Business card question

[Johnny Novgorod]

Hi, I'm in the process of designing a business/introductory card, which I'll be handing in a trip abroad.

Some questions about the layout (I'm posting a draft of my potential card below). All I know is that name, profession and email are a must. The logo makes the card a bit more visually pleasant I suppose. The rest I don't know. Should the telephone number be sent to the bottom? Should I erase all that info from the bottom (address, CP, city, country)? On the one hand it makes it more legit, but on the other I don't want to crowd the card so much (the actual info takes quite a lot more space than the place holder words).

Professional and/or amateur advice is welcome.

 

[GothmogII]

Well, you don't necessarily have to put everything on one side. You could put the logo on the front and your contact details on the back, it's a bit more time consuming as obviously you'll need to flip the page and then print on the reverse of your sheet, but if you're getting them professionally printed they can do that for you.

An email address and telephone number are sufficient, if someone really wants/needs your home address you can provide that at a later date, unless of course it's a workplace address. Then again, I don't know how the postal system is in Argentina, here in Ireland potential employers and clients will generally contact you via email or phone as no-one really has the time to deal with correspondence by post anymore, its' called snail mail for a reason.

 

[Frezzato]

I would actually follow your initial instincts with your card. After all, it is your card. But as GothmogII said, there's probably no reason to include your physical address on there.

As for printing on the back, and understanding that this is probably a horrible cliché by now, but if I reviewed films, maybe it would be kinda cool to have something printed on the back. Say for example, a still from The Horse in Motion [http://i.imgur.com/PYHYm6l.jpg] by Eadweard Muybridge.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

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snap

What do you think of these? Color is good, I like a gradient touch. Address and other info are probably useless and clutters too much, so they're out. I like going all-caps on the surname. I'm less convinced about the placement of the phone number. Upper right corner or on par with the e-mail? I'm partial to upper right corner.

Doing both sides seems like a waste, I don't have a good reason to put any one of the 5 bits of info before the other 4. I've been with this company for years and while they're my mainstay I don't feel like they represent me. And putting my name alone on one side is just silly for me, like I'm trying to look like a big shot or something.

Also what do you think of the outline? With or without?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I would actually follow your initial instincts with your card. After all, it is your card. But as GothmogII said, there's probably no reason to include your physical address on there.

As for printing on the back, and understanding that this is probably a horrible cliché by now, if I reviewed films, maybe it would be kinda cool to have something printed on the back. Say for example, a still from The Horse in Motion [http://i.imgur.com/PYHYm6l.jpg] by Eadweard Muybridge.

A cool bonus image would make a good flip side, but it would also double the printing cost. And I don't know, I think of these things as disposable. I don't want to spend that much money on them. Most of the people I'll be handing them to won't be potential employers or anything, the cards are mostly to make communications with festival organizers easier.

Here's a plain-white card for with the logo on it, which I think contrasts nicely and gives it a more sober feel. There's something off about it though.

 

[Frezzato]

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Hmm. I understand about the whole identity thing. I definitely like the borderless design. And even though you probably have the edges evenly spaced from text, perhaps you might try raising your email just a tad.

Also, I would limit the typefaces to a maximum of two, perhaps matching both the typefaces and font sizes for both the phone and email, leaving your name and other information alone.

As far as the alignment goes, it seems that both Apple and Google like to offset and justify their information on the right, with large logos on the left. I wouldn't go that far seeing how their cards are all about who they work for, rather than who they are. So I would keep this first round of cards in basically the same layout of what you already have.

 

[Forrestfield]

I'd go for a more simple and clean design myself:

A business card should be aesthetically pleasing without being bombastic. Effects, such as drop shadows, are almost always best to avoid. As they distract from the actual information on the card while not adding much of anything. You can do a lot with just color:

While a lot of business cards may end in the dumpster, you only need one to make it to the right place in the right time. Having a card that conveys your dedication by being well designed and personal can make all the difference.

 

[Albino Boo]

What is on the card is rather dependant on what you are trying to do. I run my own business and I can tell you what I look for in card. I suspect from previous posts that this card is connected with your attendance at film festival in Spain.


1: If you are trying to sell yourself, you should have your name, your profession and a personal website address where people can be reminded themselves of who you are and what you do.

2: If you are trying sell business services you should have a physical address on the card. People don't like sending money into the electronic void without having somewhere to start looking if anything goes wrong.

3: If you are aiming at a specific group of individuals do something entirely different. Instead of a paper card try something like, acid etched safety glass or anodised embossed titanium. You should be able to find workshops to do that reasonably cheaply. If the budget is an issue you could try to acid etch steel yourself very cheaply http://www.wikihow.com/Acid-Etch-Steel.