Business Cards Land

If your business has a lofty goal, a high-minded or optimistic plan to do something better than, faster than or more impressively than any other business, don’t you think that is something that each and every person that receives your business card should hear about?  Don’t you think you should very simply and very honestly explain how good you are right up front?  Yes, so do we. 

Apparently, so does Sarah Sami and her business card design.  She is quite obviously involved in the design field, either as a graphic designer, an artist or some other similar industry and as such she wants to know that she’s going to do her best to completely rid this world of “bad designs.”  Looking at her rusted background, the brilliant red block letters for her information and the “BAD DESIGNS” logo done with thermography.  In short…beautiful, effective, potent and perfect.  Can you tell we’re definite fans of people that explain very plainly and very confidently what they do best?

That’s something to think about as you dive into your next design, what do you do best and how can you, in one or two very short brilliantly designed sentences let each and every person know about that.  You’re obviously in business to be the best at what you do, why not make sure that every hand that touches your business card knows exactly that, no compromises and pure confidence.  You’d be shocked how many people are drawn to that, even in a business card.

Popularity: 12% [?]

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One fun thing to do with your business card is to actually create a set of them – with the primary contact information on every card, but something different on each set as well.  If they’re clever or well-done, people wind up wanting to collect them all and show them to their friends!

You could create business cards that highlight different products or services (in effect, functioning as a mini-catalog).  This idea is applicable whether you’re showing off different pieces of art on each card or showing off different refrigerator models.

You can do something fun with the cards like putting different jokes or bits of trivia on them.

I read about a bar that put a different “bartender” joke on the back of every batch of business cards they had printed, and patrons would eagerly await the next batch and show ‘em to their friends.

You could even do this as part of a promotion – maybe you give out a different business card at your store for four weeks in a row, and afterwards anyone who shows you all four cards gets some kind of special deal.

Or you could even make your cards function like a puzzle – they show your logo or a message when all four are placed next to each other!

You have to be careful when designing a set of cards like this – make sure that there’s enough information on each card so that you can be contacted even if the person doesn’t have the other cards in the set – but it’s an inexpensive promotional idea when you find a quality, affordable printer like OvernightPrints.com.

If you do this, we’d love to see a sample!

You could

Popularity: 3% [?]

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Hello and once again, Happy Monday!  To kick things off this week, we’re going to be featuring a business card that did exactly what we’ve been saying for the last few weeks:  They changed up the shape, and boy did they ever!

This company, Lipitty Doos, who appears to be a company that makes and sells special mints, decided the very best way to demonstrate not only their company name, but exactly where their product will be going, was to make their business cards a set of lips!  Yep, each and every card is a set of lips and the results are absolutely fantastic.  The combination of the lips shape, the fun and engaging font and even the color scheme makes this business card one that I am positive no one would forget they were given.

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it 1,000 times:  Make your business card truly about Your company and you’ll create customers that not only have to do business with you, but truly WANT to as well.  DO it with style and you’ll have that business card circulating all over the place before you have any clue what happened to you.  There’s a huge difference between people who give out business cards because they feel obligated and those that are actually proud of the card they created.  Which will you be?

Popularity: 25% [?]

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It’s Friday, so we won’t keep you too long!  Today we just wanted to share a beautiful, original, unique and very modern business card design we happened upon.  We say modern because the vast majority of business cards we see while writing this blog are a bit old fashioned in style.  We don’t mean old fashioned as in they look like they are from the Victorian age, but instead that they seem to follow all the same rules, all the same ideas and all the same designs.

Sometimes my friends, it’s best to step outside the box and do something completely modern, completely interesting and maybe a bit loud.  That’s exactly what this brilliant graphic designer did, he combined all the things he loves, Zen, Jazz and design and put them together to form a very memorable, very modern business card.  The bottom line is, if you were looking for a graphic designer, would you pick the guy who’s business card was plain, simple and old fashioned, or would you pick the guy who had this amazing business card?  Yeah, this guy all the way.

That brings up a very interesting and important point to end the week on:  Making your business card relevant to what your business actually is.  If you’re a graphic designer, SHOW that with your business card.  If you’re a photographer, why not choose a card that includes a photo of yours on the back.  Make your business card instant proof to whomever you’re giving it to that you are the best at what you do.  Instant credibility.  Instant.

Have a great weekend!

Popularity: 5% [?]

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My colleague Tyler is usually the one to find cool and unusual business card designs, but I just ran across one I had to share, from a Brazilian design firm called Tatil Design.

What this company does is use a laser to etch images and words and logos into dead LEAVES.  You can only see the etchings when you hold them up to a light source.

They’re called “Natural Medium” and won a Bronze Award for the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards in Eco Design.

Practical?  No.

But what a way to WOW someone!

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Here’s a tip we have not discussed on this great little blog:  To create a unique business card, sometimes you can achieve great results by simply cutting out a part of the card.  That’s right, by having a cut out, indention, hole or something else in the card, it instantly goes from ordinary to extraordinary, as 99% of all business cards maintain that very same rectangular shape. 

