Will, I took a quick look at your site; you've done some beautiful work!

> a logo inspired by old-fashioned
> camera manufacturers.

I'm a graphic designer and I'd suggest that when working with whoever you hire, you suggest that as one possible direction but also let the designer know that you're open to considering other approaches, too. I've found over the years that the logo a client likes best is often totally different than what they had initially expected.

A retro look based on old camera manufacturers, as you suggested, might work, but on the other hand your work has a contemporary look to me, and I imagine you use modern equipment, so you'd need to be careful that your logo didn't create the wrong impression.

Since "panoramic photographer" is mentioned prominently on your home page, a logo design with panoramic aspects is an approach I'd suggest considering. Perhaps a business card with panoramic proportions, too.

Hi James

Thanks for your reply. I totally agree and am definitely open to suggestions. I suppose what I was looking for was something really simple, just clean typography.

Running searches trying to identify the vimeo font is what bought me to typofile. I read a thread in the critique forum and thought IanCrombie summed up the requirements beautifully - http://typophile.com/node/72420

"Inspired by the script identities of Leitz / Leica and other bygone camera manufacturers, I took the approach of combining a friendly script with mechanical germanic flair. As a photographer both relies on his personality and his technical skill to create images this dichotomy made sense to me."

I love Ian's final design and typography, but recognise that I'll need something different that fits with my work / site.

The panoramic business cards idea is also definitely worth considering - thanks for that!

Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the lettering on the F Deckel-München lens shown in the thread cited above: http://www.1001fonts.com/font_details.html?font_id=1636

… the logo a client likes best is often totally different than what they had initially expected

Yes. But honestly, it happens the other way round, too. Personally I find this equally refreshing to say the least: the *designer* ends up on a path where he didn’t expect to get to initially.
I just made this experience (again) with the brand design for a small music CD label:
.

Alas, Will, splendid photographs! I’d apply.

> Yes. But honestly, it happens the other way round, too.

I agree.

It's important for the designer and client to go through the design process with an open mind. You look objectively at the situation and goals, you do research, you come up with concepts, you critique and modify them (sometimes repeatedly), etc.

At the end of the process, it may turn out that the designer's initial idea -- or the client's initial idea -- turns out to be the right solution. But sometimes the process takes you to a solution that neither of you expected.