster Ride through the Eye-Popping Panorama of American Pop Culture (written with fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger), have been added to my ever-growing design and advertising library.

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Great identity-related gift hits the mark

Last week I was given a fantastic gift by Liz and Nena the co-owners of St. Johns Booksellers (hosts of the Identity Crisis! book release party earlier this month). Their store sells new and used books - and they are always having a wide variety of books come in from estates, house cleanings and other sources.

Recently they came across a copy of the 1916 book Trademark Power: An Expedition into an Unprobed and Inviting Wilderness by Glen Buck. The book, published 91 years ago by Munroe & Southworth in Chicago, even contained its original sales sheet of promotional blurbs (below left); with the notice that the volume was "Not for sale at book stores. One dollar a copy." The shop owners both immediately felt the book would be the perfect gift for me.

Considering the age of the book, it is incredible to see so many recognizable brands and identities. Of course, some have suffered their own identity crises and evolved over time. Still, Heinz, Western Union, Nabisco, Sherwin Williams, Dutch Cleanser, Yale Locks, RCA, Paramount Pictures, Dutch Boy Paints, Lysol, Log Cabin Syrup, Firestone Tires, Eagle Brand, and many other identities appear throughout Trademark Power (one page of examples is displayed below right). There are also many logo examples for firms that have disappeared over the past century.

Chapter 32 of the book covers what constitutes a good trademark - and things to be avoided when designing the identity to be trademarked. The author's list of things which may be avoided is as follows:

First - Common and familiar forms do usually make good trademarks, for they lack distinction. The circle, the square, the crescent, the star, the diamond. the heart, the oval, the shield, the cross, all have long ago been usurped and are burdened with significances.

Second - If one is anxious to aquire legal title to a trademark her will not have it resemble any other trademark, nor will he put in it any descriptive phrase or name.

Third - Flags and emblems of all nations, the established devices of societies, associations and institutions should be avoided as not legally usable or protectible.

Fourth - Complicated and confused pictures or devices do not make good trademarks, because they cannot be seen and comprehended at a glance. As they lack simplicity they lack strength.

Fifth - A good trademark will not depend upon any color arrangement for its effect, at it will undoubtedly be necessary to reproduce it in many places where color cannot be used.

Sixth - It is advisable to avoid designs that are higher than they are wide. A "tall" trademark is often difficult to fit into attractive and harmonious layouts.

Seventh - A trademark should be capable of reproduction in all engraving processes, by zincs, half-tones, and the different offset and lithographic methods, that it may be well printed on all kinds of paper and other printable materials.

Eighth - If the trademark is not as simple as it can be made, and carefully proportioned in all its parts, it may be impossible to reduce it to small sizes without losing the design, or to increase it to large sizes without rendering it ugly.

Ninth - Care should be taken to evolve a design that will not print too black or too light, for undoubtedly it will be used with many styles of lettering and kinds of type faces.

Tenth - Designs that have only a temporary significance should be discarded. They may be meaningless, absurd, or quite impossible of use tomorrow.

Eleventh - That which is vulgar, repulsive, or ugly will never make a good trademark. Also one should be extremely cautious in the use of comic motifs.

Twelfth - It will save expense and trouble, and perhaps prevent disappointment, if the work of designing the trademark is put into trained and understanding hands. It is work that can't be hurriedly done in an idle moment by one who has not conception of the importance of the task.

This advice is nearly a century old and, with all the advancements in the design industry and technology over that period of time, it is surprising that almost all of the recommendations are still very valid for today's identity designers.

In closing his book, author Buck writes:

The new manufacturer who does not bring into being a good trademark at the time his venture is launched, even though it may not at once be conspicuously used, is neglecting a real opportunity to add to his tangible assets.

And the established manufacturer who has not now a good trademark stands in pressing need of one.

The trademark is not a panacea for every business ill. But it is a fundamentally important part of the business equipment that is to serve efficiently in the new order.

