# ANOTHER shot at business cards lol



## TylerF (Mar 25, 2010)

This is my 4th attempt at making a business card. input is greatly appreciated


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## AlexColeman (Mar 25, 2010)

The floating head isn't really doing it for me. I feel the decapitation looks a little weird. Also, the info should be dominant, not the rolling head.


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## TylerF (Mar 25, 2010)

well im wearing a shirt, i just didnt get the lighting perfect for it to stand out.


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## JimmyO (Mar 25, 2010)

I think you should spend less time making business card and start shooting.


Good pictures make money, not business cards.


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## TylerF (Mar 25, 2010)

who says i'm not shooting? lol I can do both. I just want something to be able to hand to people. I am doing a senior shoot for a friend next month and wanted be maybe give her some to give to friends.


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## JimmyO (Mar 25, 2010)

TylerF said:


> who says i'm not shooting? lol I can do both. I just want something to be able to hand to people. I am doing a senior shoot for a friend next month and wanted be maybe give her some to give to friends.



That would be pushy. If shes likes your work im sure word of mouth is sufficient.


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## JimmyO (Mar 25, 2010)

Also i dont see the point in putting your picture on the card...


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## TylerF (Mar 25, 2010)

well shes a friend and i'm sure she will tell her friends where she got hers done granted they come out nice, but in terms of contact info, i was thinking cards.

and i wasn't going to but in another of my threads, someone said putting a pic of myself on there will help people connect name to face. idk. this stuff is hard haha


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## TheSolicitor (Mar 25, 2010)

Here's my advice...take it or leave it.  I am a third year law student, so I've got to be able to hand a card to someone in a hurry and need them to look at it, associate it with me, but still think it's professional.  Photography is no different, as I see it.

There is nothing wrong with your phone number, email address, website, company name, and logo, but the picture here is a little hokey (I'm sure there's a better word, but my brain is fried and that's the best I can come up with this evening).  I simply don't care for it (not the picture itself--just putting it on the card), but that's my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions.

A buddy of mine who shoots all over Charleston and the Low Country (he's VERY good, as well, so that helps) simply has his name, phone number, website and "By Appointment Only" on his card and that's it.  It gets the point across, might not be what you're looking for, but it's an idea.  I like your logo, I like the type-face, and I like the colors.  

Keep plugging away, and keep firing!


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## TylerF (Mar 25, 2010)

Thank you for that! i am most certainly trying different things. I hate seeing my own picture lol so i deff don't mind taking it off the card. I still have a way to go with it but i want to make sure it's a decent card before i pay to have them made


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## TheSolicitor (Mar 26, 2010)

TylerF said:


> Thank you for that! i am most certainly trying different things. *I hate seeing my own picture* lol so i deff don't mind taking it off the card. I still have a way to go with it but i want to make sure it's a decent card before i pay to have them made



I'm in the same boat!  I hate seeing my own picture!  

Make sure that you're putting the focus on your name--if people don't remember the name, they won't call.  I'm cursed to share my name with a rapper, so people (especially between 20 and 27) remember it, but it's so common that I have to make sure that people handle my card and don't throw it out--so I went with a heavier weight paper.

If you're printing it yourself, colors aren't an issue, but if you're having it done, multiple colors are going to get in your wallet in a hurry and you're going to have to do lots of shooting to pay for it!  Either way, I wish you lots of luck and look forward to your next effort!


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## TylerF (Mar 26, 2010)

thank you very much!


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## TylerF (Mar 26, 2010)

So here's one I might get printed. Maybe I will tweak it a bit more. Better though?


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## sk8ter646 (Mar 29, 2010)

i like this alot better than the first one. nice and simple and too the point. although i would possibly loose the grey border and try and get the cards cut with round corners instead


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## Dominantly (Mar 29, 2010)

I prefer the second one.
You have such a weird phone number.:meh:


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## c.cloudwalker (Mar 29, 2010)

The last effort is getting close. I would just get rid of the grey border. The problem with borders and BCs is the way they get cut. Rarely is the border even all around and, to me, it doesn't look that good then.

I would just bleed the black background and the blue lines.

Now, I'm going to repeat some things I said recently but I don't think it was to you... if it was, may someone else learn something.

Only one problem with the bleed is the cost if you don't go to the right printer. If they get printed offset, it's expensive. But some printers today will do them on high quality laser printers and they look almost as good for a lot less money. You need to talk to printers and find out who does what.

The other problems with offset printing are: multi colors are more expensive and so are colors that touch. This concerns the black and the blue. But those are not a problem with laser printing. 

Design wise, last but not least, forget the two sided card. More expensive and in this case, it adds no new info. Some people like to be able to write on the back. Some people, like me, put their cards in rolodexes and will never see the back again. Kind of a waste.

Also, a lot of people get 100 or 250 cards. Don't. A big chunk of the cost is set-up and it makes very little difference in cost to do 500 or even 1000. Then, just give them to absolutely everyone and leave them wherever you can. Bulletin boards, or ... Believe it or not, I've left mine in bathrooms. 

Don't laugh. It was in some fancy commercial buildings and I did get some jobs from them.


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## TylerF (Mar 29, 2010)

thank you for the response, the gray isnt part of the design lol my bad on that. And i wasnt sure if i want 2 sides or not. I did read about people liking to write on the back. what would they write? lol


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## TheSolicitor (Mar 30, 2010)

I have people write down their own info on the backs of my cards if they don't have one.  I've also had people use them to write down directions to another bar, or whatever.  People will write on anything if it's close.  Black likely eliminates that option, but I like this card a bunch.  If you slipped me one of these, I'd think that you take yourself and your work seriously, but you're not a bore.  

That's important.  Keep up the effort--I think you're on the right track!


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## HikinMike (Mar 30, 2010)

Dominantly said:


> I prefer the second one.
> *You have such a weird phone number*.:meh:



Yeah and no e-mail when it says 'EMAIL'.


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## Gseries1 (Mar 30, 2010)

I like the design of the card a lot... 
I think it would look better without the picture though.


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## Gseries1 (Mar 30, 2010)

I like the second design as well....


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## JLEphoto (Mar 30, 2010)

Nice...  I love the second one.


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## KmH (Mar 30, 2010)

It looks ok on a computer monitor, but a business card is only 2 inches high and 3.5 inches long.

Your phone # and email address font will be miniscule and your business name won't be much larger.


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## dianehamm (Apr 1, 2010)

By all means, give your friend some business cards to hand out. She would probably promote you anyway, but people will need your contact info in order to reach you.

You are right to have them printed. IMHO 'Home-made' cards are generally tacky and don't provide your business with a 'Professional' Image. 

I like the simplicity of the card after you removed your photo, however, don't let cost deter you if you have your heart set on something else more colorful - a full color card on beautiful heavy weight gloss stock will only run about $59/1000; not much more than the price of a two-color card. (I know prices, I own a print shop!)


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