After meeting a potential client, the business card is the one element that we leave behind and this gives an impression of the person that has left it.
Personally, I really do not like generic business cards such as Vistaprint and other similar manufacturers.
They are certainly helpful in the fact that they are incredibly cheap to produce, but I feel that is exactly where the problem lies. They are cheap.
I feel that they also show a lack of imagination and creativity which in photography, is of fundamental importance.
If I give a business card to a future client, I want them to see it and know that it has been designed from an original idea. It will look much more professional and should hopefully create a good impression.
In my previous post entitled ''developing my business logo'', I explained the process of how I got to my new business logo.
Now that it is designed, I need to turn it into a business card.
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figures 1,2 and 3 demonstrate a huge range of different business card designs.
These are just a few of the huge collection of business cards that i have collected over the last few years.
It is really helpful to see designs from other people's imagination.
There is a huge range of differing styles demonstrated in just these 3 pages of business cards alone.
There is a very strong use of colour in some designs, others are white and black, black and white.
A lot of these cards have simple and efficient layouts which are similar to how I want my business cards to work.
Another very important consideration for me is the material the business card is printed on.
Referring back to Vistaprint whom I mentioned earlier in this post. Examples of their low-budget cards that I have seen before are exactly that, low budget.
They are printed on very thin, light card, almost paper with quite a coarse finish.
I want my business cards to be produced to a very high, professional standard and onto a really high quality medium.
A few years ago, I became aware of a company called Moo.com who produce professional business cards.
Website: Moo.com
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Figures 4 and 5 are screenshots from the Moo.com website.
This is the best business card-making website that I have ever used.
It is incredibly easy to navigate and use and there is an easy to follow, step-by step process to guide you to the perfect business card.
Moo.com have many useful product including stickers business cards and postcards.
When I first found the Moo website, I found out that they did a free-trial run of 10 business cards at absolutely no cost.
I sent off for the offer and the results were really impressive.
The cards came back promptly in a really nice presentation box and the quality of print and finish of the card was superb.
I opted for a glossy finish and this looked really professional.
Moo have a huge range of options for the production of business cards.
It is possible to have matte and gloss finishes as well as a super heavy 600 gsm ''Luxe'' business card.
It is also possible to have rounded corners on your cards which is a little different from the usual rectangular configuration.
Figure 6.
Figure 6 shows the design for the front of my new business cards.
Completely un-cluttered. Just my name and what I do.
Figure 7.
Figure 7 shows the back of my new design with my contact details.
This is based on the design of a classic postcard.
Figure 8.
Figure 9.
Figure 10.
Figures 8 and 9 show how I uploaded my designs to Moo for both the front and back of my business cards.
Figure 10 shows my order confirmation.
I have ordered 50 2-sided glossy business cards for £17.00 and I am now waiting for them to be delivered.
No comments:
Post a Comment