Thank you Nena and Liz, for the incredible gift of yet another interesting and historical perspective on identity, branding and trademarks. It's a great addition to my personal design library of nearly 400 volumes.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Signed Identity Crisis! copies availablefrom St. Johns Booksellers in Portland

Last night I had a very successful Identity Crisis! book signing event at St. Johns Booksellers in North Portland. Owners Liz Dorman and Nena Rawdah hosted the fun evening at their store, located at 8622 N. Lombard in the St. Johns neighborhood.

Following the event, I signed numerous copies of Identity Crisis! and the store now has the books available for purchase. Unfortunately, they don't have website ordering. However, you may visit the store in person, email them at info@stjohnsbooks.com, or call (503)283-0032, to place an order or get additional information about the book. As other Portland area bookstores have limited quantities of the volume in stock - or have not yet received orders - St. Johns Booksellers is a great independent bookstore option.

If someone would like a personally inscribed copy, provide the store with the necessary information and I would be happy to stop by and personalize the book before it is shipped out.

For any order over $25 St. Johns Booksellers will ship by USPS media mail for free to Oregon, Washington, and California. (They don't recommend trying media mail for longer distances, because it can take an unreasonably long time and the additional handling is hard on the books.) The UPS ground fee is $6 for the first book, $1.50 for each additional item.

You will find much more information about my book on the Identity Crisis! blog.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher book signingat St. Johns Booksellers - November 8th

1 November 2007
For immediate release

St. Johns Booksellers, the neighborhood bookstore of North Portland graphic designer and author Jeff Fisher, will be the location of a presentation and book signing for his new book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands, on Thursday, November 8th at 7:30 p.m. Bookstore owners Liz Dorman and Nena Rawdah will host the event in their store, located at 8622 N. Lombard in the St. Johns neighborhood - about 15 minutes north of downtown Portland.

Identity Crisis!, a HOW Books/F+W Publications release, takes a fresh look at 50 before and after case studies, from designers and firms from around the world, by exploring the process of redesigning existing identities to help businesses refine their image, communicate with customers, and find success. Designers seeking inspiration - and any business considering a graphic makeover - will be presented an inside look at the challenges of redesigning identities and visual examples of creative and strategic thinking in achieving the desired results.

The work of Portland design firms Fullblast, Inc., Sockeye Creative and Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, and Salem company Glitschka Studios, is featured in the book. Jack Anderson, of the Seattle firm Hornall Anderson Design Works wrote the foreward for Identity Crisis!

Title: Identity Crisis! 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands
Hardbound: 216 pages
Publisher: HOW Books, an imprint of F+W Publications
Release: September 2007
ISBN: 1581809395
Price: $35.00

St. Johns Booksellers is a full-service, independent neighborhood bookstore offering new and used books. Anyone having questions about the Identity Crisis! book signing event is encouraged to contact the store at 503.283.0032, Tuesdays through Sunday.

For more information, visit the Identity Crisis! blog. A downloadable PDF file of some teaser spreads is also available on the blog of publisher HOW Books.

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has received nearly 575 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in nearly 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, design education, and small business marketing. In addition, Fisher also writes for CreativeLatitude.com, HOW Magazine and other design resources; and speaks about the design profession to high school classes, college students, and at international design industry conferences.

Fisher is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the HOW Design Conference Advisory Council and the UCDA Designer Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. His first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success, was released by HOW Design Books in late 2004

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

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Buona sera from Segromigno in Monte

There hasn't been much on the bLog-oMotives front lately because we've been in Italy for the past week. Home base is a beautiful house in Segromigno in Monte outside of Lucca in Tuscany. Last night we got back from three days in Venice - and I'm the third member of our four-person travel group that has come down with some kind of flu-ish bug. I'm glad we're going to be hanging out at Casa Mennone the next few days and seeing just how much of nothing we can accomplish. Hopefully we will get out to explore a bit more in the coming week. Now we're enjoying reading, home-cooked meals, great wine and napping in the sun.

