Send some LUV to "the communicatrix"

Colleen Wainwright (aka "the communicatrix") has blogged about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives on occasion. She's included mentions of my business in various locales in the unreal world of the Internet. We've kind of developed a "mutual admiration society" - without ever meeting in person.

Meeting such online friends is the theme of the video she has posted online in her quest to become Southwest Airline's Blog-O-Spondent. If she gets the gig, Southwest will help her in her quest to meet some of the "imaginary friends" she has around the country. Check out the "old broad's" video and give her a vote with the "UP" thingy so she has a shot at getting a somewhat "real" job. (What's with people giving her fun video submission "down" votes?) I love the BF's ukulele soundtrack for the clip.

If she does win the job, she won't need to hop on a plane to Portland for the two of us to meet. I'll be jetting to Chicago tomorrow to speak at the Creative Freelancer Conference and she will be at the event. I'm looking forward to one of my "imaginary friends" becoming very real.

© 2008 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

The W.O.W. of Identity Crisis!

In writing the book Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands I asked a variety of design professionals to contribute their "Words of Wisdom" (W.O.W.) about the process of redesigning a business or organization identity. Many were very gracious in contributing personal advice based on their past experiences.

The individuals providing input for the book included:

• Sean Adams of AdamsMorioka, Inc.

• Bob Domenz from Avenue - Marketing & Communications

• Tony Spaeth of identityworks

• Debbie Millman - known for her Design Matters podcasts (and many other things)

• Jack Yan of Jack Yan & Associates

• Robin Landa, author and branding & creative strategist

• Robynne Raye from Modern Dog Design Co.

• Mark E. Sackett of Reflectur

• ...and some guy named Jeff Fisher who writes about whatever seems to be on his mind at bLog-oMotives when he isn't running his own firm, Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

All presented incredibly valuable advice to the design professional involved in identity re-design - and to the client having an "identity crisis." Unfortunately, you will need to wait until HOW Design Books releases Identity Crisis! in the fall of this year before you are able to take advantage of the great suggestions.

Keep up on the latest news about my upcoming book at my Identity Crisis! blog - where this post originally appeared.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

My nightstand is buried with books

On the HOW Design Forum, a couple days ago, HOWie "kimburgerly" started a thread about summer reading lists. There's always a stack of books next to my nightstand for reading before I sleep each night. I posted my current selections on the HOW forum and thought I'd share it here as well.

Now that I'm finished writing Identity Crisis! I'm really in reading mode. I just devoured Suffer the Little Children, by Donna Leon. With all her books set in Venice, I feel like I'm walking the streets of the city while I'm reading the books. Right now I'm in the middle of Fresh Disasters by Stuart Woods - it's one of the Stone Barrington books that I find to be mindless pleasures.

For my birthday last week I got several books that moved to the head of my upcoming reading list:

• A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini - I thought The Kite Runner was incredible and I'm really looking forward to this book.

• Come Alive!: The Spirited Art of Sister Corita, by Julie Ault

• The Grail: A year ambling & shambling through an Oregon vineyard in pursuit of the best pinot noir wine in the whole wild world, by Brian Doyle. Brian is a friend of a friend - and the editor of the college magazine at University of Portland

• The Overlook, by Michael Connelly - another of my mindless, guilty pleasure authors

Still in the pile next to my nightstand:

• My Life in France, by Julia Child

• Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide, by Dario Castagno

• Comfort Me With Apples, by Ruth Reichl - her other books were all great.

Work-wise I've been reading:

• The Graphic Designer's Guide to Better Business Writing, by Barbara Janoff and Ruth Cash-Smith

By the way, kimbugerly's posted suggestion of Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, is a good one. I had been told it was a "chick" book. Still, I found her writing about travels to Italy, India and Bali fascinating.

Happy summer reading!

