A look back at '09: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives in articles

In 2009 many print and online articles, Internet logo design collections and other resources included Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. Here are a few favorites from throughout the year:

• Gardens and Their Designers, Design Observer, by Timothy Jack Ward (October 2009) Read more here.

• Self-Promotion the Social Way, HOW Magazine, by Jeff Fisher (October 2009) Read more here.

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

• Career: Office Anthropologist, HOW Magazine, by Julie Sims (August 2009) Read more here.

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

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

• Five Great - and necessary - Marketing Makeovers, Entrepreneur Magazine, by Gwen Moran (February 2009) Read more here.

There were many more online and print mentions and sightings of Jeff Fisher in 2009. A complete listing may be found on the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives blogfolio.

© 2010 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Clickety-clacks along the LogoMotives tracks

The past month brought about quite a few mentions and sightings of Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, online and in the print world. Here's what I've come across recently:

• 2009 HOW Design Conference Wrap Up • Long-time cyber and real world pal Neil Tortorella obviously couldn't resist including an image of Toots in an entry of his Inside the Marketing Mind blog (A great marketing and self-promotion resource for any creative type). [6.29.09]

• HOW Design Conference 2009 - Austin, Texas • On the blog associated with her brand spanking new site JeniHerberger.com, my annual HOW Conference "wife" reflects on her recent Austin experience. [6.29.09]

• The Reflex Blue Show HOW Conference Special: DAY THREE • The clown Toots Caboose briefly crosses the tracks of The Reflex Blue Show, and its host Donovan Beery, broadcasting live from the HOW Design Conference in Austin, TX. [6.26.09]

• Office Anthropologist • I received my copy of the August 2009 issue of HOW Magazine, which includes an article written by Julie Sims of The Creative Group. Sims interviews Lionel Carreon, a recruiter for San Francisco-based digital marketing firm AKQA and myself, in regards to new hires fitting in when taking on new job situations. [6.23.09]

• 10 Faces you may know on MonoExpression - Part 1 • UK logo designer Graham Smith featured 10 portraits from his MonoExpression online gallery on his ImJustCreative blog. [6.19.09]

• Killed Ideas, Vol. 1 • I was very happy to receive my hardbound copy of the Blurb book Killed Ideas, Vol 1, which includes my rejected Cat Adoption Team logo design. [6.18.09]

• The Top Best Logo Design Books • Designer Jacob Cass gives a mention to my book, Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands, in his list of published logo design resources. [6.15.09]

• Logo Inspiration With Clever Typography • Logo lover Andrew Houle, of MyInkBlog.com, included the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity in his collection of interesting type treatments in logo creations. [6.12.09]

• Always in Season • A Twitter request from an OutTraveler.com editor led to me submitting one of my vacation photos and having it featured as a "Snapshot" on the site. [6.12.09]

As is sometimes the case, I did come across an older mention by way of a Twitter posting:

• The Upside of Working for Free • On the FreelanceSwitch site, Martha Retallick referenced my article “Profiting from Pro Bono Creative Efforts.” [3.27.09]

Check out listings of previous clickety-clacks along the tracks.

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Clickety-clacks along the LogoMotives tracks

Jeff Fisher LogoMotives mentions were tracked online numerous times in the past few months. Here's the latest:

• Spec Work and Crowdsourcing: Gambles that Don't Pay Off • In an article by former CreativePro.com editor-in-chief Pamela Pfiffner, design industry professionals - including myself - weigh in on the issues of spec work and crowdsourcing. [4.27.09]

• 10 Creative Minds of the Design Industry • The blog Powerusers, written by Nikhil K. Misal, introduced a group design industry professionals, including yours truly, to a large international cyber-audience. [4.24.09]

• Design Sites • The Jounalist's Toolbox • It's great to have Jeff Fisher LogoMotives included as a link The Journalist's Toolbox resource list from the Society of Professional Journalists. [4.09.09]

• Logo 72: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives - Making a logo design your own • Logo design link and resource site Logo72 sent a lot of traffic my way posting a link to my article "Making a logo design your own." [4.08.09]

• Calvin Lee Interview | Inspiredology • Longtime design industry pal Calvin Lee, of Mayhem Studios was kind enough to mention me in his interview on Inspiredology. Thanks Cal! [4.06.09]

• 10 Great Logo Design, Branding and Identity Books • The blog Logo Critiques for including my book Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands on their list of "10 Great Logo Design, Branding and Identity Books." [3.26.09]

• Using Twitter to Promote Your Book • Writer extraordinaire Kristen Fischer used my experiences in promoting my books with Twitter in her piece for the site FreelanceSwitch. [3.22.09]

