Top Design Firms by Region: The Best in the West

Data gathered from Print’s regional design annual 2008 to find the best U.S. firms to work in by region, starting with the Far West.

As a part of Summer Employment month at Young & Freelancing I wanted to profile and display the winning design firms from around the country so you know where the best places are to work in your region.

The Regional Design annual, put out by Print magazine, is massive collection of beautiful work from around the country. Breaking the U.S. down into 6 subsections, The Far West, South West, Midwest, South, East, and New York City, the magazine selects the work of the best design firms in each region. Print has been accepting entries for the 2009 Regional Design Annual for the past few weeks.

The information presented comes from the 2008 Regional Design Annual and ranks firms by the number of winning designs and overall presence in their region. You can judge the firms on the quality of their work by reviewing the individual sites of each. Over the next few weeks I’ll present the data I’ve collected from the magazine to better inform you on the top design firms for your region and the places you should make it your goal to work for.

We begin with the Far West where the design firms are dealing with the economic downturn by staying small and diversifying. They focus on green lifestyle and culture in their design and hold sustainability to high importance in the times of economic strife.