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Graphic Designer's Guide to BetterBusiness Writing features Jeff Fisher

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is one of the design industry experts featured in the new book The Graphic Designer’s Guide to Better Business Writing, by authors Barbara Janoff and Ruth Case-Smith. The volume, from Allworth Press, includes case studies, advice and graphic examples from design educators and professionals such as Larry Asher, Michael Bierut, Margo Chase, Cameron Foote, Lee Silber and many others.

The Graphic Designer’s Guide to Better Business Writing teaches graphic designers how to write compelling business communications. Created especially to address the needs of graphic design students and professionals, this handy guide breaks the writing process down into simple, easy-to-understand stages and offers practical writing and presentation models that designers can put to use immediately. Real-life examples cover an array of essential topics: writing winning resumes and cover letters, landing accounts, writing polished letters and reports, creating design briefs, and much more.

Fisher's contributions include an example of one of his "Toot! Toot!*" press releases, a project value sheet presented to nonprofit groups at the completion of pro bono or discounted design jobs, and an example of a logo design sample sheet (below) provided to potential clients. Fisher is also cited in the book, discussing the benefits taking on pro bono design projects and the use of press releases as a marketing tool. His own book, The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success, is listed in the selected bibliography.

Author Barbara Janoff has taught business communications for more than 20 years. As Writing Coordinator at Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, she developed writing courses for graphic designers and photographers. Co-author Ruth Cash-Smith has taught business communications for colleges in the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. A former job search coach, she has written several award-winning handbooks for nonprofit organizations.

Jeff Fisher has received nearly 550 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in more than 85 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 late 2007.

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

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Re-Design: Holocaust Remembrance Project

The Holocaust Remembrance Project is a program of the Holland+Knight Charitable Foundation, Inc - the charitable giving organization of the Holland+Knight law firm. The project is a national essay contest for high school students that is designed to encourage and promote the study of the Holocaust. Participation in the activity encourages students to think responsibly, be aware of world conditions that undermine human dignity, and make decisions that promote the respect and value inherent in every person. The project serves as a living memorial to the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust.

The existing identity for the Holocaust Remembrance Project seemed depressing, dark and oppressive to me - especially when printed on a dark gray T-shirt given to student participants and essay judges. While those descriptive qualities may apply to that particular period of history, I felt the project identity should be celebrating those who have overcome the negatives of the Holocaust to inspire others to live exemplary lives.

The Holocaust impacted a wide variety of people, not just those of the Jewish faith. The triangle-shaped uniform badges assigned to those in the concentration camps were color-coded to identify the individuals. The color codes were:

• Red: Political prisoners - including Poles, Czechs and members of the Armed Forces

• Green: Those considered to be criminals

• Blue: Emigrants

• Yellow: Jews (two triangles were overlapped to form the Star of David)

• Purple: Jehovah’s Witnesses

• Pink: Gay males

• Black: Vagrants, gypsies, and “anti-social” women (lesbians, prostitutes, women using birth control)

In my initial mental design concept, I felt that those impacted by the Holocaust should take "ownership" of those negative identitifying triangle symbols. I inverted the geometric shapes to point to the sky and form colorful rays of a strong, positive sun image. The result is a graphic identity that has been given a sense of light, while making use of the representative colors and projecting an image of honor and respect in regards to the issue of the Holocaust.

The logo is the third in a series I have created for the Holland+Knight Charitable Foundation. The first was the identity for the Young Native Writers Essay Contest, a project I wrote about in an earlier bLog-oMotives entry. The second identifies the Native Youth Internship Program, initiated in the law firm's Portland office Business Manager, my partner Ed Cunningham.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Has the Portland city seal gone "Hollywood?"

Today, in The Oregonian's weekly inPortland section, the Portland city seal is mentioned in the Top of the Town column from writer Ryan Frank. The cast and crew of the upcoming movie "Untraceable" took over Portland City Hall last week for the filming of scenes and, in the process, the film's production department gave the city seal a dramatic Hollywood-style makeover.

