This last week has been so good! One of my best friends in the entire universe, Star was in town over the weekend for Stumptown Comics Fest and we did our best to make up for lost time. We try to get together at least once a year and have zig-zagged the U.S. between New [...]

Paintings by Phil Ashcroft • I recently rediscovered Designer’s Toolbox and its Design Resources section is a total lifesaver with tons of measurements and templates for everything you’ll ever need including standard web banners, envelopes, CD packaging and way, way more. • Marie of Agent Lover gives us a dressing room view of what the [...]

When I redesigned my corporate identity a few months ago, I decided to change things up and do square business cards. Last week, I placed an order with Uprinting.com and they showed up today! I’m loving the compact size. In real life, the colors are true to the mockups. I should mention that I’m not [...]

Yes. Every day presents the opportunity to learn something new; this in part can help to fuel your creativity. Life experience has helped me gain fresh new perspectives when designing. I am a very visual person and to fuel the creative process, I always carry a camera with me wherever I go and constantly collect [...]

I haven’t done a Fashion Notebook entry in awhile but during the last week as I’ve been tearing through a stack of magazines taking my night stand hostage, pages have started to fill up once again. Spanning over 10 years, the Fashion Notebook is a real life oversized sketchbook that I’ve been adding clippings to [...]

When people write me and ask what they should do while visiting Portland, the inevitable question of where to stay usually arises. Since I live in the city and 15 minutes or less from most of the hotels I like, I’ve never really had a reason to stay overnight. Until now. The Jupiter Hotel is [...]

Welcome to The Week in Pictures! I was having some major site issues over the last few days but thanks to the web ninjas known as Star and John C. Worsley, everything should be smooth sailing! I have the best friends – Kristin Cofer always sends me the cutest little packages. This one came complete with [...]

• The Magazine Cover Archive is devoted to helping keep inspirational magazine design alive. It has collected thousands of magazine covers from various titles that can be instantly viewed. • Brand New Classroom is “publishing identity work from students around the world who tackle redesigns of well-known brands as a class assignment. The focus will [...]

If Little Red Riding Hood had a penchant for mod attire and listened to black metal, I imagine that she’d wear something like this. A few weeks ago when I wore it for the first time, I forgot to mention that my Rick Owens jacket came with a detachable cape. Yes, a cape. I zipped [...]

When I started freelancing full time in May 2009, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Freelancers seem to have quite varied experiences which is to be expected when you’re working as your own boss. I’m a very structured person that was accustomed to working in teams with other designers and art directors; I wondered [...]