Check out the site

The big focus on this site was to feature the book and allow them to purchase it as easy as possible. Also, to give the visitor enough information about the book to want to learn more.

It was developed using WordPress so the client could easily manage the content on the pages as well as add in articles about the book.

Melissa Moore and her book will be featured on Oprah September 17, 2009.

Visit Shattered Silence

Most of all it is clean and simple and not cluttered up with unimportant elements. Even though the site is nice, it is a lot like other news sites and follows the same structure. It is a good update for NPR but isn’t anything ground-breaking, but, does it need to be? I think the content of the site is what makes this site stand out.

On the new site, it will be easier to combine listening and reading, to follow breaking news, to comment on our work and share it, and easier to find programming from your NPR station.

Some of the features that they set out to accomplished worked out very well. For instance, the simplified navigation and the three major sections prominently displayed on the home page (News, Arts & Life, and Music). It also has a latest news section that gets “timely” updates.

For a complete walk through and list of the new features, go to http://www.npr.org/services/new_site/.

I unfortunetaly don’t have an image of the billboard but it is as simple as a beautiful image of the back county with the text, “backroadsmontana.com” on it. That is it. Far to often, companies think they have to cram so much information on a billboard to get their message across when in reality, the opposite is true. The message of this billboard goes beyond the url, although, you know exactly what they want you to do–type in backroadsmontana.com and visit the site (which is also beautiful). The message is left open to inturpretation, escape, explore, having fun, see nature, what ever it turns out to be. Regardless of what you get from it, you want to visit the site.

As I also mentioned, the website is also beautiful, you go there and instantly know you are in the right spot. There is plenty of information and it is organized very well. There are also videos and maps you can download for the different areas.

The firm that did the marketing and design, and also convinced the Montana Office of Tourism to do this, gets an “A” from me. I hope it is successful for them and when you are out driving, try to notice the billboards and check out the website, www.backroadsmontana.com.

Like any project, there are certain elements that you are working on that I wanted to incorporate so these cards best represent those elements. There were a lot of cards that I thought were good that I didn’t include as well as some of the cards below I probably wouldn’t have included on other projects, but for the most part, they are an inspiring start.

I’m not going to list all the sites that I collected these from but here are a couple that were the easiest to browse and had the most creative cards.

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/dailypoetics/sets/72057594104389710/
• http://creattica.com/business-cards/latest-designs

Some good points that are brought up in this article are the different meanings even with the same content and copy by using white space differently.

The content is the same on both designs, as are the elements such as photography. The design elements differ however, to create two designs which are at opposite ends of the brand spectrum. Of course, this is a very simplified view of the world and there’s a lot more that goes into brand recognition than simply White Space. But what I’m trying to get at is if a brief lands on your desk for a luxury brand, I’ll bet the client and audience of that product expects white space in their marketing material and plenty of it to align it with their competitors.

This is something every designer should know but this was also a great reminder and worth a read.

The logo is the visual heart of a brand. The most memorable quote that can also pass as the most important “tip” for logo design is attributed to Steven Gilliatt: “A logo should look just as good in 15-foot letters on top of company headquarters as it does one sixteenth of an inch tall on company stationery.”

This SitePoint article, Five Logo Design Tips with David Airey is an excellent read for any designer but also anyone looking to get a logo and a brand created. The five tips he mentions are:

1. Make it memorable, timeless, scalable and appropriate
2. Make it recognizable across all media
3. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it
4. Avoid monotony
5. A logo is not a person

Websites Gallerys

• Card Observer
• Fave Up

Blog Posts

• Cool Business Card Designs
• 18 Smokin Hot Business Card Designs
• 24 Creative Business Card Designs

Flickr

• Business Card Set on Flickr

As any professional knows it is a source of pride that you can pull out your card and give it to a potential client. Although, there are some things to watch out for when creating your business cards. Here is a list of dos and don’ts.

Don’t print your own cards. It looks cheap and unprofessional

Keep it simple. This is when you should think of the phrase, “less is more”.

Don’t use large text. Make your name stand out a bit, but keep the font size between 6pt and 11pt.

Remember your profession. Just because you love kittens and rainbows doesn’t mean you need to put them on your cards when your profession is a Realtor. Your card should contain three elements: Contact information, company name, logo or visual identifier. If you go beyond these three elements, make sure there is a good reason.

Try to be unique and different. Just because you are a Realtor doesn’t mean you should have your picture on the card. Not everyone is pleasing to look at. There are also many ways to get your cards printed. There are unique sizes and shapes, rounded corners, you can get your cards printed on a letterpress or embossed.

Leave plenty of space. White space and margins matter.

If you are able to, get a professional designer to create your business cards and brand your company.

Here is a list of business cards to get you inspired.