The new image incorporates Mt. Hood; the Hawthorne, Fremont and St. Johns Bridges, the Willamette River, some trees and stars in the sky. According to the "Big O" item, Mayor Tom Potter likes the new design more than the real one. The Seal of Approval piece states:

"It's beautiful," Potter said Friday of the fake seal, which adorned fake police badges and fake doors and fake press conference backdrops during the shoot.

The newspaper reports that the producer of the movie offered to leave the seal as a gift.

The seal with the "star treatment" is much cleaner and more contemporary than the very traditional symbol now representing the City of Portland. The official image in use today is a 2005 update of the historic seal; last given a facelift in 1964. The symbols in the current seal are consistent with suggested design elements found in City Archives documents going back to 1878. The female figure in the center of the seal represents Commerce, while the sheaf of grain, cogwheel, and sledgehammer symbolize the origins of the city, its culture, agrarian base, and industry. A historical perspective on the evolution of the city seal is displayed on the web page of the Portland Auditor's Office.

The cinema version of the city seal does seem to convey a stronger and more graphically pleasing image of Portland. Perhaps city officials should give the "new and improved" seal some serious consideration.

In a "small world" aside, column writer Frank and I have our own graphic-related history. Back in 1998 he was the editor of the Oregon Daily Emerald, the University of Oregon's student newspaper. The publication was celebrating its 100th anniversary and Frank hired me to recreate, and update, the original flag of the paper to be used throughout the year of celebration. It somehow seemed appropriate that I design the image as, 20 years earlier, I got my start in the graphics profession as the advertising designer for the Daily Emerald.

Seal photo: Ross William Hamilton, The Oregonian

(I should also mention that the following notice appears at the end of today's "Top of the Town" column: "Reporter Anna Griffin, who wore Yankee pinstripes to the office on Opening Day, did most of the work for this column.")

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher LogoMotivesfeatured in Creatively Self-Employed

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is featured in the recently released book Creatively Self-Employed: How Writers and Artists Deal with Career Ups and Downs, by writer Kristen Fischer. In the book, more than 65 creative types - writers, designers, painters, illustrators and others - speak out about dealing with rejection, coping with loneliness and building strong businesses. Any creative professional, either starting an new business venture or looking to give their existing efforts an infusion of inspiration, will find the volume a valuable resource.

The author says she included Fisher as "a Creative Profile in a chapter about support, and also to discuss how to stay physically healthy - and what can happen when we don't."

Jeff Fisher has worked independently as a graphic designer, specializing in logo design, for all but three years since moving to Portland, Oregon in 1980. Since then he has received over 500 regional, national and international design awards for his logo design efforts, and his work is featured in over 80 books about logos, the business of design, and small business marketing. He shared many of his own business experiences in his initial book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success, which was released in 2004. A second book, Identity Crisis!, is currently in production and will be on bookstore shelves in the fall of 2007.

Other "creative types" featured in the book include "real world" industry friends Ilise Benun, Von Glitschka, Cat Morley - founder of Designers Who Blog, and Neil Tortorella. The experiences of cyber acquaintances Art Javid, Kristen King (also a recent client), Calvin Lee, Chris Tomlinson, and Tamar Wallace are also highlighted.

Kristen Fischer is a New Jersey copywriter with a wide range of print and Web copywriting experience. More information about the author, and her first book, is available at her Creatively Self-Employed website

Creatively Self-Employed is available through online booksellers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

Note: Photo courtesy of Kristen Fischer

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

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

'The ditch between white trashand trailer trash is called hope'

"My momma always used to say, 'The ditch between white trash and trailer trash is called hope.'"

So reads a line from the book Crumbs of Love: And That's All You're Ever Going To Get, by Donnie (the pseudonym of my friend and long-time Portland client Don Horn). I want to congratulate Horn for writing and publishing his memoir, which publisher iUniverse describes as "an unforgettable story of love, betrayal, and one father’s need to always be in control."

