Building OZ
Inside Oz from Ryan Bush on Vimeo. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This was an incredible project. It’s rare, I think, when we get to work on projects we love from brief to delivery. We must consider ourselves lucky when a client gives us full creative control, and is as professionally supportive as the Ozgener family, whom I’d like to introduce you to. This family came to the United States from Turkey. They raised a family... Read More
GOOD + PSU + Your Ideas
You know that problem. The one that drives you crazy. The one that always ends with the sentence or thought “why don’t they fix that?” Well now you can be the they and the fixer. And present your solutions in a public place with some serious support behind you. This is your chance! Want to see more public art? Want to pitch solar-powered driverless cabs? Want a garden every 10 blocks? Here, let me hand you that megaphone, people... Read More
Will Bryant, Please!
William Bryant just moved to Portland via Austin and just killed the New York Times Magazine front cover with the illustrated question of the year “What if the Secret to Success is Failure?” This man can draw, and he draws everyday. Plus he’s humble and nice and hard working. So that’s amazing. Mr. Bryant has been generous enough to share some process sketches and below is the cover on the NYT website! Holding this thing in-hand... Read More
The Spit Swap – Aaron Draplin & Invisible Creature
Design community oriented events usually satisfy our urges to see our kind in a condensed time & space, almost an excuse to see each other away from our screens, drink in hand, and in our socks, so-to-speak. There are very few occasions however where this is accompanied by the ability to see great work, hear magnetic speakers, and get stuffed with inspiration. This phenomenon is called Designspeaks. I have a special relationship with Designspeaks.... Read More
UnFailed Fail show
This is the invitation for Wieden+Kennedy 12.7’s art show that opened yesterday on First Thursday. This is how much I love it (arms open). I accidentally stumbled upon some of the 12’ers late one evening in the studio putting together some elements for this piece, I had no idea they were going to pull off something this beautiful. I almost feel like I could just end the post right here. I can’t tear my eyes away. I find it equally... Read More
It’s Official. It’s a co.
The fact that FORTPORT has not featured OMFG co. yet is practically a crime. It’s nearly impossible to be in this town and not be exposed to their stunning array of works strewn about. The three men behind the odd acronym (which when I first heard it looked like swear words, condensed) are Jeremy, Mathew, and Fritz. They have been working hard building out and polishing up a new space for their creative efforts at ADX Portland and were kind... Read More
Guest post – Honest Design
I’d like to introduce a friend of the FORT, one Ryan Bush – who has been instrumental in previous posts, playing an obscured role in the shadows of this blog. No more, we say! Ryan wrote a piece on what he sees happening to our craft, and I’ve a response of mine below if you care to hear it. If you’ve got beef with it, love for it, or are just here for the 1/2 priced cocktails, be sure to voice your fabulous opinion in the... Read More
Tien-Min Liao
Somehow I stumbled across the lovely work of an ambitious young designer from Taiwan now living in New York. This lady can cut, grid, and layout like a champ. One of her pieces is a book about her homeland and it is comprised of paper craft and information graphics. Bed fellows I’ve not seen too much of before. Tien-Min makes them look like they were made for each other. Tien-Min was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, and now is a graduate... Read More
Mike Bailey-Gates, age 16
Come on. He is 16 years old, or at least he was when he made his flickr profile. Ok I just read he was born in 1993, so there is the answer. Mike Bailey-Gates is a photographer from Rhode Island and I swear I have seen the above image floating around for a while, I just never looked at his other work. I am spellbound, you will be spellbound, and I’m not sure what emotion I experience when I realize how young this talent is. Is it jealousy?... Read More
Sunday Time(s)
Sunday again. You know what this means in my house. This week, however, I was on a mission to find a friend of ours inside the newspaper, but a couple things first. The cover of the magazine is a simulacrum of the C++ code that exploits a common secutiry flaw in WiFi networks, allowing a hacker to impersonate a user on a particular web site. The code was adapted by Lacy Garrison who does some pretty incredible work for some serious clients. When... Read More