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Shall We Talk Business Cards?

ok...i've redesigned my card and logo and am really happy with how it came out. and of course welcome all feedback.

in designing a card (and then subsequent collateral) you want your "look" to immediately capture the attention of your target market. for me I want to work with athletes/fitness clients as well as relaxation clients. the biggest stumbling block was trying to incorporate both imagery into one look. when we think of relaxation we think candles, oils, someone on the table completely relaxed. when we think athletic a completely different image comes to mind. so my goal was to incorporate both.

as for colors...i am a true believer that your color scheme should respresent your spirit. i love warm colors and earthy tones.

as for content...it should be clear, concise and organized.

so fire away at me...on my card as well as post up yours if you'd like me to give a suggestion or two. :)

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jorge Arnaldo Pabón Acevedo on November 17, 2009 at 11:34pm

Thanx, I will do it :-D

Lisa said:

Hey J. Arnaldo,

One suggestion i have is with the blue card. put all your info in the white space to the right of the image and let the image stand alone by itself. right now both image and text are competing.

J. Arnaldo Pabon said:
Well i use like three or four differet, but here I put two.
P.S. your card is awsome, i love your logo.

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Permalink Reply by Crystal Dawn Suovanen on November 19, 2009 at 1:04pm

I designed my cards in Photoshop to catch the eye. I think you should love the colors of your cards and they should convey your personality. Your card does just that. I love the color scheme and your logo. Your images were well chosen, as well.

My cards are very bright and happy. I also put a little incentive offer on there for clients who's friends notice the card.

I am constantly redesigning my cards and should just decide on one and stick to it.

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Permalink Reply by Christina Brannan, LMT on November 22, 2009 at 8:56pm

I have photoshop and feel so out of tune not knowing the potential it could give seeing your card Crystal! Love this! I'll try eventually to do this myself. In the meantime, my architectural sister in law said she would design one that went with my personality and I'm sure it will be a nice one like yours! I can't wait to see it! I'll share when it becomes available :) ~Chrissy

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on November 22, 2009 at 9:43pm

Hey Crystal...

I really like your card. but i have one question. how come your card doesn't match your look or feel in your website? wouldn't you agree that you need to pick one look and feel for branding purposes?

Crystal Dawn Suovanen said:

I designed my cards in Photoshop to catch the eye. I think you should love the colors of your cards and they should convey your personality. Your card does just that. I love the color scheme and your logo. Your images were well chosen, as well.

My cards are very bright and happy. I also put a little incentive offer on there for clients who's friends notice the card.

I am constantly redesigning my cards and should just decide on one and stick to it.

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Permalink Reply by Crystal Dawn Suovanen on November 22, 2009 at 11:12pm

I completely agree, Lisa! I am currently changing my website to look as bright as my cards. The website is nice, but too dark, which isn't me. :)

Lisa said:

Hey Crystal...

I really like your card. but i have one question. how come your card doesn't match your look or feel in your website? wouldn't you agree that you need to pick one look and feel for branding purposes?

Crystal Dawn Suovanen said:
I designed my cards in Photoshop to catch the eye. I think you should love the colors of your cards and they should convey your personality. Your card does just that. I love the color scheme and your logo. Your images were well chosen, as well.

My cards are very bright and happy. I also put a little incentive offer on there for clients who's friends notice the card.

I am constantly redesigning my cards and should just decide on one and stick to it.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on November 23, 2009 at 8:42am

Good!!! you seem to have a very good handle on branding. :)

the only other thing i would suggest with your card is to make your name in a regular font. as much as it looks really cool in that specialized font...you have to remember that not all your clients are going to be able to see/read it as easily as the next person. and since that's the one most important detail of your card, you might want to simplify that one thing.

you could still keep it pink and bold, and maybe put it above the phone number, right justified in that white space under the girl.

just some thoughts. btw i like the discount idea on your card. nice multi tasking. :)

Crystal Dawn Suovanen said:

I completely agree, Lisa! I am currently changing my website to look as bright as my cards. The website is nice, but too dark, which isn't me. :)

Lisa said:
Hey Crystal...

I really like your card. but i have one question. how come your card doesn't match your look or feel in your website? wouldn't you agree that you need to pick one look and feel for branding purposes?

Crystal Dawn Suovanen said:
I designed my cards in Photoshop to catch the eye. I think you should love the colors of your cards and they should convey your personality. Your card does just that. I love the color scheme and your logo. Your images were well chosen, as well.

My cards are very bright and happy. I also put a little incentive offer on there for clients who's friends notice the card.

I am constantly redesigning my cards and should just decide on one and stick to it.

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Permalink Reply by Crystal Dawn Suovanen on November 23, 2009 at 1:31pm

Thanks, Lisa, I was debating whether or not to make the font normal or "TeaLeaf" as the font is called. I will change it the next time I order more cards. :)

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Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on March 29, 2010 at 11:00pm

Personally, I hate it when people use Vistaprint for their business card/identity. I see the same designs all the time (particularly #3; I can think of at least 2-3 people off the top of my head who use it) and what it says to me is that you're too cheap to hire a graphic designer. Granted, I have used their postcards (in design #1, for what it's worth!) for mailings, but as your full identity? Ehhhh. And yes, consistency is important.

As for address, I think something like "serving city, state" ought to be acceptable. But then, I don't have my address or hours listed on mine, as I work in multiple locations (which have changed since I got my cards designed, and there's an extra fee at the printer's to upload a "new" version) and my hours vary. It /does/ have my website listed, and that's where I put all that information.

Samantha J. Bennett said:

Ok all- what's your opinion of these 3 designs for a business card? To Busy? Elegant? Professional? Narrowed them down a little (my choices that is)- Got them off of vistaprint.com (you know- where all us that have no real experience with designing their own go to) :) I'm just lost picking out a design....**sighs**

Plus how important is it to use one design in all their marketing? I like some things of one design and others in another. That bad to use though?

PS - the first biz card looks way better as the vertical sided- rather then as it is (horz.) , just for picking it out wise- looking at design right now....and don't ask me why i ended up with green and brown ones...actually my fav. color is blue! lol... anywho go figure....

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on March 30, 2010 at 12:47am

Samantha i'm not particularly fond of any of those designs to tell you the truth. none of them actually make me "feel" massage. and if you like BLUE then your card should be blue. it should be a reflection of you.

if you'd like, i can take a look at the various designs and see if I can help you out in narrowing down some other choices. just let me know.

and in answer to your question...YES it is very important that you stay consistent with your marketing "look". you are building a brand...even if that brand is you.

give me a couple of days and let me see what I can come up with...that is if you have the time.

i also agree with Erica....you can put "serving the .... area" or something in that regard. i would make sure your phone number is prominent and you might want to look into vista's web services. i believe then can easily take your business card design and format it for a web site fairly inexpensively.

L

by the way...i changed up mine a bit since the photos from the original "look" didn't work as well once printed on paper:

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Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on March 30, 2010 at 11:17am

Sam--

Well, it's certainly understandable if it's a stopgap measure, but I wouldn't keep it for good. When you get the scratch, a graphic designer is definitely worth the money. Alternatively, you may be able to do trade with one. I've done part cash, part trade with one, and straight trade with another.

Samantha J. Bennett said:

lol Yep- Erica, you're exactly right! I am cheap- will just be starting out again in a new city and outta a job for awhile, monies tight at the moment, so trying to cut costs as much as I can on the things that I can end up cutting costs on and getting decent quality.

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Permalink Reply by noreen zakrajsek on March 30, 2010 at 1:10pm

I like the simplicity of your card, Lisa.ook very nice. Did you use the back of it?