Blog

Join us in conversation on the topics we believe matter...to our industry, our city and our society.

Design & Happiness

By Kris Travis | Oct 28, 2014

Design Week Portland 2014 was great fun, and I felt lucky to attend the sold-out talk by Stefan Sagmeister on Design & Happiness. The Austrian-born designer has been a design “rockstar” for decades, but when he’s not working for clients of Sagmeister & Walsh, he’s studying how we attain happiness. His ultimate goal is a […]

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Newspaper Ad Revenue Down $40 Billion Since 2000

By Ann Smith | Oct 25, 2014

We blogged recently about the health of the magazine industry, which has experienced a 10% YOY growth in readership. The news came as a surprise to many of us, given the state of newspapers today. Unfortunately, there’s no corresponding happy news in the latest stats about the health of the newspaper industry, as measured by […]

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Monica Lewinsky's Back in the Media

By Ann Smith | Oct 22, 2014

Many know the name Monica Lewinsky. Over 16 years ago in 1998, the details of her affair with President Bill Clinton became public knowledge and she has since then lived in the public eye. Her name has even been mentioned in rap lyrics by Beyonce, Eminem, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne among others. At the […]

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The New York Times' Diversity Problem

By Kelda Rericha | Oct 20, 2014

In late September, the New York Times’ piece on television producer Shonda Rhimes hadn’t even appeared in the Sunday paper before the online world blew up over its seemingly racist and sexist content. Written by TV critic Alessandra Stanley, the piece on the highly successful African-American producer Shonda Rhimes starts, “When Shonda Rhimes writes her […]

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Combating Health Miscommunication Takes Powerful Communication

By Ann Smith | Oct 8, 2014

Health agencies have been challenged for months with how best to communicate with the public and the media alike about the Ebola outbreak.  The news that Thomas Eric Duncan, the Dallas man infected with Ebola, has died is likely to add to Americans’ fears about the disease, and with that fear, we are likely to […]

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Your Website in 2015

By Kris Travis | Oct 6, 2014

Do you have any big site redesign plans? As 2015 approaches, many organizations are refreshing their look and functionality. Web design trends are constantly evolving, and web functionality changes are near-impossible to keep up with. The website design for limo drivers and the website design for an engineering firm differ, for instance. But that doesn’t […]

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Not Dead Yet: Magazine Industry Reports 10% YOY Growth in Readership

By Kelda Rericha | Oct 1, 2014

The death of print media has been so widely reported for so long that many of us would never even questions its truth. But the beleaguered magazine industry has released a new report that might prove those assumptions wrong, especially for those with a digital platform. On Monday, the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) released […]

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Sexism on Jeopardy?

By Ann Smith | Sep 30, 2014

Women’s rights are gaining focus in the media. Stories including Emma Watson’s United Nation speech, the #yesallwomen Twitter handle and the contraception debate in recent Supreme Court cases are drawing attention to the issue of equal rights for women. Adding to the touchy issue, Monday night’s Jeopardy episode included a questionable category that stirred up […]

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Addicted to Technology?

By Ann Smith | Sep 18, 2014

With the enormous amount of buzz surrounding the new iPhone, it’s worth the time to think about what life would be like if we weren’t so consumed with the newest technology, social media and the world online. Sometimes we spend too much time on our technological devices that we decide to create apps like Moment, […]

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Design Week Portland

By Kris Travis | Sep 18, 2014

Are you ready for Design Week Portland? It’s coming, and it has something to offer everyone, designer or not. From October 4-11, a series of events, open houses, installations, talks, and parties will take over spaces throughout Portland, all in celebration of design. As the website states, “Design Week Portland is a weeklong series of […]

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