I've posted some of our photos from the past week on my Flickr page.

Arrivederci!

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*:Jeff Fisher is having an Identity Crisis!

25 September 2007
For immediate release

(Portland, Ore) -- Identity Crisis! 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands, the new book from Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has been released by publisher HOW Books, an imprint of F+W Publications, Inc. The book is currently available from all major online booksellers and will soon be on bookstore shelves internationally.

Identity Crisis! takes a fresh look at 50 before and after case studies, from designers and firms from around the world, by exploring the process of redesigning existing identities to help businesses refine their image, communicate with customers, and find success. Designers seeking inspiration - and any business considering a graphic makeover - will be presented an inside look at the challenges of redesigning identities and visual examples of creative and strategic thinking in achieving the desired results.

Jack Anderson, of the Seattle firm Hornall Anderson Design Works wrote the foreward for Identity Crisis! "Words of Wisdom," throughout the book, were provided by Sean Adams/AdamsMorika, Inc, Bob Domenz/Avenue, Tony Spaeth/Identityworks, Debbie Millman/Sterling Brands, Jack Yan/Jack Yan & Associates, design educator and author Robin Landa, Robynne Raye/Modern Dog Design Co., Mark E. Sackett/Reflectur, and the author.

Case studies presented in the volume include projects from the following firms: 3 Dogz Creative Inc. (Toronto, ONT, Canada), Advertising By Design (Clermont, FL USA), angryporcupine*design (Park City, UT USA), Avenue (Chicago, IL USA), b-design (San Diego, CA USA), biz-R (Totnes, Devon, UK), Brainforest, Inc. (Chicago, IL USA), Breathewords (Caldas da Rainha, Portugal), CC Graphic Design (Salt Lake City, UT USA), Common Sense Design (New Hamburg, ONT Canada), Connacher Design (Stamford, CT USA), Finamore Design (Brooklyn, NY USA), Fullblast, Inc. (Portland, OR USA), Glitschka Studios (Salem, OR USA), Graphicwise, Inc. (Irvine, CA USA), Hornall Anderson Design Works (Seattle, WA USA), and Identityworks (Rye, NY USA).

Other firms represented include: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives (Portland, OR USA), John Silver Design Bothell, WA (USA), MasonBaronet (Dallas, TX USA), Mayhem Studios (Los Angeles, CA USA), Modern Dog Design Co. (Seattle, WA USA), MyBrand (Lisbon, Portugal), nHarmony, Inc. (Muncie, IN USA), Octavo Designs (Frederick, MD USA), Paragon Integrated Marketing Communications (Salmiya, Kuwait), RDQ - Rdqlus Design Quantum (Omaha, NE USA), Round2 Communications - R2i (Baltimore, MD USA), Sayles Graphic Design (Des Moines, IA USA), Shapiro Design Associates Inc. (Irvington, NY USA), Shine Advertising Co. (Madison, WI USA), Sockeye Creative (Portland, OR USA), Studio GT&P (Foligno, PG Italy), Subplot Design Inc. (Vancouver, BC Canada), and Willoughby Design Group (Kansas City, MO USA)

Title: Identity Crisis! 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands
Hardbound: 216 pages
Publisher: HOW Books, an imprint of F+W Publications
Release: September 2007
ISBN: 1581809395
Price: $35.00

For more information, visit the Identity Crisis! blog. A downloadable PDF file of some teaser spreads is also available from the publisher at HOW Blog.

Jeff Fisher has received nearly 575 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in nearly 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, design education, and small business marketing. In addition, Fisher also writes for CreativeLatitude.com, HOW Magazine and other design resources; and speaks about the design profession to high school classes, college students, and at international design industry events.

Fisher is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the HOW Design Conference Advisory Council and the UCDA Designer Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. His first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success, was released by HOW Design Books in late 2004.

