Ant Hill Marketing

On December 8, 2009 Pantone® officially announced their choice for the 2010 color of the year.  And the winner is – Pantone 15-5519. A round of applause if you please. Pantone 15-5519 or better known as, turquoise.

Turquoise!?! Whaaa? After last year’s mimosa, turquoise is a bit of dull thud in the empty swimming pool of hexadecimal life.

Insert fuzzy swirling images here.

I believe it was the year 1972 in which my family purchased a Dodge truck in a stunning shade of turquoise. The three most memorable things about this truck for me are; one, the color, two, a chilling winter trip from Portland to Hood River with myself and my sister stuck in the back with a catalytic heater for warmth, and three, a brutally hot trip to Sumpter, Oregon, in the middle of summer, with the whole family jammed into the cab. Two parents, three children, no air conditioning. I spent most of the Sumpter trip curled up on the floorboards underneath my mother’s feet in a state of heat-induced delirium.  The combined smell of rubber soled shoes, transmission fluid and graham crackers is still a stifling memory.  But really, the thing I remember most about that truck, is the color.

De-fuzz and un-swirl images.

At this point in my life, I cut Dodge a fair bit of slack for the color choice. My parents, not so much. It was the early 1970s, the world was just coming out of the 60s, the Vietnam War was winding down, free love, the hippie movement, Berkley and turquoise. Dodge was just trying to be hip. As for my parents, I have to believe it was the last truck on the lot and it was at a really good price.

So why did Pantone choose 15-5519 to be their color of the year? According to their press release on the subject, they say this: “In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”  Further: “Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens.”  Hmmm.  A protective talisman, signals deep compassion and healing, the color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky, adds excitement, a classic maritime look, ESPECIALLY trend-setting with yellow-greens!  Pshaw I say! Obviously they never spent 9 hours on the floorboards of a turquoise Dodge truck in the middle of August on a trip to Sumpter, Oregon.

I can’t wait for 2011.

Photo courtesy of www.portlandground.com

I love Portland. We’re not the city that never sleeps. We’re not the windy city. And, we’re not filled with tinsel, bleached hair and botox. But, we are overshadowed by other cities, especially when it comes to creative – and that’s a shame (or a sham depending on how you look at it). Creativity thrives here in our fair City of Roses (regardless of what Fast Company thinks). And with more than 1,500 companies, large and small, in the creative services industry, we contribute a fair share of professional services business revenue and jobs. Yet for some reason, we’re afraid to toot the horn let alone blow a low whistle (a little music once in a while is okay people). Maybe we think we’re great but need proof. Or we’re overly modest. Either way, consider this:

1. Creative services industry employs roughly 15,000 people in Portland
2. We have 344 designers per 100K residents – more than LA and Austin (according to Bureau of Labor Stats ‘08 in Greater Portland Prosperity 2009)
3. The creative vitality here (based on the National Creative Vitality Index - yes there is such a thing) is more than twice the national baseline
4. Portland is among one of the most innovative cities, ranked 6 by Forbes for most patents, and 6th for both entrepreneurship and small business (Creative Capacity Project)
5. Creative industries generate nearly $2 billion and a payroll of nearly $1 billion annually (that’s no chump change) (Creative Capacity Project)
6. More than half of Oregon’s creative firms are concentrated in Portland (Creative Capacity Project)

Portland is a great place to be – to live and work. But we know that already. Even though we’re pushing through a rough spot and our state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, we don’t have the brain drain other cities are facing. In fact, we’ve got some brain gain going on. More people are moving here from out-of-state than to our western compatriots (that’d be Seattle, Albuquerque, Austin, San Diego, Denver, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacremento). The region is a magnet for all kinds of talented professionals – a chunk of them in the the creative industry and they’d rather be here than someplace else. Some get the entrepreneurial bug. It’s quite catchy here. Some freelance for local agencies or work directly with clients and supplement with other jobs. Baristas or bartenders are common, but more often they are artists, writers and musicians. Perhaps this is why Forbes dubbed Portland one of the best metro areas in which to ride out the recession. The great coffee, local microbrews, top notch wineries, and growing spirit distillers are definitely a bonus. And innovation abounds (the coffee, beer, wine, and spirits help) with the booming food scene, developing clean/green tech industry, the variety of arts and yes, our creative services industry. There’s no doubt the quality of life here is a big pull for newbies and the anchor for those of us here.  But to keep all this quiet, to simply sit idle hoping the great creative work gets noticed, isn’t the best strategy to help grow an industry sector. We all want good clients whether they reside here locally or in other regions – and other regions are touting their creative (some quite loudly).

So, what makes Portland such a great creative place? I posed this question (on Twitter) to fellow Portlanders and here’s a short list of what they said:

Portland is a great creative city because there are no rules. @DanFellini

Because Portlanders are real people. The lack of restriction and openness promotes a more creative and less stifled spirit. @massagepdx

It’s not that I don’t play well with others; I just want to choose where, when and with whom I play. [It's the] PDX attitude. @LogoMotives

Despite local chagrin, the influx of creatives from all over the country converging here brings broad perspective. @Metroknow

I have mixed feelings about it as a creative city. It’s like a college graduate: full of potential. Now it needs to find its way. @swestbrook

PDXers are curious and not too self-obsessed. Our lives are generally balanced and we leave room for non-work projects. We’re generally tolerant and open to new ideas=innovation. We’re risk takers and revel in a good fail-as-learning experience. @thisKat

Portland creativity=cuz we have twice the creative fuel with half the financial pressure. @vizeboogie

Because in PDX, there is life other than work, and that drives us to be more creative and inspired. @KevMurphy

We are passionate about living. We are free spirits. We celebrate…our ability to listen to ideas that we might not hold dear to ourselves. We live our lives out loud. @dtboyd

It’s this last point, living out loud, that strikes home.  Portland should take pride in our creative abilities and capabilities and not be afraid to shout them to the world.

There are great perks about working down in the Pearl. Great restaurants, great bars, great shopping… but when it comes to parking. There isn’t anything great about it. There is no better way to end your day… then to go out to your car after a hard day’s work and see that little yellow envelope greeting you on your windshield.  Even worse is when you just missed the parking patrol by mere minutes.  I like to think of it as our way of supporting the local economy. (We are definitely doing our part.) I snapped a few photos to remember these momentous parking ticket occasions. Here are just a few from the last couple of weeks…. (Yes, Siobhán wins the award for getting the most parking tickets.)

That reminds me.. better go feed my meter.