We just found a great example of that today.  It is a very minimalistic design, simply choosing a very cool logo in red and gray on the front, and information in the same colors on the back.  Adding in the embossed/raised logo and of course the very interesting cutout and curve on the top creates a business card that I’m quite positive no one will forget.  If handed this card, your very first reaction would be to notice the cut-out, your fingers couldn’t help but trace the little design on the top.  This would lead to feeling the raised logo and noticing the quality of the paper and the simplicity of the text.  When you were all done doing all of this you’re left with a very memorable card that I’m sure you’ll show to others.

So, when you think about your next set of business cards and you want a way to change it up a bit, why not think about adding a cut-out, or at the very least adding rounded corners?  Anything that can get away from the standard rectangle shape is going to make everyone, everywhere pay a little closer attention.  Head to OvernightPrints.com now and get started designing your next masterpiece.

Popularity: 4% [?]

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I recently had a gentleman email me this question:

“I am starting my own CPA practice.  An idea I had for obtaining clients is to offer a 10 -20%  reduction in fees charged by my competitors.  Would this help my business card or would it make me look cheap or like a bottom-feeder?  Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.”

That’s a great question.  It’s smart for him to be thinking of his business card as a marketing tool (not just a means of providing contact information) – but he’s also smart to be thinking about public perception of his business card.  This is especially important if the card is NOT handed out in person, when you don’t have a chance to clarify or explain any misconceptions.

I can think of three ways to handle this.

First – print out a smaller quantity of business cards which mention the discounted fees.  You can order as few as 25 cards from OvernightPrints.com.  So he could have two sets of business cards – one that mention his prices and another set that doesn’t.

Second – he could write in the discount/reduced prices on the back of his business card when he meets someone.  Position it as a special exclusive deal that’s available only when you submit this card with his offer written on it.

Third – he could put some more general text on his business card that encourages people to visit a special page on his website for discounts or special offers.  That way he can modify the price or the special deal whenever he wants.

If YOU have any strategy questions like this that you’d like Tyler or me to answer directly in this blog, please contact us!

Popularity: 1% [?]

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We ended last week saying something we’ve always believed to be true:  A Business Card you can interact with is always going to be kept and always going to be remembered.  We’re starting this week with the very same mantra and a picture perfect example of how to achieve that.  As we’ve said, there are tons of ways to achieve this result, which way you decide to go to make a business card or two that is completely interactive is up to you, we just suggest you try it! 

That said, today’s design that completely captivated us was one that combined a few things we love:  business cards, great design, sports and most importantly soccer (or football as the rest of the world knows it).  The card obviously belongs to a sports company of some sort and when you flip the card over after reading all of their details you’ll very quickly notice that the color of the card as well as the white lines make a perfect replica, mini-soccer field!  Hand this card out, along with a mini-soccer ball as this company did and you instantly have a fun little card that you can play with, entertain yourself and show off to others.  Instant memorability. 

How will you set yourself apart?  How will you design your card to be instantly memorable.  My colleague mentioned that a great way to achieve this is to have two or more different designs for your business cards.  Try having one that is fun, interactive and memorable, and one that is strictly business.  Then, you decide which clients get which cards!  Either way, branch out!

Popularity: 100% [?]

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If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times:  Business Cards you can interact with are always, Always fun.  Always.  We just found a perfect business card to cap off the week with as it not only shows great design, but also gives you something to actually interact with and doodle with during one of those many long, monotonous meetings you might find yourself in.  In short, it’s perfect.

The card that perfectly embodies that mantra is owned by Adafruit Industries and is a laser cut beauty that actually lets you pop out the pieces and design some amazing little doodles just by using your pencil or pen inside the grooves.  While not everyone can afford a laser cut business card, it just goes to show how much you can do if you are creative and really go for it.  Giving people something to DO once they get your business card in their hand makes it an absolute certainty that the card doesn’t end up in some wastebasket somewhere, destined for a landfill.

There are lots of ways you can give your potential clients and customers something to do…add a word search to the back, crossword puzzle boxes, connect the dots drawings, anything to get them interacting with your cards.  We featured one just a bit ago that gave you the ability to cut out new hairstyles on the actual business card.  Simple, genius and interactive fun!

Popularity: 5% [?]

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What’s your title?

While most business cards show a person’s occupation or job title, using the appropriate title on a business card can be confusing.  Remember that you goal is to be as clear as possible to the card recipient – to accurately imply (if not state outright) what you do and what role you play in the company, without overstating or understating your importance.

Sometimes you don’t really need a title at all.  If you’re one of 50 salespeople; it’s not really about you, it’s about the company.  However, if you are part of a large organization, it may be worthwhile to show your title relative to the department.

Remember that certain titles are assumed to correlate to particular business types or business sizes.  If you’re a sole proprietor, for example, using the word “President” as your title may seem accurate but that’s really a title related to a corporation – and some people will think negatively of you for using it.

As someone who’s a sole proprietor herself, I’ve struggled with this same issue.  The word “Owner” implies that my business is small – and even if it IS, I don’t always want to publicize that!  So I tend to use titles that relate more to my expertise than my job description, such as “Business Card Expert.”  Which is perfectly acceptable.

It is okay to have a little fun with the title, too and call yourself something unique.  I read that Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s Restaurants, used a business card with the title “Wendy’s Dad” on it.

Popularity: 2% [?]

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