Fuel Your Branding includes "Identity Crisis!" among its "10 Readable Branding Books"

Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands (HOW Books, 2007), by Jeff Fisher - the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland-based design firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has been listed as one of "10 Readable Branding Books" by the industry site Fuel Your Branding. Editor and creative strategist Beth LaPierre included Fisher's book along with volumes by branding experts Alina Wheeler, Marty Neumeier, Scott Bedbury, Allen Adamson, Seth Godin and others.

Fuel Your Branding offers resources, articles, interaction and advice to businesses seeking a successful brand to differentiate them in the marketplace and make them memorable to consumers. It is also a valuable tool for any professional in the business of branding.

Using Twitter to promote "Identity Crisis!"

Author and cyber pal Kristen Fischer has written the article "Using Twitter to Promote Your Book" for the independent worker site FreelanceSwitch. Twitter is one of the online resources I use to promote my books 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 (recently re-released as a PDF on CD). Fischer was kind enough to mention my book promotion efforts in the piece.

I use Twitter regularly to mention book-related speaking engagements, book signings, online sales of the books, blog entries, and mentions of my books online and in print. I will certainly be implementing the networking tool in the marketing and promotion of my upcoming book Logo•Type (HOW Books, 2010).

Fischer makes use of Twitter to market her own books, Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes and Creatively Self-Employed. I had the pleasure of being interviewed for inclusion in Creatively Self-Employed. In late 2007, Fischer also interviewed me for the FreelanceSwitch.com article "Veteran Designer Embraces Identity Crisis and Casual Fridays."

You can find me on Twitter at @LogoMotives. Tweet! Tweet!

Infographic journalist flips over 'Identity Crisis!'

Teoh Yi Chie - an infographic journalist, illustrator, and cartoonist from Singapore - posts design book reviews with great photo imagery on the Design Shelf blog. I recently came across a review and video (above), with the reviewer flipping through my book Identity Crisis: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, when posted on the Amazon.com page for the volume. I followed the provided link to the Design Shelf page for my book, which displays some great additional photo images.

Identity Crisis! at the Art Institute

On Thursday, February 28, I will be making a presentation about Identity Crisis! 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands to students at The Art Institute of Portland. I'll be speaking from noon until about 1:00 p.m. in Room 262 of the facility at 1122 NW Davis St. in Portland, OR.

It's all about proper product placement

When my first book, The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success, was released in 2004, my friend Lisa was known to reorganize bookstore shelves when coming across the volume in retail locations. As she would remind me, "It's all about proper product placement."

I now think about what she said every time I see my new book, Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands, on a store shelf. I am always very much aware of proper product placement.

Why look, there's Identity Crisis! featured on the shelf above the design section - right next to my friend Von Glitschka's book Crumble, Crackle, Burn: 120 Stunning Textures for Design and Illustration - another HOW Books offering. What are the odds? How did that happen?

(Actually, I had just set up my little photo shoot and taken three photos, when the store manager and security were immediately all over me asking what I was doing. After explaining that I was the author of the book, and showing them some identification, I was no longer considered a possible criminal or security risk.)

Identity Crisis! makes its 'point'

In the past few weeks, I've enjoyed walking into bookstores and seeing that the spine of my book Identity Crisis! is living up to its desired effect. HOW Book designer Grace Ring did a great job creating an image that does kind of "yell" at the customer perusing the design volume shelves.

Just yesterday, someone with whom I was having coffee mentioned how eye-catching the spine, and book cover, were when seen in a store among other books. I replied that when HOW Books acquisitions editor Megan Patrick informed me of the working title Identity Crisis, back in February 2006, I sent her the following email:

Maybe it should be "Identity Crisis!" - with an exclamation point. One of my clients just went through hers and it needed/deserved the additional punctuation!

Besides, I figured it would look good on the spine and cover of the book. It does!

PaperSpecs selects Identity Crisis!as Book of the Week

PaperSpecs is the first online paper database specifically developed for the design/print industry. This past week they selected Identity Crisis! as the Book of the Week in the site's online Paper Talks newsletter. It's also listed as one of the PaperSpecs suggested books.

Signed Identity Crisis! copies availablefrom St. Johns Booksellers in Portland

Last night I had a very successful Identity Crisis! book signing event at St. Johns Booksellers in North Portland. Owners Liz Dorman and Nena Rawdah hosted the fun evening at their store, located at 8622 N. Lombard in the St. Johns neighborhood.

Following the event, I signed numerous copies of Identity Crisis! and the store now has the books available for purchase. Unfortunately, they don't have website ordering. However, you may visit the store in person, email them at info@stjohnsbooks.com, or call (503)283-0032, to place an order or get additional information about the book. As other Portland area bookstores have limited quantities of the volume in stock - or have not yet received orders - St. Johns Booksellers is a great independent bookstore option.

If someone would like a personally inscribed copy, provide the store with the necessary information and I would be happy to stop by and personalize the book before it is shipped out.

For any order over $25 St. Johns Booksellers will ship by USPS media mail for free to Oregon, Washington, and California. (They don't recommend trying media mail for longer distances, because it can take an unreasonably long time and the additional handling is hard on the books.) The UPS ground fee is $6 for the first book, $1.50 for each additional item.

HOW Books promotes Identity Crisis!

It's been great seeing ads, from my publisher HOW Books (an imprint of F+W Publications), promoting Identity Crisis! in new design industry publications. The ad is in the special Designer's Good Business Guide issue of HOW Magazine and the 2007 PRINT Regional Design Annual.

Dexinger newsletter promotes Identity Crisis!