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

© 2007 Jeff Fisher Logomotives

'Identity Crisis!" is currently shipping...

I got word this afternoon, from my publisher HOW Books, that my book Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands is in the process of being shipped to bookstores around the world. The "official" release date has been posted as October 27th - but you should be able to find it in stores before that date. The websites of Amazon.com and most online booksellers currently say the book is "In Stock," so I would suspect those who have pre-ordered the book should be receiving it soon. I hope everyone enjoys Identity Crisis!

Watch for updates and additional news on the Identity Crisis! blog.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*:Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs featured in1000 Restaurant Bar & Cafe Graphics

The identity design work of Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is featured in the new book 1000 Restaurant Bar & Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything in Between from Rockport Publishers, The book, featuring a wide variety of design images from around the world, was compiled, designed and edited by the Luke Herriott of the U.K. design firm Studio Ink.

The images selected include the identities for Seattle eatery Glo's Broiler, and Portland establishments North Bank Cafe, Balaboosta, and La Patisserie. The menu design for Indies Restaurant & Bar in New York City is also recognized.

Jeff Fisher has received over 575 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in nearly 100 books on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing.

Fisher is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the HOW Design Conference Advisory Council and the UCDA Designer Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. His first book, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, was released by HOW Design Books in late 2004. His new volume, Identity Crisis!, will be on bookshelves in October 2007.

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

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Début Publications dumps 'Branded'

Over the Labor Day holiday weekend I received an email from the folks at Début Publications Ltd announcing that the logo design book Branded will not be published. The email stated:

"Although the content supplied was of the highest quality, Début regrets to announce the cancellation of the scheduled publication 'Branded'.

Due to the unforseen surge of other logo-based publications and websites, alongside the established products, the viability of 'Branded' as a commercial product became questionable, and after careful consideration it was felt that the title would have become lost in the market place.

We would like to thank the many designers and agencies that submitted artwork for inclusion. Please accept our sincere apologies for the time taken to submit artwork.

I do think it is unfortunate the book will not see the light of day, and not just because I was a contributor whose work had been accepted. Début created a rather unique opportunity to include the work of a wide variety of designers from a large number of countries around the world. I do hope this situation doesn't discourage designers, and design students, from submitting work for future book opportunities - especially others charging no entry or publication fees. The vast majority of such calls for entries do result in books that make it to the bookstore shelves, providing incredible global marketing to a designer.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Design studio housecleaning - excavated artifact #14

Yet additional proof that I never throw anything away. In a box of unfiled clutter I just found a business window envelope with a phone message note and a doodle made after returning a previous client's phone call.

The client, Lisa Fritsch of the Diva Salon, was considering opening a new hair and nail establishment in the renovated Pearl District building housing the headquarters of the ad firm Wieden & Kennedy. Negotiations were underway for the lease of the space and she wanted to proceed on the identity for the new business with the name "Page Six." It was a reference to the New York Post column by the same name, and the tagline for the salon was to be something like "Hair & nails that are talked about."

As my client described the business, and how she imagined the logo, I doodled a bit on the envelope (above left). She mentioned she had sketched something out herself, with her daughter's crayons on a sheet of notebook paper (above right), and asked if I wanted to see it. I told her I thought I had a good idea of what she wanted and I would go ahead with creating the initial concept. A few days later, I presented my concept (above center) and we were both stunned at how close my design was to her own doodle.

Then the unexpected happened. The lease negotiations came to an end. My client needed to rethink her business plan and look at new locations. A short time later she leased a renovated auto repair shop. Her "Page Six." name really didn't fit the new facility and it was scraped - but not before the logo design was accepted for publication in The Big Book of Logos 3.

This bLog-oMotives entry brings up several topics for future postings: 1.) Finalized logos that were never used or had very limited lifespans; 2.) How client logo rough concepts contribute to finalized images; and 3.) The logo designs of Lisa Fritsch's other salons. More on those topics later.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives