In 2005, McCollum designed The Shapes Project, a system to produce a completely unique shape for every person on the planet, without repeating. The Shapes Buttons from Oregon were conceptualized in 2015, as part of his ongoing Shapes project, collaborating with Bend, Oregon-based artist and button maker Delia Paine. Throughout this process, McCollum sent Paine the templates for the buttons, which she made, using colored backgrounds for each separate button.
The project was inspired by the “Independence Rock” historical site on the Oregon Trail in Wyoming, where thousands of pioneer travelers to the Western frontier added their signatures, traces of which can still be seen today. Over 5,000 each-unique buttons in McCollum's work reference the over 5,000 names inscribed by emigrants on the rock in the 1800s.