Advice on Business Cards

[cyngon]

I'm looking for some opinions on the business cards I'm going to have printed.

What do you like about them?

And more importantly, what don't you like about them?

The logos are new too, I just did them in Illustrator today. What do you think about them?

Thank you for any opinions you are able to provide.

[platinum]

attachments have to be approved by an advisor first
It won't be too long before they appear...

[cyngon]

Thanks, platinum. Upon examining the situation that was my guess.

/me channels all his mental powers to make an advisor appear in the "Promotion and Marketing" forum.

[billiousness]

Hi,

This link will probably be no help at all but it is very cool all the same. It is by Ideo, who are like the worlds best conceptual thinkers/designers for products and anything else that needs creative input. (they designed the first mouse for apple!)

Anyway they thought they would put their heads together for coming up with what business cards in the future would look like.

This is a very cool and pretty funny. I have intergrated a funny mock privacy statement similar to one of the cards' on the back of my business cards and everyone thinks that it is funny.

Here you go http://www.ideo.com/identity/introduction.htm

[cyngon]

There's some interesting stuff on the link you posted. Thanks!

Be sure to let me know what you think of my card design when the attachment eventually gets approved.

[cyngon]

I made a few minor changes to what I posted above, but they are really small so I'm not going to post a new image.

I changed the logo on the back of the card (on the left of the bottom card) from 75% Opactity to 100%. I also increased the font size on the back of the card from 11 to 12.

One thing I am considering, that I would like opinions about is having the contact info on the back of the card be sideways. Like rotating it 90 degrees counter clock-wise. I could do the same for the logo on the back too.

This would mean the front of the card would be a landscape orientation and the back would be portait. Do you think switching orientations on the different sides of the card is a bad idea?

[jbradley]

Hey Bryan,

The business card is very nice. It has a very tech-oriented design and is professional at the same time. Same with the logo...very nice work. The only thing I might recommend is that you put your name on the back as well.

I would leave the text and logo as is instead of changing them to portrait. It seems like too much flipping would be involved in this, which may not be a good thing. If people have to turn on the back to see your contact info anyway, I definitely wouldn't want to frustrate them in the process.

The design of the card, though, is extremely well-done. I like it very much.

Just my opinion, hope it helps!

Jason

[cyngon]

Thanks for the suggestions!

It's actually my first attempt at designing a business card, so I'm glad it looks decent.

I will definitely take your suggestion about putting my name on the back. That way they won't have to flip back and forth when writing my name somewhere with contact information.

Do you think I should include "Web Site Designer" on the back too?

[jbradley]

I would. It definitely couldn't hurt!

Jason

[w3exit]

Hey ... nice card ... how about doing one for me! :P

[ChrisRoss]

Very nice the only thing I might change would be to have the logo on the back in the same spot as the logo on the front and not cut it off.

Just an idea.

Livonia MI.... Hey thats where I live

[purerain]

Nice design Bryan

My only concern would be with your text being so close to the edge of the card. There's a risk of it being partially clipped when the cards are trimmed, as cutting may vary ever so slightly. It's always a good idea to keep 1/8th of an inch between your text and the edge of the card.

Hope that helps

[mariasplace]

One of my favorite business card resources is a businee card class (teleclass) held by www.teleclassinternational.com Worth the 1 hour long distance costs... and more <g>

[cyngon]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

mariasplace, I'll be sure to check that out. Thanks for the tip!

purerain, the printers I talked to echoed the same opinion. I moved all text in at least 1/8th of an inch from any card edges.

iwinweekly.com, do you happen to know any good (low cost) printers in this area? I'd be interested in hearing recommendations. I really like the cut off look on the back, but printers want to charge me 2 arms and a leg to do it. If I have to do it to get the price down, I might.

w3exit, sure. E-mail me through the forums and I'll reply. I'd rather not post my e-mail in the forums to avoid spam.

jbradely, I decided to put "Web Site Designer" on the back also. I figure if it saves people the hassel of turning the card over that's a good thing.

[coter]

The design of your business is professional looking. I'm not sure what the atom graphic has to do with your company, but it does catch my eye.

Some marketing advice with the business cards:

When it comes time to pay the good old bills, drop a business card into the envelope. This way, when the bill is opened, the person opening it will get it and you never know where it could end up! Most likely in the garbage, but ya never know. It could end up in the hands of someone looking for your services. Just a thought...

[rawnet]

Um - the atom represents Lithium, a group 1 soft metal - you might, however, get some smart alec chemistry grad telling you that Lithium doesn't have that many shells of electrons in the atom.

But I'm a psych grad so won't stoop so low.

Ahem.

Anyway - looks bloody great cyngon.

Don't be afraid to put any graduate letters you may have after your name. It may seem like arrogance, but in business I'm certainly more impressed by Joe Bloggs BSc(hons) than a simple Joe Bloggs.

Otherwise - looks superb,

All the best,

Ross

[cyngon]

coter, thanks for the comments. I'm going to be sure to drop business cards in my first mailing to new clients, my first mailings to existing clients who don't yet have my business card, and I will take your advice and send them with any bills I pay.

rawnet, I'm sure it will happen eventually. I liked the three shell design so much more than the two shells it should be, though.

I got a C in chemistry, so my business card reflects that, I suppose.

It's going to be a few years before I get those graduate letters. Right now I've got one more year of high school to go. Thanks for the advice though, I'll be sure to put them on once I have them.