New Business Card, Give me your input

[eric-holmes]

Bump for the above logo color combo

 

[seekcreative]

Eric,
I am a graphic designer by career and love, but just now getting into the photography side of the business. I belong to another forum - graphicdesignforum.com that you could get some real good feedback from them, but be forewarned, bring your thick skin.

IMO it needs work, but I don't think you would be bashed by the average photographer seeking person. The thin lines are extremely hard to reproduce because they look to be only a pixel or two wide in some areas. Reduced down to business card size, the logo will lose some of it's character. I feel you would be much better served using a bold, simple, modern font and make it clean. Without the use of an icon/graphic (which is NOT a bad thing) your typography has to hold weight, communicate well and be easily identified.

As far as the print goes, I offer printing services and NO I am not soliciting my services. However, I charge my clients for 1000 cards, full color front and back, with UV coating or matte options available on 14 or 16 pt stock - $110 including shipping. Rounded corners are also an option as well as printing silver and/or on linen stock.

Anyway, hope this helps.

 

[eric-holmes]

Would you have any design ideas you could throw my way?

 

[gigiphotography]

I like the all black you don't see that much and it makes your logo stand out! I don't care for the blue. I'm using grey and yellow as my logo I think whenever I get it figured out.

 

[seekcreative]

I feel you would be much better served using a bold, simple, modern font and make it clean. Without the use of an icon/graphic (which is NOT a bad thing) your typography has to hold weight, communicate well and be easily identified.

I kinda thought I did

I would stay away from any kind of thin font, although it may look "cool" and classy, it often gets pretty difficult to read on small versions, especially when/if translated to the web. Now I am not suggesting thick wide bodied font either, just be aware that legibility is just as important as readability when it comes to design.

 

[eric-holmes]

Well I meant, maybe a professional designer like yourself could help me come up with a design that would incorperate the ideas you mentioned. Feel free to PM me

 

[Marissa Foto]

I like the design but there are some fonts I feel should be retired: Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Scriptina. I see so many people (photographers especially) use Scriptina and Papyrus, and it lacks originality and creativity.

 

[eric-holmes]

Sure, show me what you mean.

It's rough, the text is unintentionally uneven and thick, and the colors can be tweaked whichever way (except black and blue :mrgreen, but you get the idea...

Here is my take on this and I must say, It is growing on me.

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

I like the design but there are some fonts I feel should be retired: Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Scriptina. I see so many people (photographers especially) use Scriptina and Papyrus, and it lacks originality and creativity.

I 100% agree! Also, Curlz should be banned in all countries, including Antarctica.

 

[seekcreative]

I like the design but there are some fonts I feel should be retired: Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Scriptina. I see so many people (photographers especially) use Scriptina and Papyrus, and it lacks originality and creativity.

As we say on the other forum I belong to, when someone uses Comic Sans (or Papyrus) God kills a kitten. Now WHO would want to kill a kitten?

Please delete comic sans and papyrus from your memory bank

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

I like the design but there are some fonts I feel should be retired: Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Scriptina. I see so many people (photographers especially) use Scriptina and Papyrus, and it lacks originality and creativity.

As we say on the other forum I belong to, when someone uses Comic Sans (or Papyrus) God kills a kitten. Now WHO would want to kill a kitten?

Please delete comic sans and papyrus from your memory bank

If that is true, then James Cameron killed millions with the movie "Avatar".

 

[seekcreative]

Sure, show me what you mean.

It's rough, the text is unintentionally uneven and thick, and the colors can be tweaked whichever way (except black and blue :mrgreen, but you get the idea...

Here is my take on this and I must say, It is growing on me.

I'll mention this again. Your uneven and places of thin line are going to be very hard to reproduce at the size of a business card. And when you decide to put this on the web, it's going to be even far more reduced in size and quality and therefore lose a lot of the fine detail.

What are you trying to SAY about yourself with the logo? What does the little piece of "flair" under your name suppose to mean/represent? Is it there just to make it look pretty/cool or is there a real meaning to it? I gave my advice about heading to a resource and looking at logos in the "best of" books at your local book store and it's solid advice. I never work with the computer first, I always go to my sketch pad to get out ALL of my ideas, even the bad ones, on paper. That way I can identify what works, what doesn't and what direction I want to pursue.

Don't settle for your logo just because you think it looks cool or don't want to spend the time on it. That's my professional 2 cents and hope you take something away from it.

 

[seekcreative]

I like the design but there are some fonts I feel should be retired: Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Scriptina. I see so many people (photographers especially) use Scriptina and Papyrus, and it lacks originality and creativity.

As we say on the other forum I belong to, when someone uses Comic Sans (or Papyrus) God kills a kitten. Now WHO would want to kill a kitten?

Please delete comic sans and papyrus from your memory bank

If that is true, then James Cameron killed millions with the movie "Avatar".

Maybe he was hoping to lol...as soon as I saw the marketing material for it I laughed and shook my head. My fellow designers and I were stunned...

 

[eric-holmes]

I'll mention this again. Your uneven and places of thin line are going to be very hard to reproduce at the size of a business card. And when you decide to put this on the web, it's going to be even far more reduced in size and quality and therefore lose a lot of the fine detail.

What are you trying to SAY about yourself with the logo? What does the little piece of "flair" under your name suppose to mean/represent? Is it there just to make it look pretty/cool or is there a real meaning to it? I gave my advice about heading to a resource and looking at logos in the "best of" books at your local book store and it's solid advice. I never work with the computer first, I always go to my sketch pad to get out ALL of my ideas, even the bad ones, on paper. That way I can identify what works, what doesn't and what direction I want to pursue.

Don't settle for your logo just because you think it looks cool or don't want to spend the time on it. That's my professional 2 cents and hope you take something away from it.

I don't understand what you mean when you say that I will lose fine detail on the web when I have it posted on the web and it looks the same. The little flair at the bottom? Well I just like it. It doesn't say anything about me. But neither does a lot of the logos I see and like. Most logos I see are usually just simply their name. I just thought the flair added to it.

 

[seekcreative]

Well I just like it. It doesn't say anything about me. But neither does a lot of the logos I see and like. Most logos I see are usually just simply their name. I just thought the flair added to it.

Well, just because you like it doesn't mean it should be used. The statement "It doesn't say anything about me" is a HUGE red flag when it comes to a logo. Your logo is suppose to say something about you. That's your image, that's what people are going to see first and most about you. Your logo better say something about you, or else, why even bother saying anything? It's just static.

"Most logos I see are usually simply their name" while that might be true, that doesn't mean they are bad logos. If their logo is simply their name, the way the logo is done speaks of what they are, what they do etc. Flair is clutter in MHO as well as other designers. To add a piece of flair just for the sake of doing it, doesn't make a lot of sense design wise. I am not sure if you have taken any of my suggestions in actually looking at GOOD logo designs. Just because you find a logo on the internet or wherever, doesn't make it a good design piece.

When you think about taking a photograph, you think about composition, lighting, filters, technical aspects of it all...graphic design for a logo is no different. You dont just throw a stone or rock into an image just because you think it looks cool. It's there for a reason. If you want me to continue, I can, if you would rather go down the road on your own without professional advice, that's quite fine too. It will save me from beating my head against the proverbial wall...