This is a new logo we just completed for Wendy J. Communications, a small marketing firm that specializes in writing, editing and presentation services for Passive Investment Advisors. The logo mark works on 3 levels (and maybe more): The concentric circles create the two “C”s of “Cook Communications”, the triangle space is a pencil tip with the type completing the shaft, and it’s also a target with an arrow hitting the bull’s eye. The typeface? Archer, of course. We’re also working on a cool new Wordpress-based website for this business that is launching soon!

We just revised the branding for Peter Champ, a Portland area realtor and long-time supporter of DBD+A. The updated brand is punchier (Pete was once an amateur boxer), greener (he’s Earth Advantage S.T.A.R. certified and a Trade Partner with the Energy Trust of Oregon), and just plain cooler (Pete’s very cool for a Brit). Now we just have to update his website to match! See the previous version of his logo here.

Nothing new here, except some great new photography of the Deco Silver Rum label we helped design. You can pick-up Deco Silver and Deco Ginger Rum at many Oregon and most Portland liquor stores.

The Better Burnside Alliance, a group of neighborhood citizens and businesses who are proposing a better plan for the West Burnside and NW Couch Couplet in Portland, wanted a new blog-based news website in a hurry. And, we delivered this cool little Wordpress website that can grow as big as needed — conveying news, updates, links to other articles and studies, and more.

Here’s an e-blast we created and coded for Feldish Design and FullBloom Baking Company. Got a message you need to get out to your email list? We can create an email that is cross-platform compatible, smart-sized, spam-compliant, and pretty too!

May 15-24 is designated as International Pickle Week, though the days add up to 10 instead of the traditional seven. Maybe that’s because pickles are so darn flavorful, that they can be fully experienced in just one short week! International Pickle Week was first celebrated in 1948, but pickles date back so far that no one can say for sure when they first appeared. The estimate for the origin of cucumbers in vinegar dates back more than 4,000 years. The fact that Pickle Week is an international celebration may be due to the variety of cultures that endorse the tasty treat. From the days of Cleopatra to now, the pickle has been a treat for the ages.

Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers, not only drafted the Declaration of Independence, he was a pickle lover as well. “On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally’s cellar.” At DBD+A we favor the spunky Dill Pickle, but we’ll settle for a Bread & Butter if no Dills are available.

OK, so you know that we love Wordpress for building new websites, and one of the reasons we do is that it is so extendable and customizable. There are literally thousands of plugins available for Wordpress that add functionality or change the look-and-feel of your site, but which ones are our favorites? Click here for our Top 10 short list!

Read more about the cost benefits of using Wordpress as your CMS solution.

We created new branding for the North of Lovejoy neighborhood in the Pearl District a few months ago to help promote shopping and dining in the area, now dubbed NOLO. Unfortunately, construction for new streetcar lines is threatening to disrupt the normal flow of business in the area. The Pearl District Business Association asked us to create a campaign for posters, banners and other signage to let visitors know that the area is still “open for business.” So, we came up with NOLO is OPEN which you will start seeing around the North of Lovejoy area in business windows, streetcar advertising and even parking lots.