In class, we were asked to design a business card for our personal brand.
What makes a good business card?
- Reflects brands tone of voice
- Use of white space
- Simplicity when displaying details
- Easy to read typeface
- Unique so it stands out
I started off by trying different ideas for the back of my card. For these I used my monogram in different ways:
First Attempt
Front
For the front I designed some simple icons for the different contact details. I used the same linewidth and colour for each of them for consistency. The lines are quite thin as I felt it went well with my wordmark. However, my wordmark has now been updated so this needs to be changed. The areas of contact do need updated, but these give an idea of how I would lay them out. I then also have my visual marque faded in the background.
Back
For the back, I took my monogram, reduced it in size and created a nice pattern with it. I kept it all black and white to keep it simple and then included a single purple monogram to grab people’s attention.
Feedback
I got the opportunity to receive some feedback in a group critique session. I found this very beneficial and am looking forward to taking these ideas into consideration.
- Keep the front a lot simpler. I should consider taking out the wordmark and visual marque and just having the icons and contact details. This showed me that I don’t need to have every aspect of my brand on my business card as it often just overcrowds it and takes the attention away from what is important.
- Be careful with colour choice. On the back I had used black which I hadn’t established as one of my brand colours and so it doesn’t tie in with my tone of voice. Instead, I can try purple on white.
- The back can be simpler. If I was to use my monogram, it doesn’t need to appear more than once. I think having more white space could be more effective.
- Make it unique and stand out. My visual marque is like a maze and I was given the idea to take advantage of this. I think it would be cool to take my visual marque and create a maze that people could interact with.
I really liked the idea of having a maze on the back and making it something people could interact with. I took to Pinterest for some inspiration:
I decided to sketch out some ideas I had to give me an idea of how I should go about making this and how I should lay it out.
Sketches
I then took these ideas into Figma to see if what worked best:
I started off taking one visual marque and having it on its own. This is the simpler approach and I do think it works quite well as its minimal and clear. For some, I took 4 visual marques and placed them together. I then had the monogram in the middle as the “goal” to get to.
I think this idea is my favourite:
It is simple and easy to understand what it is. Having a “start” and “finish” text may encourage people to complete the maze with a pencil. The circle and the “X” have the same effect and is similar as it doesn’t have words. The maze isn’t difficult which could symbolise that I can help solve problems easily.
I also tried it using just one visual marque for a more minimal approach:
I also made some changes to the front of the business card. I wanted to strip it back and make it as simple as possible. I took away the wordmark and faded visual marque as these were unnecessary and took attention away from the important contact details. I changed the typeface to “Lora” as this is the typeface I want to use throughout my brand. It is simple, clear, and easy to read.
I want to get some more feedback before choosing a final design.
Final Changes
After receiving some feedback, I changed the following things:
- Make the icons bolder
- Smaller text on the front
Making my icons bolder makes them stand out more and it also goes better with my brands tone of voice.
I also decided to go for the more complicated maze as it gives the audience more of a challenge. Overall, I am happy with how it turned out and i’m excited to get it physically printed at some point so I can use it.