I designed this regional bag for the area of Portland, Oregon. Rather than explaining back to Oregonians what they already know (landmarks, the State bird, attractions, etc.), I thought it would be more fun to pay homage to “locals only” knowledge–things the average US citizen might “not get”. For example, having spent some time in Portland I am familiar with Portlanders disdain for out-of-towners pronunciation of the Willamette River, so there’s an ode to that. But mostly my design is centralized around the flyering that is so ubiquitous to Portland telephone poles, fences and buildings. Flyers everywhere. In true Portlandia-fashion, I decided to create posters for fake bands with names pulled directly from our stores shelves. The punk band flyer might be just some of the best band names ever… I mean, come on… is Reduced Guilt a great punk band name, or what?
