Designing a Business Card

This post contains my research, planning and construction of a business card. This is to be used with potential clients or anyone who may be interested in my work. I learned about what my card should contain, the layout and themes of a business card - for example the back and front should show a similar colour scheme. This was then adapted into the creation of my own business card, to which is followed the theme of my existing logo. The only difference between my business card and professional ones was the inclusion of an address due to me not operating out of a company address. I need a business card because it is a key part of marketing for my company. By creating a business card I am making a quick and accessible way to contact me. All good professional business men have a business card, so I need to have one as well.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS

Upon research of some existing business cards, I made sure to include most of the information that popped up on them time and time again such as phone numbers and emails to contact. The only thing I wasn't able to include that was on most business cards, was the company address and this is purely because I don't function as a business but simply do my work at college or home, neither of which are appropriate for people to reach out to me from.

Also from my research, I found that the front and back of the business card always maintained the same colour scheme but the layout could differ slightly on either side. As long as the colours are correct it should be good to go. More often than not they use a sans serif font, they do this to make it easy to read. Some businesses may use a serif font for design reasons, but I want my business card to be easy to read.

Sticking with the black and gold theme, my business card includes all necessary information following this same colour scheme and theme. There are a total of 3 ways of getting into contact with me (Phone, Email, Instagram) and 3 ways of viewing my existing work (YouTube, Instagram and the ALS Website). 

A lot of business cards include the persons name and which company they're from according to my research. I realised that I should also include my name somewhere on the card, so that people know who they are approaching. I made sure to include my name in bottom left of the business card.

EXISTING PRODUCTS

This first template has went with a black and yellow colour scheme, they must have done this because it's their companies main colour scheme. They have included two different variations of their logo, one is horizontal meanwhile they other is vertical. This shows that the company have experimented with two different variations of their logo, this shows great technical skill and versatility. As well as this the company has used different icons for their contacts, they have done this instead of just using text. The icons look more professional and add flare to the business card. John Doe has included his name in the top right corner, so it doesn't clash with other pieces of text, he has also included the fact he is a graphics designer which is helpful information. By including his name, John has made it clearer for the consumer to understand who they are contacting. Finally this company has chosen to use a sans serif font. By using a sans serif font they are making their card easy to read. This sort of professionalism does come with the cost of the card looking plain. But as a whole I'd say this is a solid business card. The yellow colour scheme will make the card inaccessible for colour blind people, so darker colour schemes are the way to go.  

This next example has went with a pink, white and black colour scheme. This colour scheme is more accessible for colour blind people, so I already like it more than the first one. Michel Smith has also put his name in the top right corner, and he has also added a pink stripe to make it look more aesthetically pleasing. His contact details are placed directly below it, he has also opted to use icons. Again this is a nice extra. However he has shown 2 different variations of his logo, 1 is white and they other is pink. This shows that Stubbs solutions have experimented with different logo variants. This is good because they can use different colours for different backgrounds. The big S on the logo also looks really nice and professional. It stands out well and shows me that the company has good graphics design skills. Stubbs have also chosen to use a sans serif font on their card, this makes the text nice and easy to read. My favourite part about this business card is the faded picture of a map, which is in the background of the card. I think it looks really clean and displays a high level of technical skill. As a whole I'd say this is a really good looking business card. 

Here is a short video I found about what makes a good business card. The video establishes they importance of having a good business card, for example they say that all good business men have good business cards. It was really informative, so feel free to give it a watch.

The business card has been a work in progress for a little while now and I have altered and tweaked it over the last few weeks. This post shows all my drafts and the final products.

MY BUSINESS CARD DRAFT 1

MY BUSINESS CARD DRAFT 2

FINAL PRODUCT

As you can see my business card has changed a lot over the last few weeks. I made sure to gradually improve it in anyway I could and I'm now happy with my final design. My second draft is way different to my first, because I felt as if my first draft looked really cheap and tacky. I improved the overall layout and also added my ALS account so you can look at my articles. As well as this, I also added my very own character just to make my card look more visually appealing. My final draft is very similar to my second draft, but this time I added my name in the bottom corner and added a dash in between my 2 YouTube channel names. I did this so people knew who they were approaching and I didn't want people to think the channel names were 1 big name. I think these changes polish off my business card. I have also chosen a darker colour scheme because I want to make my card as accessible as possible. Colour blind people struggle to read red, yellow, and green colour schemes, so I made sure to stay away from those colours. I also removed my phone number for privacy issues, I added the option to email me for my full phone number. This will make sure no trolls gain access to my phone number. I understand that having a character on my card is very unique, and it helps differentiate my card from others. I use this character on my videos, so it relates to my brand. Some people may think I'm an animator, but my counter argument to that would be Ronald McDonald represents McDonald's, but there not a circus.

FEEDBACK ON MY BUSINESS CARD

So, I made a google form where I ask questions about my business card. I want to see whether or not people think my business card looks like it's for a media related brand. I also want to know if anyone would change anything about my business card. By creating a survey I am able to receive feedback on my product which is good for my communication skills. 

I received no improvements in my feedback from this product. However, I was reassured that my business card looked to be from a media related brand and that the information is well laid out and has all the necessary details. Another comment also told me that my colour scheme was really consistent and worked really well. I was also told that my logo and character looked really eye caching, this is really reassuring because that was the whole point of including my character. As a whole, I am really happy with the feedback I received it's great to see that people like my business card. 

EVALUATION OF MY BUSINESS CARD

My business card runs with the same colour scheme that my logo did with the main theme being black and gold. This is a running theme throughout my work and social media logos. The rest of the writing I decided to put in a white font because I didn't want to over do the gold. I personally think that gold writing would tacky on my business card. The background also includes gold lines as oppose to simply being all one colour. After experimenting with Picsart features, I thought that the line patterns made the business card more appealing to look at. Not to mention I put a black outline on my text, this makes the text easier to read and understand.

After researching existing business cards, I thought that the inclusions of my phone, email and Instagram were appropriate ways of contact between me and my viewers. The YouTube channels and ALS link act as the showing of work more than a way of contact. In the end I also thought that including my name on the business card was vital. Not only did it conform to the typicality of other business cards but it gives the viewers a way to address me and creates at least some familiarity.