Design: A Brand New Burcham

At the end of 2012, John Burcham set a goal for himself: get his website in order! He was already using A Photo Folio, and was planning to upgrade to their Design X site. He just needed someone with the expertise to help him make the updates.

John got in touch with me to see what could be done. After talking for a bit, the plan somewhat changed. I believed his branding could benefit from a refresh, and John agreed. I would still be taking care of updating his website, but first, I would tackle his branding. This is one of my favorite things to work on, so I was happy to assist John in the process.

I started off by asking who his clients were, what kinds of clients he wanted to attract, and what direction he’d like to move in as a photographer. Based out of Flagstaff, Arizona, John shoots for a lot of adventure and industrial clients. However, he didn’t want to be pigeon-holed into just one genre.

John also mentioned the red square used by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with its simplicity and boldness, stood out to him. He wanted a logo that shared that same essence. With that in mind, I designed a few drafts for him:

John was excited to see the different options, and there was one mark in particular that stood out from the rest. After the selection, I went through a round of color refinements, finally landing on the following finished logo:

The bright green added a distinctive color that works great in his brand collateral, as well as his website design. After the logo was completed, I took care of his business cards, as well as updating his new Design X template.

You can see the new website at www.johnburcham.com.

John was pleased with the results, and was kind enough to provide some feedback on the project:

I had felt for a long time that I needed to update my look and website, but didn’t want anything drastic. My old logo wasn’t anything memorable. I always wanted something that would stick out, but didn’t take away from the real reason people were going to my site. I want people to see the photos not the logo.

Amanda was great. She asked me some key questions to get an idea of where I wanted to go. Having never gone through this process, I was a little unsure. But after Amanda sent me the first draft designs, I became really excited. Every draft could have been my logo—it was hard to pick just one design. When we finally narrowed it down, Amanda started incorporating the colors and fonts seamlessly, she knew exactly what would work and what wouldn’t.

Amanda and a Wonderful Machine made this whole experience stress free, and I am very happy with the results.

If you’re looking for help with your portfolio, design, copy, marketing or to just want to learn more about our services, please visit our consulting section or shoot us an email.