"Thank God I have the seeing eye, that is to say, as I lie in bed I can walk step by step on the fells and rough land seeing every stone and flower and patch of bog and cotton pass where my old legs will never take me again." (Beatrix Potter)

Sunday Morning NW:
by Gary Ferrington

Proscenia announces new game. A new word game is available as a download on the Proscenia web site. Loggle is a challenging game that's fun for the whole family. Best of all, it's free! Loggle was written by Proscenia's Ken Loge.

A new word game that's fun for the whole family is available as a download on the Proscenia web site. Loggle is a challenging game that's fun for the whole family. Best of all, it's free! Loggle was written by Proscenia's Ken Loge.

Portland Becomes a Center for Creative industries. I remember Portland as a city where my family went to buy the necessities of daily life in the 1950's. There were no outlying shopping malls. All the major stores were located downtown and even though we lived 26 miles outside the city we would make a weekend trip "to town" to shop.

The Portland of my youth has long ceased to exist as thousands of metropolitan area residents now do most of their shopping at suburban malls miles from the city core. To survive, Portland has reinvented itself. It has become a national center for creative services and culture.

Today's Portland is a vibrant city attracting more 25-34 year-olds than most other U.S. cities. "The increase in the number of young people with college degrees is particularly striking: between 1990 and 2000, greater Portland experienced an increase in this cohort of over 50 percent and Multnomah County experienced a change of over 60 percent."(1)

Many of these young people are attracted to Portland's creative industries that include professional opportunities in graphic design, industrial design, web design, architecture, fashion, advertising, film, video, and multimedia to name a few. These professional areas account for approximately 18,000 jobs in 1,600 firms in Multnomah County alone.(2) Additional employment extends into adjoining Washington County known as the "Silicon Forest" of Oregon given the high-tech industries located there.

Creative industries are considered to be those "... that have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property." (3)

The 2003 winter issue of Movie Maker Magazine identified Portland as one of the 10 best cities in North America for independent moviemakers.(4) Independent producers such as Portland International Short Short Film Festival's Tony Fuentes, or Jaime Bancroft, Kenneth Luba of Golightly Films, Jeff Winograd, Will Vinton and Joanna Priestly, and many more, have found Portland a welcoming place in which to live and work.

Portland is ideally located near outdoor activities that attract young people. With near by rivers, mountains, and the Pacific Ocean, one can go from windsurfing on the Columbia in the morning, to snow boarding down a nearby mountain in the afternoon. That evening a tent can be pitched by a pristine lake, then wake the next day to go fishing.

Portland escaped the urban renewal craze that other cities went through trying to save decaying city cores. Instead, Portland seem to wait and then with great energy reinvigorated the downtown finding beauty in its old buildings, developing an extensive light rail system to connect outside communities with downtown and capitalized on its parks and other amenities to make the city an inviting place to live.

Many communities within the downtown area have developed as cultural centers including Nob Hill, Pearl District, Hawthorne, Belmont, Alberta, and others. Each has its unique ambiance and appeal to young professionals.

Portland is not without problems.

Portland's lack of a diverse population is changing. Many immigrants from around the world bring a cultural richness that appeals to those in the creative services industry. Yet, Portland remains primarily a city with 70% of the population being white.

Portland, like the rest of the state, has suffered greatly with the loss of jobs and a poor employment record.

Attempts at creating an infrastructure such as the Portland Creative Service Center, have not been as effective as they might have been.

Yet, the Portland I knew as the place to take care of family needs is now the home to a growing creative class of young visual artists, Web designers, filmmakers and animators, musicians, media specialists and entrepreneurs. It seems to many young professionals to be a city of opportunities and challenges. These are the attributes youth take on with great enthusiasm.

References:

1.Design Collaborative Conference 2004 web site.PDF document.

2.Portland Planning Commission Report: Art and Culture PDF document.

3.British Council - Arts: A Definition of the Creative Industries.

4. Movie Maker Magazine Issue #49 The 10 Best Cities in North America for Independent Moviemakers.

Further Reading:

Creative services are economically key to Portland. Portland Development Commission.

Florida, Richard. The Rise Of The Creative Class. Optimize. May 2002, Issue 7.

Gragg, Randy.Two forums yield few ideas for boosting Portland's creative economy, The Oregonian, July 25, 2004.

Storm, Shelly, Creatives go to top of Portland business class Business Journal. July 21, 2004.

Photo: Portland Planning Commission

In This issue:

Feature: If your photographic skills need refreshing, set aside some time for a weekend shooting assignment and rediscover the art of seeing once again.

Random Links: Graphic artists can benefit from participating in online forums. One artist shares his recommended web and graphic forums for learning and problem solving.

On The Desktop: News of interest to those working in film, video, multimedia, computer graphics and web design.

NW News: Activities and events focusing on the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada.

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MAIL BAG: It is always good to hear from readers.

"I loved the feature and layout in the Proscenia Newsletter (Collin Andrew). Kudos!!"CP, Eugene.

"The Collin Andrew interview was great, very enlightening.." MH, Eugene

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