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On Meeting Patrick Dougherty

Patrick Dougherty
A giant bird’s nest? Bottle shaped houses? Wind swept fantasy villages? When were you presented with the opportunity to work on a truly unique creation by an artist you have admired for many years? For me, this dream recently began to unfold.

In the freezing temperatures of the early winter morning, I met Patrick Dougherty, the internationally acclaimed sculptor of Stickwork. Patrick arrived at the Portland Children’s Museum to meet with museum staff and Mayer/Reed designers to brainstorm an installation at the Outdoor Adventure, a new nature-play exhibit.
Opening on Earth Day, the Outdoor Adventure grounds will push forth a bounty of colorful new plantings, flowing streams and play opportunities, followed in June by Patrick’s burst of creative energy and artful vision. Under his masterful guidance, tons of Pacific Northwest native saplings will be twisted and woven into a temporary expression by a team of volunteers. Portland will have its own Stickwork creation to be experienced by kids of all ages.

For those of us in the design professions, we find ourselves on occasion in the presence of masters: masters of exceptional vision, interpretation, and artful expression. For me, Patrick Dougherty is one such master. After more than a decade of admiring his creations of whimsy colliding with nature, I will now have the chance to experience first-hand his unique interpretation of humor, habitat and history. Sweet!

UW Odegaard Library Wins AIA Award

The Miller Hull Partnership received an AIA Honor Award for Interior Architecture for the University of Washington’s Odegaard Undergraduate Library renovation. Mayer/Reed created the experiential graphics and wayfinding as part of the collaborative design effort that reimagined the space for 21st century learning.

Behind the Design: Third Angle New Music Identity

The logo concept materialized out of two workshops at our studio with Third Angle New Music’s staff and marketing committee. The first workshop explored Third Angle’s core attributes, mission, aspirations and value to the community. At the second workshop each participant was asked to pull 5 favorites from a wall of inspirational images and to explain why their selections were meaningful and relevant to Third Angle. From these exercises emerged a logo concept that represents the intersection of new music, composition and collaboration across the dimensions of style, time and space.The logo design is based on overlaying the name Third Angle on a three dimensional tetrahedron grid. This folded topographic plane of triangles is inspired by the facade of one of the Chinese pavilions at the Shanghai World Expo that I saw during Third Angle’s first trip to China for the Beijing International Music Festival. Third Angle’s story and history is embedded in the new logo.

Original artwork was created using a piece of paper printed with the words Third Angle that was then folded and photographed, again and again. A final digital version emerged that met the range of application demands. A brand statement, tagline and graphic application standards were developed to bring the new identity to life.Michael Reed serves on Third Angle’s Board of Directors.

Publication: Wayshowing > Wayfinding

We are honored to have two projects featured in a new book by Per Mollerup, Wayshowing>Wayfinding: Basic & Interactive. The firm’s visual communications work for Tri-Met Portland Transit Mall and the Vancouver Community Library are featured as examples of successful wayshowing from around the world.

The book is a follow-up to the 2005 edition, Wayshowing: A Guide to Environmental Signage which also featured Mayer/Reed’s work. Per Mollerup is Professor of Communication Design at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne and author of several books on design.