Business Card C/C...beating the dead horse

[Hikin' Mike]

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but I either have too much time to think or I'm just not 100% sure about my last attempt at the business card/logo. I decided to go back to my original roots.

A little background info...

Back in ~2000 I started my website "TheBackcountry.org" so I could showcase my backpacking adventures and photos. My good friend (backpacker/photographer/Graphic Designer) made my first logo for the website:



Anyway, when I got the photography bug I "needed" a new website/name, but I really didn't want to get another domain, especially since I was really going to sell my work. I decided on "Images in the Backcountry" and made a new logo. After a while I decided to start selling my work. I needed a business card and I just printed out a few cheap (printer type) cards. I was never satisfied with the logo/card.

Now, I think I'm happy with the "new look", so I'd like some feedback especially on the.

• Colors? Should I use the different colors?
• Is it "balanced"?
• Should I use "Nature Photographer" or not?
• Use "WWW" or not?

[toverman]

My first impression is that it's a good-looking biz card that tells me what I need to know.

To beat a dead horse further, though, have you considered taking any nature photos in your portfolio that you're proud of and incorporating it into a card? Or is that horse really really dead by now?

[Outlaw]

Nice card! Very clean. From a business perspective, I think that your card (as with any of your marketing materials) should reflect the personality and brand of your business.

The messages I get from your card include:
- Landscape/nature/wildlife photographer (obviously, logo + text)
- Christian craftsman (obvious, again)
- Traditional/classic/rugged (colors and text style)

Is this what you want to communicate about your photography and your business? Are there any other aspects of your work or personality you think people would like to know? What are you saying with your card/brand that expresses what is unique about you/your art/your business, your 'unique value proposition'?

That asked, I think photographers are in a realm where they can be as stylistic or classic as they want; so long as they realize what they are 'saying' with their choices.

Know your style, know your target market, and produce a brand that tells that market what is valuable to them about your art. Connect the dots, so to say.

[Hikin' Mike]

toverman - I've been beating that horse for some time now and until I'm happy, I'll contunue beating it! That said, I'm not a big fan of photos on a business card. It's just not my style for me.

Outlaw - That pretty much sums it up!

While I like the current design, I had some other feedback from other photographers/designers from other forums and I'm thinking about changing a few things. I do like the secondary element (cross), but to me it detracts too much to the primary element...the "logo". Some of the colors on the logo are a bit "flat". I'm on the fence about the font for the "Images...". I like it, but I also like a bit of "fun", something like this...