PORTLAND--An overflow crowd of designers, ad people, snowboarders and other Stumptown characters packed "The Cleaners" at the Ace Hotel last night to hear from Portland-based designer Aaron Draplin, 36, of Draplin Design Company (DDC). The event was hosted by AIGA and 52 Ltd. Draplin is a big man and his work is even bigger. The guy demands respect and last night respect was given. Glass of wine or beer in hand, …
Agency Owners (and Managers), Check This List Twice
Peleg Top of Top Design, writing in the December issue of HOW, offers creative agency owners 10 tips on what NOT to do. (Editor's note: HOW doesn't offer its magazine content online, or I would link to it.) Here's his list: Mistake #1: Not having a marketing plan. Mistake #2: Not priming the pump. Mistake #3: Not getting it in writing. Mistake #4: Not connecting with the local talent pool. Mistake #5: Not talking up …
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Portland’s Other Powerhouse, Ziba Design, Helping Take China’s Top Sports Brand To The Next Level
I was intrigued by a four paragraph story in The Oregonian today. Here it is, in part: Li Ning Co., China's largest footwear and apparel maker, plans to open a Portland store in January that will be its first outlet outside Asia. Li Ning already has a research and development center in the Pearl District. Really? That's pretty big news to hide in a tiny little story (The Oregonian has covered pieces of the story …
Spotlight On NW Creative: Dave Selden’s Fleas
Dave Selden is Design Director at Pop Art and he has some advice for how to present a design portfolio, but the advice is applicable beyond design. Selden also recounts his migration story (he's from Iowa). When I moved to Portland in 2001 without a job, it was in pretty tough economic times. Most agencies were laying off designers, and I didn't know anyone. To stand out, I put together a gimicky little web site …
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Shouldn’t Landing Pages Be Called Departure Pages?
I stumbled upon two killer landing pages this week. One from Jody Ferry and one from Adelle Charles. I love how minimal and how visual both introductory pages are. There's so much to take in on the Web--it's nice to see these professional communicators make non-taxing first impressions. …
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Info-Happy-Graphic
[via CrackUnit and Poptimist] …
Cows Aren’t Just For Tipping Anymore
Omaha's Oxide Design scored with their poster series for Big Omaha, a tech conference conducted in the Silicon Prairie last May. The posters are featured in Communication Art's Design Annual 50, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday. …
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Spotlight On NW Creative: Ben’s Cork Cards
Ben Sellon is a 25-year old copywriter living in Portland and looking for work. Naturally, he mingles with industry types and hands out his card. But in Ben's case it's not just a business card that he hands out. Rather, it's a hand-made statement about his DIY ethos, his willingness to get his hands dirty (literally), his design aptitude and his unique creative vision. Yes, a business card can do all that, when the …
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