Don Horn, a playwright and theatrical producer, has been a friend and client since I met him opening night of his first play nearly 17 years ago. Over those years I've designed over 100 logos for his triangle productions! theatre company, in addition to posters, ads, playbills, T-shirts, an occasional prop and more. I even designed a paper doll book called Dressin' With Divine for the company. A decade ago, he trusted me enough to allow me the opportunity to spend a summer directing the play Party!, with its cast of a gaggle of nude men (including Peter Paige who went on to fame as Emmett on Queer as Folk.). He has always been a great friend and for about six years we've had a Thursday morning theraputic "koffee klatch" with several others. Horn also played host for the wedding of my partner and I at his theater in 2004.

Years ago I read the rough draft of Horn's memoir. The man has led an incredibly fascinating life. I really look forward to reading the book in its final form.

Crumbs of Love is available in book form from Amazon and from iUniverse as an Adobe eBook download.

© 2007 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

It's Holiday Sale time at Chronicle Books

One of my favorite book publishing (and retail) companies is Chronicle Books. Right now, through December 10th, the company is having their 40% Off Holiday Sale. It's a great time to do some holiday gift shopping - or purchase some additions to your own library.

Chronicle has a wide selection of books, on a variety of topics, on their website. I always enjoy checking out the graphic design and art/design reference selections. In addition, whenever I'm in San Francisco I visit the Metreon store and slobber all over the books available.

Hmmm...one day I'd love to do a book for Chronicle Books myself...

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Portfolios by the book?

While enjoying my first espresso drink this morning, my local television news got my attention with a story about the changing face of book publishing. Recently I've heard good things about the self-publishing company Lulu.com. My friend/client Don Horn will be releasing his autobiography later this month, and writer Kristen Fischer will publish her book Creatively Self-Employed (with yours truly as a contributor), through the resources of iUniverse. I've also seen photo gift books produced by friends through the sites of Apple, Kodak and other sources. However, I'd never heard of the publishing venture Blurb.com until this morning.

The news blurb about Blurb.com piqued my interest and I went to the site. My immediate thought was: What a great portfolio resource for graphic designers. A designer (or design firm) could cost-effectively create a book of their work, with text explanations, and present a concise, professional- looking volume to prospective employers or potential clients. With the quick turn-around in custom publishing, the books could also be used as high-quality, finished project presentations. Softcover prices start at $18.95 for a 40-page, 8x10 4-color book with the same 80# coated, semi-matte paper and professional print quality Blurb delivers in its hardcover books. What I liked most about Blurb was the amount of creative control it gives the individual producing a book.

In flipping through the catalog of recently published books, I didn't see any current examples of graphic design book efforts. I did see many volumes of photography, a published MFA exhibition volume, a book of drawing and ceramics, and an architect's portfolio. Why not graphic design portfolios?

A customer first downloads Blurb.com's BookSmart™ software beta - in PC or Mac format - and the book creation process may begin. Blurb makes it easy to create a professionally designed book, using simple dragging and dropping of photos and auto-flowing text. Features have also been added to help people better market their books in Blurb’s Bookstore. Along with showing larger cover images in the Bookstore, Blurb customers can now elect to show prospective book buyers the first 15 pages of their books via a view-only PDF file with the Book Preview feature. Blurb’s new tagging tools allow users to categorize and tag their books for more exposure. Blurb even offers their own book How to make a book for $14.95 (which includes a $10 off Blurb coupon for future use). The instruction book is also available for PDF download.

Currently Blurb books printed using BookSmart do not have an ISBN number and therefore can’t be sold in bookstores or through other online book selling sites. However, there are plans in the works to offer a service that will help authors obtain their own ISBN numbers in the future.

The easily-navigated Blurb website provides a great deal of information. In fact, I have probably spent a good hour checking out things on the site so far this morning. There is also the Blurberati Blog, which appears to be a valuable additional resource for those considering using the publishing service.

