Defend Oregon: One Huge Door Hanger to Rule Them All
Discovered today, weighing in at 5″ wide by an enormous 25″ tall, printed in three colors + black… a door hanger from the progressive advocacy group Defend Oregon. Click on the thumbnail to see a much larger version.
Is this too subtle a reminder that the election is Tuesday? Seriously, the back of the piece explains the potential impact of state ballot initiatives in fairly exhaustive detail, but we’re not going to scan it. It’s very copy-dense and therefore better consumed at the Defend Oregon web site.
Here in Oregon, such a collateral piece takes on additional urgency because of the state’s exclusive vote-by-mail elections. So, conceivably, one sees the massive door hanger, takes it inside, and fills out the ballot that’s been collecting dust on the kitchen table. It’s an effective piece made more effective because of the vote-by-mail policy. A reminder to go vote on Tuesday—even an ostentatious one—could be forgotten over the weekend.
One additional note: the color scheme bears a slight resemblance to the Pacific Northwest’s only NFL team.
Fisher Communications Centennial Interactive Flash Timeline
Upon their 100th anniversary, Fisher Communications—owners of Portland ABC affiliate KATU—has created a microsite with an interactive Flash timeline highlighting the company’s accomplishments.
It’s an interesting design, similar to the Oregon Baseball History piece that we created several years ago. Two notes: one, there is way too much copy in the Events column. Either cutting down on the content or including a scrollbar would’ve been good for the user interface (UI).
And second, the anniversary logo could be improved by omitting the years. Given the black background, the dates become imbued with funereal significance, as if to mourn the passing of a beloved public figure. Subtracting 100 from 2010 is pretty easy math for most people to do. The word “century”—instantly impressive—is sandwiched and buried. Make it bigger and give it room to breathe.
“Celebrating a Century” might be a better tagline: “service” and “innovation” are buzzwords that many, many businesses try to co-opt as their own distinguishing characteristics. These terms have lost any value they once held. Push them down into body copy or drop them altogether.
Illustration Appears as Cover Art for Semiconductor International Magazine
From June 15, 2006. This illustration is part of Cosmonaut’s identity design portfolio (it is one of a series of ten):
An illustration by Daniel Deitschel was featured on the July 2006 cover of Semiconductor International magazine. The abstract composition was originally created in 2004 as a series of ten illustrations depicting Mentor Graphics design areas. The cover story is entitled “Litho Simulation Enables the Leading Edge.”
Semiconductor International is was a publication of Reed Business Information.
Mentor Graphics (based in Wilsonville, Oregon) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronics and semiconductor companies.
Update: Semiconductor International published its last issue on April 29, 2010, one of several publications discontinued by Reed Elsevier.
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