One of my favorite design email newsletters is that of Dexinger.com. It always provides a wealth of information about various design disciplines from around the world. It was great to see Identity Crisis! included in the October issue. (Here's the "clicky clicky" to sign up for the monthly industry news missive - and to review an archive of past newsletters.)

I did previously post an Identity Crisis! blog mention of the book appearing on the Dexinger home page.

The "LogoMotivator" huh?

I'm sitting here having cappuccino number two - at Casa Mennone in Segromigno in Monte, Italy - and hopping online to see what's going on with my book, Identity Crisis! When I last posted on this blog, prior to going off to Venice for three days, it was to announce my upcoming Portland book signing.

I thought that the book event might allow me to meet some of the Portland design community with whom I've had online connections, including a couple contributors to the book, but have never met in person. One of those individuals I hoped to see at the St. Johns Booksellers is Samuel John Klein, designer and blogger of The ZehnKatzen Times. Several times he's been nice enough to post entries about me or my work. He's done it again, with a mention of the November 8th event. Unfortunately, he will be working that evening.

This is getting ridiculous. I guess we just need to make plans to get together for coffee at some point when I get back to the States.

Thanks for promoting the book and the book signing!

GDUSA gives Identity Crisis! a mention

The design industry publication Graphic Design USA has given the book Identity Crisis! a mention in its October eGDUSA newsletter. GDUSA writes that Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns that Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands "delivers exactly what the title promises."

In introducing "New Designer Books," the column also notes the release of The Graphic Designer's Guide to Better Business Writing, by Barbara Janoff and Ruth Cash-Smith. Identity Crisis! author Jeff Fisher is featured several times in the Allworth Press selection.

Unbeige gives Identity Crisis! 'seal of approval'

A great way to start the week is with the industry website Unbeige posting a positive review (the first review I've seen so far) of my book Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands. I'm honored to have their virtual "seal of approval."

Creatively Self-Employed plugs Identity Crisis!

This afternoon writer Kristen Fischer's monthly email newsletter counterpart to her book, Creatively Self-Employed: How Writers and Artists Deal with Career Ups and Downs>, arrived in my inbox - and she was kind enough to give Identity Crisis! some highly visible promotion.

I was honored to be one of the contributors to her book. Any self-employed "creative type" should give it a read - and stop by the Creatively Self-Employed website for much more valuable information.

The release of Identity Crisis 'across the pond?'

I've been getting an increasing number of questions, on design forums and via email, about the release of Identity Crisis!: 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities into Successful Brands in the U.K. and throughout Europe. It looks like the distributor for that region of the world, David & Charles has the book scheduled for a December 2007 release.

The book is available for pre-sales on the Amazon.com sites in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Do keep an eye on the shelves of your local independent bookstores - it may appear earlier than expected.

'The Persuader' persuades othersto give Identity Crisis! a look

When originally planning the book Identity Crisis!, I knew that I wanted to include Jack Yan, publisher of Lucire and CEO of the global media and communications company Jack Yan & Associates, in some capacity. I was honored when he agreed to be a W.O.W. (Words of Wisdom) contributor.

This evening I was checking out his blog, The Persuader, and was incredibly surprised and flattered to see that he had written about the book today. Thank you very much, Jack!

Identity Crisis! found on biznik home page

This morning I got an email newsletter from biznik (Business Networking That Doesn't Suck) mentioning that the site had teamed up with Ilise Benun and Marketing Mix to offer a steady stream of new business tips on the home page.

There on biznik's home page, under the heading "Indie biz tips from Marketing Mix," was Ilise's Marketing Mix blog entry about Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands.

Not a bad way to start the day...

Identity Crisis! shows up on Dexinger

I just had an email from a designer friend letting me know that they had spotted Identity Crisis! on the homepage of the international design portal Dexinger this morning (above). They also posted an additional blurb in the news section - as well as my complete press release. Thanks Dexinger!

It's Ilise Benun's fault...

When people ask me how I got into writing articles about design, and eventually writing books on design topics, I will sometimes jokingly tell them it's Ilise Benun's fault. Back in 2000 HOW Books released her book Self Promotion Online: Marketing Your Creative Services Using Web Sites, Email and Digital Portfolios, and my own marketing and promotion efforts were featured several times in the volume. While my design work had been featured in a number of books prior to that time, Ilise's book brought my self-promotion methods and writing to the attention of a lot of people. Opportunities to be interviewed by other writers and authors, write articles for magazines and websites, and eventually write my first book, followed.

Fast forward seven years and Ilise Benun is known as one of powerhouses behind the Marketing Mentor. Ilise and I have kept in touch since she first interviewed me back in 1999. We usually have the opportunity to catch up in person at the annual HOW Design Conferences, where we both will speak again in 2008.

This morning, Ilise gave my new book, Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands, a great mention on The Marketing Mix blog. Thank you, Ilise!

By the way, Ilise and Peleg Top (her Marketing Mentor "partner-in-crime") present the first of HOW Magazine's Grow Your Design Business From Your Desktop Webinar series - "Get Rich in a Niche" - tomorrow, September 27th.

Identity Crisis! is currently shipping...

I got word this afternoon, from my publisher HOW Books, that my book Identity Crisis!: 50 redesigns that transformed stale identities into successful brands is in the process of being shipped to bookstores around the world. The "official" release date has been posted as October 27th - but you should be able to find it in stores before that date. The websites of Amazon.com and most online booksellers currently say the book is "In Stock," so I would suspect those who have pre-ordered the book should be receiving it soon. I hope everyone enjoys Identity Crisis!