Of course, your own book of photos, art, poetry or writing would make a great holiday gift for others. You had better get your ass in gear - the publishing deadline for delivery by December 22nd is December 11th.

(Note: For a review of Blurb and other self-publishing resources check out Macworld's "Beyond Apple's photo books.")

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives.

Doodlers-in-Chief doodle-doo

Some of our U.S. Presidents, like Dwight Eisenhower, were fairly good artists. Others simply preferred to doodle. The creators of Cabinet magazine have spent years scouring archives and libraries across America in creating the new book Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, Scratches, Squiggles & Scrawls from the Oval Office. They have unearthed hundreds of presidential doodles and present the finest examples of the genre in the volume. Historian David Greenberg sets these images in context and explains what they reveal about the inner lives of our commanders in chief.

Additional information about the book can be found on the site of the CBS Sunday Morning television program, in the article Drawings By Commanders In Chief May Hint At Their Thoughts. It's interesting to learn that Presidents Carter and Ford were not doodlers, and Nixon was a "disappointing doodler."

The book's accompanying website PresidentialDoodles.com offers doodles from the book, a "who did the doodle" quiz, and additional resources - including links to many of the presidential libaries or other libraries with presidential collections. You can even send a doodle e-card to a friend.

Cabinet is a quarterly magazine of art and culture that confounds expectations of what is typically meant by the words "art," "culture," and "magazine." Like the seventeenth century cabinet of curiosities to which its name alludes, Cabinet focuses on the margins of culture. Playful and serious, exuberant and committed, Cabinet features the work of artists, writers, historians, scientists, and much more.

©2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

An introduction to Amazon Shorts

Recently, design educator and writer Robin Landa introduced me to Amazon Shorts. No, Amazon is not marketing their own brand of boxer underwear. Amazon Shorts are never-before- seen short works from a wide variety of well-known authors, available only on Amazon.com - for 49 cents each!

Landa, a brand and creative strategist - and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Design at Kean University of New Jersey - was gracious enough to provide some input for my upcoming book, Identity Crisis!. In one of her emails, she suggested I take a look at her just published "short," 10 Truths Behind Successful Brands. It's a great little resource and you can't beat the price.

If Landa's name seems a bit familiar; it should. She is the author of the design volumes Designing Brand Experiences, Graphic Design Solutions, Advertising By Design and Thinking Creatively. Landa is also co-author of 2D: Visual Basics for Designers and Visual Workout: Creativity Workbook.

So, in addition to checking out the writing of Robin Landa, take a look at the other offerings of Amazon Shorts. You will find a great selection of valuable (and inexpensive) writing on an incredibly wide variety of topics.

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

The Rise of the Copywriter/Designer

Soon after starting college I found myself in the awkward position of really detesting my chosen path of study within the graphic arts program, which was part of the Fine Arts School. A friend then suggested I look into the Journalism School and its program of publication and advertising design courses. To participate in the design class offerings I also was required to take a selection of typography, advertising, marketing, public relations, journalistic writing and copywriting classes. With the copywriting courses, I became a much more marketable commodity as a designer who could also be called upon to write a clever tagline, concise headline or complete sentence. The journalism portion of my education has served me very well over the past 30 years as a professional designer - and writer.

The valuable input of four talented copywriter/designers (or perhaps "designer/copywriters") is included in the recent Graphics.com article The Rise of the Copywriter/Designer. Written by copywriter, marketing consultant and communications manager Shaun Crowley, the piece features Dean Rieck, Ayd Instone, Mike Matera and (my Creative Latitude and online design forum buddy) Neil Tortorella.

Crowley introduces his article with:

"It's tough being a freelance designer these days. You need to be a shrewd businessperson. You need to spend as much energy on your marketing as you do on your design projects. There are lots of neat ways freelance designers in the marketing communications arena stay ahead of the game. Some offer a unique layer of service such as free proof-reading or liaison with printers. Some market themselves as specialists in a specific area, such as video-based Web sites or 3D design."