• 30 Beautiful Logos • Brazilian designer Fabio Sasso included the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity in the list on his Abduzeedo/Abducted By Design. [3.11.09]

• Making Public Speaking Fun • In his Communication Steroids blog, writer Tim 'Gonzo' Gordon mentioned several of my more attention-getting speaking engagement tactics. [2.22.09]

Occasionally, I come across older posts related to my design or writing efforts. Here are a couple examples:

• Logo Design Inspiration - Cool Logos Part I • The blog for AllGraphicDesign.com included my DataDork logo in this selection of design inspirations. [8.15.08][2.22.09][2.22.09]

• Best Logo Design Books for Your Graphic Design Library • In another post from AllGraphicDesign.com my book Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands is one of four recommended. [12.30.08]

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Jeff Fisher - as design author - featured in FreelanceSwitch article about book promotion

Author and cyber pal Kristen Fischer has written the article "Using Twitter to Promote Your Book" for the independent worker site FreelanceSwitch. Twitter is one of the online resources I use to promote my books 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 (recently re-released as a PDF on CD). Fischer was kind enough to mention my book promotion efforts in the piece.

I use Twitter regularly to mention book-related speaking engagements, book signings, online sales of the books, blog entries, and mentions of my books online and in print. I will certainly be implementing the networking tool in the marketing and promotion of my upcoming book Logo•Type (HOW Books, 2010).

Fischer makes use of Twitter to market her own books, Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes and Creatively Self-Employed. I had the pleasure of being interviewed for inclusion in Creatively Self-Employed. In late 2007, Fischer also interviewed me for the FreelanceSwitch.com article "Veteran Designer Embraces Identity Crisis and Casual Fridays."

You can find me on Twitter at @LogoMotives. Tweet! Tweet!

© 2009 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

AskFreelancers questions Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Web designer Simon North, the creator of the HelpDeveloper site, has been asking independent designers a series of questions on the FreelanceSwitch Forums. A selection of the responses end up on his site in the form of an AskFreelancers feature.

This week he asked: As a freelancer you have the option to work with both clients and agencies, but which do freelancers prefer and why?

North got a variety of responses - including my own - which are included in the latest AskFreelancers entry.

Early in my career I did a lot of work with other design firms and advertising agencies. In fact, at one point a single agency represented about 80% of my business. Over time, my feelings about working with agencies changed. As I responded to the AskFreelancers query:

I quit working with agencies (other than the one that was owned by my sister) about 20 years ago. I prefer direct contact with clients and many agencies will not allow you to have that with their clients. Often, they don’t want the agency client to know the work is being outsourced to an independent designer. Additionally:

1.) Many agencies will not outsource work until it is already late in the project schedule and expect the independent source to make up for lost time;

2.) Agencies will seldom agree to my contract/project agreement terms;

3.) I’m not willing to work under their “we’ll pay you when they pay us” terms - which can bump a payment out 60-90 days or more;

4.) Agencies will very often not let a designer make use of completed projects for their own marketing/promotion purposes;

5.) There is MUCH more creative freedom in working directly with a client.

As my sister closed her agency several years ago, it's not been some time since I worked with such a company. I still prefer working directly with a wide variety of clients. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of working with an agency in the future. However, it would need to be an ideal collaborative situation.

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

HOW Blog promotes FreelanceSwitch article

Thanks to Megan Lane Patrick, Senior Editor of HOW Magazine, for posting "Fisher on Freelancing" on the HOW Blog. It's a mention of the recent FreelanceSwitch interview with yours truly. It's also a nice little plug for my book Identity Crisis! - recently released by HOW Books.

Hmmm...the situation has forced me to use that "freelance" word I detest so much. One of my often-quoted Jeffisms is:

"Freelance" is a nasty little word. It seems to imply an individual doesn’t have a "real" job, can’t get a job, isn’t truly professional in their field, and is willing to work for "free."

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher interview featured on FreelanceSwitch

An interview with designer and author Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is currently featured on the web presence FreelanceSwitch. In the piece, "Veteran Designer Embraces Identity Crisis and Casual Fridays," written by Kristen Fischer, the designer discusses his 30-year career and recently released book Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands.

FreelanceSwitch is an online resource for all independent creatives, offering advice, articles, podcasts, a job board, and a community forum for designers, writers, illustrators, photographers, web developers and others.

Kristen Fischer, an independent copywriter and editor, is also the author of the book Creatively Self-Employed, in which designer Fisher was featured.

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, 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 in 2004 by HOW Books, also the publisher of Identity Crisis!.

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

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives