Jeff Fisher to present live HOW/Print DesignCast - 'Using Social Media as a (Free!) Marketing Tool'

Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, will present the live DesignCast "Using Social Media as a (Free!) Marketing Tool" on February 18, 2010 at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT. The one-hour session is sponsored by HOW and Print magazines. The registration fee is $69. Online registration, and more information, is available on the MyDesignShop.com website.

Learn how to use Facebook, Twitter, blogging and more to grow your business, build networks, and reach out an international community of design peers and potential clients. Designer and author Jeff Fisher will sort through a variety social networking/media options and teach you how to use these FREE promotional activities.

Jeff Fisher, author of Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands (HOW Books, 2007), is a 30-year design veteran. He has been honored with over 600 regional, national and international design awards and is featured in over 130 books about logos, the design business, and small business marketing. His first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success was released in 2004 and has been reissued as a PDF on CD from MyDesignShop.com. Fisher is currently writing a new volume, Logo Type: 200 Best Typographic Logos from Around the World Explained, on the topic of typography in identity design.

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

© 2010 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Identity Re-Design: Balaboosta Delicatessen

The Japanese book Works in Progress: Graphics for Visual Presentations features a portion of the logo design process for Balaboosta. The following example of a logo re-design project by Jeff Fisher LogoMotives goes into a bit more detail.

Local chef and restaurant owner Lisa Schroeder was opening a new traditional delicatessen on a city block where she owned two other eating establishments. Initially the new eatery was also going to display and sell artisan furniture made from reclaimed products. A polished identity was needed to represent the new business.

Furniture designer Brett Bigham had created an initial image for use in promoting the establishment which would also showcase his creative efforts (above). A more stylized and finished business identity was desired by the owner of the business. Retaining the image of a waitress in the graphic was discussed, as was the incorporation of some retro restaurant imagery.

With "Balaboosta" being a rather unique word, I first presented the client the word in a wide variety of typefaces - both upper and lower case for each font presented (above).

The initial concepts (above) incorporated waitress imagery, a retro-like checkerboard pattern and all of the text elements desired by the client. The first two logo concepts included an oval shape - an element used in the identities of the client's tow other eating establishments.

Feedback on the initial concepts led to the elimination of the waitress image. The client suggested that I concentrate on promoting the food offerings of the delicatessen within the logo design.

I then decided to incorporate a cup of coffee and a bagel as replacements for the "O" letterforms in the word "Balaboosta." In addition, concepts were presented that conveyed a restaurant tabletop with coffee cups, bowl, plate and pitcher. (above) Again, one of the designs involved the inclusion of the oval shape.

The oval resonated with the client and I was asked to move forward with that shape as a graphic element. The coffee cup remained within the design; while the bagel was replaced with a half sandwich and a dill pickle slice. In simplifying the design, the name Balaboosta Delicatessen was the only text retained. A variety of background treatments were presented (above).

The client, who had a great understanding of design and typography, then suggested that I take a look at the font Serific/Serifa as a possible primary type treatment. Baskerville was discussed as a complimentary type selection for the word "Delicatessen" (above).

The simplification of the logo design continued with the elimination of all illustrative elements. The diamond pattern background of previous concepts brought my attention to the tile pattern on the floor of the historic building housing the delicatessen. I then brought that tile pattern - and the colors of wood, paint and tile within the restaurant - into the design (above).

The oval shape was a consistent element from the beginning of the process to create an identity for the Balaboosta Delicatessen. Through the process of distilling the design down to a simplified image, a final sophisticated logo was created.

The client was very pleased with the final identity image and how it complimented the logos of her other restaurants. Unfortunately, the design got little use, as the eating establishment was reconcepted shortly after opening.

In addition to appearing in the Works in Progress: Graphics for Visual Presentations, the Balaboosta design lives on in The Big Book of Logos 5, 1000 Restaurant Bar & Cafe Graphics, 100s Visual Logos & Letterheads (UK), Design DNA - Logos: 300+ International Logos Deconstructed and Logo Design Vol. 3 (Germany). It also received an American Graphic Design Award from GD:USA.

Check out some other Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity re-design projects.

(Note: My book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands, contains case studies from 35 designers and firms located around the world. Learn more about the book on the Identity Crisis! blog.)

© 2010 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives

Business Logos

(Clockwise from upper left)

Deschutes Plumbing
Client: Deschutes Plumbing
Location: Bend, OR USA

The identity for a plumbing contractor located in the resort community of Bend, OR - near the Deschutes River and the Three Sisters Mountains. It is featured in the book New Logo & Trademark Design (Japan).

PavelComm
Client: PavelComm
Location: Portland, OR USA

A 2008 identity redesign for PavelComm, a customer service focused organization specializing in complete communications and technology solutions. The identity appears in the book Logo Nest 02 (Logo Nest, Serbia, 2012). Read more information about this logo design project.

KIOTI
Client: KIOTI Tractor, Inc.
Location: Portland, OR USA

In 1985, I participated the naming process for a tractor company, importing an equipment line manufactured by Daedong of South Korea. Once the name was confirmed, I created the initial identity for the business.

Buttonberry Books
Client: Buttonberry Books
Location: Lebanon, NJ USA

Logo for a book publishing company. The identity appears in the books New Logo World (Japan), Logo Design for Small Business 2, and Logos from North to South America (Spain).

Check out additional Jeff Fisher LogoMotives business logo designs.

All logo designs © 2015 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives. All rights reserved.

Toot! Toot!*: Jeff Fisher LogoMotives designs included in 'Basic Logos' from Spanish publisher

The design work of Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, is included in the newly released book Basic Logos. The volume, from Spanish publisher Index Book, is currently available in Europe and will be in U.S. bookstores this spring.

Fisher's logo for Just Out, the monthly newsmagazine for Oregon's GLBT community, was one of two designs selected for inclusion in the book. The Just Out identity redesign gave the publication a fresh, contemporary look. It won an American Corporate Identity 22 award and also appears in The Big Book of Logos 5 and 100's Visual Logos and Letterheads.

A personal logo designed for hairstylist Micki King, while she was working at a salon named Chameleon, is also included in the new volume. In addition, the image is showcased in the books LogoLounge 4 and 100's Visual Logos and Letterheads.

Fisher, a 32-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. He is currently writing the book LogoType, about typography in identity design, with a scheduled release of late 2010.

The designer has received over 600 design awards and his work has been published in more than 130 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.)

© 2010 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives