The ZehnKatzen Times A blog by a Portland graphic deisgner about finding interesting and fun things in design and life and looking for his big payday Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 151 3521

Articles from The ZehnKatzen Times

[sign_design, info_design] County Highways in Oregon 2007-11-29 21:39:00 1162. One thing not seen often in Oregon are signed county routes. I think this is unfortunate, because having county route numbers are a really nifty way of instilling terrior, a sense of place, and saying "follow Country Route 3" dispenses with all sorts of "go left here ... or was that right ...no, wait, start over" monologue that even I (and you can't get me lost very easily anyhwere in the Valley north of Corvallis) tend to get into (the brain is a funny thing).There is one county in Oregon that implements a badged county road network, and that county is Douglas. It's a little hard to find maps with the route numbers on online–I do have a map of them, but that's off the official Douglas County map of 1990, an illustration of which is at left (click the map to embiggen).The county road shield is a standard one: gold FHWA-style type on blue field, an irregular pentagon taller than wide, with mitred corners on the bottom two points and rounded corners on the top three. I've cre ... Design

[info_design, street_blades] Salem Street Blades-The Way They Used To Be 2007-11-29 13:30:00 1161. Posting about Salem street blades got me reminiscing about growing up in Salem, and I remember seeing some of the evolutions of that form. The following comes from memory ...When my fam moved into town, the street blades (inside town, anyway-the Marion County blades were wooden, and standard off-white on green) weren't green-on-white, as detailed two entries back, but rather looked like this:That's m4d Photoshop skillz, yo. The letterforms were slightly different too, but the current editions are close enough that this looks very close to the way they used to be. But this was just an intermediate step in their evolution. Perhaps influenced by styles seen elsewhere, the name blade used to be slenderer–with only room for one line of type, the street name; the block index went on a tab that was riveted to the main blade:I believe this style was current in Salem through the late sixties and was supplanted by the other style as signs needed replacing. Moreover, street blades durin ... Design

[design, layout] The Perils of Page Layout, 2: Proofread, Proofread, Proofread! 2007-11-29 08:41:00 1160. From the movie listings in The Big O today:Yes, but which one will we go see ... oh, well, when in doubt, see the one that has Jake Gylenhaal in it...what, dude, what ... neither of them have him in it? Oh, my. Tags: design, page layout, funny ... Design

[info_design, street_blades] A Tour Of Salem and Keizer's Street Blades 2007-11-29 03:04:00 1158. Latterly, as detailed before in this consciousness stream, we visited Salem to see Fam and overeat generally. Missions both accomplished. But what Yours Truly had in mind was to snap some images of something we don't see often: Salem and Keizer street blades. Lets just cut to the chase, then. The first of the two cities one comes to is, of course, Keizer. Formed in 1982, mostly to keep Salem out, Keizer is one of the two areas where Salem ever got any sprawl on before urban growth boundaries sprang up around Oregon cities back in the day. Here's a typical set of blades in a typical Keizer neighborhood. 14th Avenue NE is notable because it is to greater Salem what Peacock Lane is to Portland–it's the street where all the neighbors go all out every holiday season in a Christmas decoration extravaganza: The block number indexes are notable here. You're looking at the intersection of the 1300 block of Harmony Dr NE and the 5700 block of 14th A ... Design

[liff] Nobody's Ever Said What That Makes Idaho 2007-11-29 01:16:00 1157. Ever since Stephen Colbert declared Oregon "Idaho's Portugal", I've had a bit of trouble wrestling with this metaphor. Oregonlive.com has seen fit to lift this geographic slight (and get a few hits of Colbert's name, but hey–so am I) with the ad clipped at right (h/t Nonprofit Girl). My point is, if Oregon is Idaho's Portugal, then Idaho should be Oregon's Spain (Calfornia and Washington are Oregon's USA, if you apply the Colbertian metaphor the other way). But Idaho is a poor stand-in as anyone's Spain. I mean, can you picture someone in Eagle going down into Boise for tapas? No, I can't either.And just what is up with that little yellow alien by the word Oregon fnord? Technorati Tags: Idaho's Portugal,liff,humor,Colbert ...

[design, logo_design] Channel 3's 2007-11-28 05:03:00 1156. And now, a song of Channel Threes. This post is in fond memoriam of KVDO Channel 3, Salem, which broadcast from 14 Feb 1970 to 19 Feb 1976 as Salem's local independent TV station (after Feb 1976 it was broacasting OPB content, and we're including that period when that disgruntled viewer cut down the Channel 3 transmission tower). So, after a brief 30-second (or 60-second, if you can afford it) pause to reflect, we'll move on.There. You know, it just occurred to me–does anyone have any KVDO ephemera? If you scan it and send it here, I'll be happy to post that. Anyway, without further ado ... Let's tune in across the country to Channel 3 ...On Cable Channel 3 in Longmont, Colorado–The Longmont Channel:I thought it was cool the way someone did a little design job just for their local cable channel.Acadiana's News Channel, KATC, Lafayette, LA:KBTX, Channel 3, College Station/Bryan Texas. They sure do know how to work that Lone Star down there:KCRA, Channel 3, Sacramento. Th ... Design

[liff] The Kind of Dreams I Have Sometimes 2007-11-27 20:45:00 1156. You know how some people dream about sleeping sometimes? Yesterday night, I dreamt about sleepwalking. No, typically, we don't have discussions in this household about whether or not I've lost it. Technorati Tags: liff ...

[design, logo_design] Channel 2's 2007-11-27 18:57:00 1155. Ever wonder what thier Channel 2 looks like?So did I. Here's what I found (dialup warning–metric buttload of images follow):Well, all of you who are Painfully Portland (like me) already know this one:Here's KBCI Channel 2, Boise (before and after the recent rebranding):KCBS, Channel 2, Los Angeles:KDKA, Channel 2, Pittsburgh (a "K" station east of the Mississippi):KGAN Channel 2, Cedar Rapids Iowa:KHON Channel 2, Honolulu:KJRH Channel 2, Tulsa:KPRC Channel 2, Houston (aren't they perky?):... although that fellow on the far left pretty much defines the phrase gimlet-eyed gaze.KTUU Channel 2, Anchorage:KTVI Channel 2, Saint Louis:KTVN Channel 2, Reno:KTVU Channel 2, San Francisco:KUTV Channel 2, Salt Lake City:KWGN, Channel 2, Denver:TPT (Twin Cities Public Television), Minnesota. Has Channel 2 and 17:WBAY, Channel 2, Green Bay and Fox River Valley, Wisconsin:WBBM, Chicago's Legendary CBS O&O Channel 2:WCBD, Channel 2, Charleston South Carolina:WCBS, Channel 2, New York C ... Design

[pdx, logo_design] A Brief History of The KPTV Logo (Sort of) With Illustrative Examples 2007-11-27 05:51:00 1154. The history of Portland television is, in a way, the history of Channel 12, KPTV. It's also kind of a history of styles and fashion, which is truthfully the way I relate to it on a gut-response level. The current logo portrays the KPTV-that-is-now; Portland's FOX affiliate–slick, mature, serious. It was a long growing-up. History will recall that Portland's own KPTV was the first TV station in Portland, and may well be the first commercial UHF TV station in the world (the award for first UHF station proper going to a Bridgeport, CN trasmitter (KC2XAK) that was an experimental effort). Ironically, the first owners of KPTV–Empire Coil–bought the transmission equipment for KC2XAK, shipped it cross country, and assembled it on Council Crest ... as KPTV's first transmitter. It signed on as KPTV-Channel 27 in September of 1952 carrying all four then-major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and DuMont), and, as commercial television exploded in Stumptown from 1952 throu ... Design  History

[design, urban design] The New Sellwood Bridge? 2007-11-27 00:00:00 1153. (Via BikePortland) We've seen the future of the old Sellwood Bridge, and we like what we see.There are some gorgeous design thoughts happening, everything from cable-stayed to through-arch for the higher-priced options to a beguiling delta-frame bridge and a simple box-girder design that, while relatively plain next to the other glamour-pusses, is still elegantly-designed. Here's the rundown of concept imagery, nicked wholesale from the Sellwood Bridge Project's site:The Sellwood Bridge Project is running a survey right now on these visual design options. The BikePortland blog suggests we take it, and we endorse that suggestion. Just go the home page there and look for the splash graphic at the top of the right sidebar. It won't take long. ... Design

[pdx] Now, Which Portland Is It? 2007-11-26 23:16:00 1152. Nice going so far, people. I've got another one for you.In this downtown Portland, Broadway and Main cross. On the north side of town, amazingly, there is still a Portland Boulevard, which is ironic because it's 1,824 miles closer to Montgomery than our Portland is. One of its newpapers is the local Leader, and the other is considered the Progressive, regardless of what you think of them. And, like our Portland, a short drive to the north end of town will bring you to the state line.Which Portland is this? Tags: pdx, Portland, Which Portland ...

[bloggage] Hat Tip To Jeff Mapes 2007-11-25 21:22:00 1151. If you surfed over here to see the large size of the Sleepy Downtown Salem (Liberty Street) that Jeff Mapes referred to in his blog here, you can see that here.And thanks for coming over, if you did – and thank you, Jeff, for the mention! Most skookum of you! Tags: pdx, bloggage, linkage, or_photo, Oregon photos, Salem Photos, Downtown Salem ...

[meme] ZehnKatzen's Weekly Winners #2: Sleepy State Street, Salem 2007-11-25 11:02:00 1150. For this week's winner, I chose another photo of downtown Salem Oregon late on a Thanksgiving afternoon: This is State Street, Salem, looking east from Liberty Street, approximately 3:15 PM, Thanksgiving 2007. No, there aren't a bunch of invisible people there. Downtown Salem is that empty after hours and on holidays. Now, as I've said before, I'm very fond of my capital city. I grew up in Salem and was born just up the road in Silverton. Salem is in by blood and my background. But it is a city of 150,000–but by this photo, you wouldn't know it. Practially everyone has, literally, gone home. The Lege is the biggest show in town, and that only happens once every two years. That's Salem for you. Great place to be from.Salem: Oregon's Tacoma. Technorati Tags: Oregon photos,Salem Oregon,Salem Photos,Weekly Winners,meme ...

[pdx] Which Portland Is This, Then? 2007-11-24 20:28:00 1149. This Portland has a few things in common with our Portland; there is a Portland Harbor on the north side; it's about the same latitude; It has an island that's not quite an island, and it is famous for being a certain color of gray, and at the end of it all, just like property taxes, you have a bill. And, speaking of ends, this Portland is Sine qua non. Which Portland is this?UPDATE: Stan gets the award: The correct answer is the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, in England.The Sine qua non comes from the inference that most other Portlands were either named for this (Portland, Maine) or named for something that was named for it (Portland, Oregon). The famous Portland cement has nothing to do with our fair city (despite there once being a local firm called Oregon Portland Cement), but was in fact called such because the color was reminiscent of the color of the stone on the Isle. Quizzically, there is no actual city of Portland there. The nearest city of size is Weymouth on ...

[liff, or_photo] Liberty Street, Downtown Salem, Thanksgiving Day Afternoon, 2007 2007-11-23 21:46:00 1148. Liberty Street NE, Salem, the throbbing heart of the state capital, at about 15:30h on Thanksgiving day, 2007: I was standing in the crosswalk on the north side of State Street facing north up Liberty. That first light up is Court Street NE; the next one up is Chemeketa Street NE; then there's the skybridge over from JCPenney to the Salem Centre mall; I give you Oregon's second (or is it third now) city on a holiday afternoon. Now, Salem gets a lot of insults for being such a small, sleepy town. I'd like to say that, having grown up there, it's not a bad place really, People are as friendly as anywhere else in the Willamette Valley; Salem is a cute town, comfortable, pleasant on the eyes. But take it as a clue that a lot of us–residents as well as expats–call it Snailem. And take it as a huge clue that despite standing in the middle of one of the principal downtwon shopping streets, at the crown, I was never in danger of being hit by any car–not once. ...