(One of Lauren’s) “Maid(s)-of-Honor,” commissioned Republic Design Company, for the design and production of Lauren’s Bridal Shower Invites.
Lauren’s Bridal Shower Invitations include:
Main Invite (5in x 7in)
Keepsake Idea Card (2in x 3.5in)
Gift Ideas Card (2in x 3.5in)
Thank-You Card (4in x 4in)
After collecting a series of examples of what they wanted to emulate in the design of this project; our client came up with a variety of floral + pastel-inspired design elements. We recreated them with the centralized theme of the letter “L,” visible on back-side of all materials. We added a weathered/distressed texture to the front and back of all materials. We worked with our client(s) to ensure the verbiage/copy was precisely what they wanted to include and, as the saying goes, “the rest is history…”
Your calling card has the potential to make or break business deals – so get the design right with these “golden rules…”
Of all the marketing collateral pieces at your disposal, a custom business card is one of the most effective ways to leave a lasting memory in the minds of potential clients. A cleverly crafted card will not only sum up your services and skills, it’ll also serve as a reminder of a face-to-face meeting and provide that personal touch so often lacking from digital communication.
Services like MOO and Vistaprint are excellent for cheap, short runs, while services like Republic Design Company prides itself on custom printed business cards that exude class. So what are the components to a beautifully designed and produced business card? Read on…
WHO AM I?
Make your name clear, as well as what you do. The purpose of your business card is to leave a lasting impression of quality, class, and trust: it doesn’t matter how many intricate creative elements you incorporate – if the design consists of your name in six-point type with a mix of caps and lower case, and the tag-line: “Master of all creative solutions in the media ecosystem,” it’s of no use to anyone.
LOSE THE “BLING”
Use gimmicks sparingly. In general, complicated cut-outs, the use of unusual materials, fold-up models and so-on are best left for mail-outs and other marketing collateral. Think about your message: will using silver ink really help communicate what you do? DO NOT FOLLOW A TREND JUST BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE IS! Carefully consider each and every design element, and ensure it adds real value to your message.
YOU CAN REACH ME ON…
It sounds obvious, but make sure you include every way in which you want people to contact you. These should, ideally, include a phone number, email address and website – don’t just throw on your twitter feed and hope people will track you down. Also (of course), make sure you regularly check those points of contacts. Tardy replies don’t install confidence in prospective clients.
KEEP IT CLEAN
Your choices of typeface are critical for giving out the right message about your company, so think carefully. You generally only need two typefaces, (if that). A common error is to use too small a point size – if this seems to be happening then your probably trying to cram too much information onto the card. Keep that data for your website, blog, twitter, newsletter, and so-on.
MAKE ROOM
Don’t clutter your business card design. you need to make sure your message speaks loudly and clearly to your recipient. One pro tip is to leave at least a modicum of clear space for people to scribble on by hand. Business cards are used as ad-hoc note-taking devices all the time, particularly during those all-important first meetings or networking events. You want to give people every chance to look twice at your card.
MATCH THE CLIENT
Depending on your client spread and whether you regularly attend industry events, exhibitions, and so-on, consider having two different sets of cards: one more traditionally plain; and perhaps one showing more experimentation. You can then match the type of card to the type of client your likely to be meeting.
QUALITY CONTROL
Without getting too Patrick Bateman (of American Psycho fame about it all, ensure you use a decent quality of card stock (or whatever other medium you’ve settled on). Talk to your printer about the different techniques and materials available, and discuss what minimum weight you’re likely to be able to get away with before the price starts ramping up considerably. Any decent printer will happily help.
PORTABLE MEDIA
Business cards don’t necessarily have to be business card-sized (3.5×2 inches), but try to keep them small enough to tuck into pockets, at least. As a rule, unless your card has a dual function (doubling up as a cool bookmark, for example), if it doesn’t fit into a wallet then it will more than likely end up in the trash…
DON’T FORGET THE BACK
The most successful cards are the ones that are memorable, so once you’ve followed the golden design rules here, it’s time to think about added impact. The back of a business card offers a fantastic canvas to make your card stand out from the rest, so think about how you can use it in a way that’s relevant to your services or of use to the recipient. It could be a place for tips or loyalty stamps, or to provide an insight into your style, for instance.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST
Custom Business Cards can be designed and produced in a variety of shapes, sizes, quantities, etc. However, we’ve put together a simple and popular assortment of frequently purchased business cards for our existing and perspective client-base. The following selection of business cards are printed and produced on Full Color, 16 Point Card Stock, UV Gloss and/or Flat Matt, Front + Back:
Republic Design Company Business Cards Sales Ad/Flyer
LET REPUBLIC DESIGN COMPANY DESIGN YOUR CUSTOM BUSINESS CARDS
Ready? Set… Call us today to discuss your next Custom Business Card design + production project.
Joe Romero Tattoo Maker has been creating masterpiece tattoos for over 10 years. He sketches relentlessly and has unique, eclectic style that spans from “Classic Americana,” to “Traditional,” “Traditional Japanese,” “Hybrid Japanese,” all-of-which come together to a head, to create nothing less than ‘magic’!
Joe Romero Tattoo Maker approached Republic Design Company with one of his many sketches (featured here, below). Although Joe Romero doesn’t have an ‘official’ name for it, we refer to his sketch as thee “Majestic Lion.” It’s a great example of his awesome style and is the centerpiece of his latest round of business cards
Joe Romero Tattoo Maker Majestic Lion
Republic Design Company had created several layouts for Joe Romero Tattoo Maker to choose from. It was ultimately Joe’s very own business card layout vision and instruction that made the final cut (pictured below) .
Joe Romero Tattoo Maker business card digital proof
Next up on the horizon are “lighters” and “t-shirts” with the same identity design.
Joe Romero Tattoo Maker works at Main Street Tattoo in Ventura, CA. The shop is clean, well lit, friendly, and loaded with amazing tattoo artists like Joe Romero. Give him a call or visit his facebook profile. By appointment only…
Vanessa Camacho, Senior Director of “Momentis” (by Just Energy), commissioned Republic Design Company for the design, implementation, and production of her business cards:
"Momentis" (by Just Energy), Vanessa Camacho, business cards
Vanessa wasn’t happy with the previous design and production of her last batch of “Momentis” business cards. She e-mailed me a iPhone pic of her business card and asked us to “work our magic.”
Original "Momentis" (by Just Energy) business card
Previously, the Camacho family commissioned Republic Design Company for the original design and creation of (parent company), “Camacho & Associates Corporation,” and (subsidiary) “Viajes Maryvel” logo/identities (including various other marketing collateral pieces found on our portfolio-website). With this insight, we “tweeked” the globe in the Camacho & Associates and Viajes Maryvel logo into the form of a “light-bulb.” The “icing-on-the-cake, (so-to-speak)” was the implementation of a “spot UV mask” over the/and-in-the-shape-of, the glass-portion of light-bulb…
Camacho & Associates logo, Viajes Maryvel logo, "Momentis" (by Just Energy) business card (FRONT & BACK)
Aside from referring back to the original design briefs compiled for each of the previously created logo/identities; it was a natural progression to implement the same color schemes/gradients and so-forth for the Momentis business card…
Camacho & Associates, Viajes Maryvel, "Momentis" (by Just Energy) business cards
Republic Design Company 