"And then there are a few other freelance pioneers who are integrating something entirely new into their creative services—copywriting—and finding a whole host of new clients banging at their door."

Check out the entire article at The Rise of the Copywriter/Designer. Even more advice on the topic is included in Crowley's downloadable book 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers and Other Freelance Artists.

In addition, take the time to stop by the blog Inside the Marketing Mind to see what else Tortorella has to share with his fellow "creative types."

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher named to UCDADesigner Magazine Advisory Board

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has been named to the University & College Designers Association (UCDA) Designer Magazine Advisory Board.

The UCDA was founded in 1970 as the nation's first and only association for professionals involved in the creation of visual communications for educational institutions. It has grown to an organization comprised of more than 1000 members throughout the United States and Canada. Designer is the official quarterly publication for the members of the organization.

The Designer Magazine Advisory Board was formed to assist UCDA in developing a high quality magazine. Board members also act as contributing editors by writing articles or assisting the editor with collecting articles for publication from other sources as well as suggesting topics for articles.

Fisher has contributed articles to the publication in the past, including an excerpt from his first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success. He was also a speaker at a past UCDA conference.

Over the years, the designer has worked on graphic design projects for Willamette University, University of Oregon, George Fox University, Reed College and other education institutions across the country. Fisher has received over 500 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts. His work is featured in more than 80 publications on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing. He shares his observations about the design industry in writing for various magazines and web sites, and on his blog, bLog-oMotives.

Fisher is also a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the HOW Design Conference Advisory Council, and the Board of Directors of Proscodi: Professional Society of Communication Design. His latest book, Identity Crisis!, will be released in 2007. More information about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives is available www.jfisherlogomotives.com.

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

© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Wine, books, beer - and a dash of "gonzo" for good measure

I've always been a fan of the work of artist, illustrator and writer Ralph Steadman. Ever since first seeing his "gonzo" art pieces years ago (related to the "fear and loathing" days of association with Hunter S. Thompson) I have been fascinated with his frenetic, statement-filled work. In part, I think I've appreciated the free-from nature of what comes from his pen due to the fact my own work is made up of rather anal-retentive, hard-lined, structured efforts.

A respected oenophile, Steadman recently announced the release of his new book Untrodden Grapes, the follow-up to his previous volume on the world of wine, The Grapes of Ralph: Wine According to Ralph Steadman. Through his travels to notable vineyards in California, Chile, Spain, France, Italy and South Africa, his unique and vibrant illustrations, and the prose of a curmudgeon, Steadman presents the reader an off-beat look at wine-making and some great wines. The mixture of incredible art, entertaining writing, and travel tales got me hooked. I now need to check out some of the other books he has created.

In addition to his books, illustrating the writing of others (such as a new edition of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451), T-shirts, limited edition prints, posters and other items, Steadman brought his work to the masses as the packaging illustrations for Flying Dog Ales. Be sure to check out their site - especially the page about the "gonzo" connection. I really enjoy going into a grocery store and seeing Steadman's offbeat labels among all the stuffy designs in the beer cooler.

Learn more about Steadman, and see additional examples of his work, at the Creative Refuge site, where you will find Mike Buchheit's interview The Pen is Mightier as a Sword: Talking with Ralph Steadman. At the Creative Refuge site you can also download the Steadman-inspired font "Collateral Damage" by Chris Hunt, courtesy of Chank.com. A visit to poke around Steadman's own site is also worth the cyber adventure.

© 2005 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Congratulations to "Designers Who Blog"

Congratulations to Cat Morley, of Katz-i Design, for some well-deserved recognition due to her efforts with the design blog directory Designers Who Blog. HOW Magazine has listed the site as one of the Top Ten Web Sites for December.

Oregon design blogs (or those having local connections) featured on the site include Adventures in Blogging, The ZehnKatzen Times, I am Pariah, News Designer, Design Inspiration, Cracking The Whip, Art Backwash, Designorati and my own.