Jim, basic black works well in apparel too!  That's the origin of the term.  But I believe it also applies particularly well to marketing materials.

Sylvia -- Black and white can be powerful on letterhead and in logos.  This classic look has been a staple in graphic advertising for many decades.

Adam, your statement about "easy to brand" and remember is precisely what the basic black approach accomplishes.  The logo examples I've pointed to above are simple and powerful.  They're not excessively intricate or busy to the eye.

Look at the "Global Luxury Search" logo at the bottom of my post.  That was created by the folks at LuxuryRealEstate.com and it's another example of simplicity and elegance.  The gold lion is reversed out of a solid black background.  The lion symbol is a luxury metaphor and the reverse out of black gives it a clean, chiseled look. 

Kay, it's true that black goes well with nearly every other color.

Fashion designers say that black is a "slimming color" and they're correct.  Wearing white tends to magnify and define, while black has a compacting effect to the eye.  That can be used to advantage in graphic design.

Vickie -- Decorators and designers talk about the benefit of using an "accent color" all the time.  Black can sometimes be the most powerful accent.

Ricardo, I'm a fan!

Not only do I like the use of black on white, but the clever use of serif type in your name at the bottom of the logo is something I noticed right away.  And the subtle shadow behind the "RB" obviously gives the logo depth and a sense of being three-dimensional.

"Simple and powerful" is the best way to describe it.

Joan -- You might be able to do something fun and simple with the letters "JM" in your logo.  And it doesn't necessarily need to be black & white.  Try reversing those letters (or a graphic) out of a solid background color.

My Madeline Island Realty business card and logo (this is my other real estate company located on Lake Superior in Wisconsin) uses a white sailboat graphic, done in line art, reversed out of a Pantone deep blue that bleeds off to the edges of the card.  The card is printed on heavy cardstock.  After printing, a varnish is applied to the card to give it extra gloss and substance.

Here's the look:

Susan, what about trying a black type/graphic on white instead?  Or a "split screen" card, maybe with a diagonal partition in the middle, where half of the card is black type on white and the other side is a reverse?

Eric -- Another advantage of the black background/margin is that it takes less time for the page to load than "tiles" or a solid image or graphic would.

The cello photo is a nice touch as well!

Steve, the drop shadow can be used to accentuate lettering and logos.  It works!

Leesa -- I intend to follow up with more posts about graphic design and luxury elements.  The study of which techniques can be used in print and on the Web to convey luxury has always interested me.  Stay tuned!

Charles, I like your new black background.  The page loads quickly and it looks nicely framed by the background.  Very sharp!