New Logo and Business Card Design!

Today brought me one step closer to professional legitimacy, thanks to the creative genius of my favorite graphic designer/girlfriend... Laura of Laura Wentzel Design. This post is dedicated to the new look for my first official logo and business card. Let's start with the business card, pictured below.

Laura and I went through many iterations of designs before arriving at this final product. We found that many of the original drafts gave off a "clean" and "corporate-y" look, which just did not match the visual style of my photographs.

In the constant pursuit of truth-telling, a documentary photographer attempts to tell a story with his/her images. Oftentimes these realities aren't neat and polished. Therefore, having a business card that reflected the cleanliness of an office or a climate-controlled studio, just did not cut it. At the same time, I did not want the typical visual elements of a globe, or silhouette children holding hands in a display of international unity, or kitschy rolls of film, or graphics of other random camera equipment. I wanted something gritty, professional, and subtle.

When I first saw the final design, I knew Laura had captured exactly what I meant by all this. Here's my take on the visual meaning of my logo, pictured below.

I'll start with the color. Just in case you monitor is wacky, the two colors are grey and orange. Unlike black, grey does not project a sense of certainty. Containing both extremes of white and black, grey is neutral and balanced. In my photos, I try not to draw conclusions. I am only capturing a fleeting moment, and therefore I cannot draw conclusive certainties from my images. Becuase reality is not black or white, photographs should make us think more deeply and ask more questions.

Orange is also neutral, but for different reasons. Because I attempt to be objective in my work, I did not want to imbue my logo with anything political... and colors can often be political. Think of what green has done for the environmental movement, or what red has done for communism. For me, orange acts as a strong accent color without bringing with it any baggage.

The square shape represents what I attempt to capture through my viewfinder. It is a defined space and therefore,what is captured in that space is deliberate. Because the images I take are wide-ranging in theme, I did not want to include inside the square any specific thing.

So, I needed something abstract, and devoid of specific meaning. That brought us to a solid gradient color with layers of varying texture. The textures in the defined box remind me that reality is complex. Thus, by close examination of the textures in the logo, the viewer will find that there is more to see than just an orange block. This mirrors documentary-style photographs. They are often loaded with historical, political, and socially complex back stories that remind the viewer that there are many layers to what we are seeing.

I'm extremely excited about this new look. In the next few months, a redesign of my main website, www.kevinkovaleski.com will include these new visual elements. Please take a minute and let me know what you think!