Business cards and branding

 
Today was a day of business cards. I printed custom cards for Arrrt and designed a new logo and business cards for myself. As you can see, I'm already putting my new fonts to work. I've got a whole rebranding of Rifferaff in mind, including a new website, packaging and striving for more cohesion in my product line and photography. What do you think of the logo?!

My original logo, if you can call it that, was just the business name in a circle. The inspiration came from my rubber stamp which I would stamp on white dots as a form of super cheap packaging. It was cute, organic and indicative of the stage where my business was at the time. But as I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm moving away a little bit from the "crafty" image and trying to pursue a more "designer" image. I liken this transition to the phrase, "dress for the job you want, not the job you have." So I'm making a logo for the business I want (a business that gets custom printed labels), not the business I have (using rubber stamps on sticky dots).

Two things I want to bring to my business are a love of pattern and color, so it made sense to incorporate a pattern into the logo; this is a modified "jigsaw" pattern. As for font, I was really drawn to this sparse, almost severe, typeface and I like that it wasn't super feminine. My mom says she named me Shannon because she liked that it was slightly androgynous, and I think that has stuck with me my whole life. I've never been super girly and I don't think anything I produce will be that way. However I did use this super girly font for my email and website simply because I liked how it looked in contrast to the very geometric logo. I'm energized by the new look of things and now that I've finalized the logo (I've been tinkering with it for weeks) I feel confident in moving ahead.

Comments

[Lohi]

Hi Shannon,

I have been reading your blog for many months now but have never left a comment. I just want to say that you are such an inspiration and I look forward to reading your new posts - I check daily. I too am at the stage where I am trying to start off my business ( I make handbags and jewelry) but having two little girls to take care of makes it quite challenging. Strangely enough, I just ordered business cards for myself yesterday.

thank you so much for sharing - it's just a help.

blue skies ...

[tammy]

what a great business card - I love the rolling 'r's -- piratelike (to go w/ skull & crossbones?) If I were given this card, I'd definitely remember it.

[Rekoj]

The new logo design is fabulous! I immediately thought of your jigsaw pattern which you later in the post say that it is a take on. Good design!