I began my business card research by looking at the recommended resources, Lovely Stationary and Moo. Moo actually provides printing options, it was interesting to revise what would be possible in relation to printing. What I loved about the above examples was the level of versatility. the top left example incorporates a stamp (or replicates of a stamp) while on the top right outcome you can actually light a match. There are really fun concepts as well as the wood-style outcomes that appear to made out of actual wood. An interesting point to consider and what jumped out at me when looking at the templates on Moo was the possibility for texture outcomes as seen in the bottom right images. This is another element to consider when it gets to the printing stage of the stage process.

I also created a Pinterest board of outcomes I liked with a particular focus on how the text was formatted and what contact details would be included.

I then quickly sketched up a couple of ideas show above considering text and logo placement as well as the inclusion of my 5th element pattern.

Above I have created two outcomes using a monochrome colour palette and incorporating my 5th element pattern on both. As I have selected a really vibrant colour scheme I have produced the above outcome in an RGB format that will require me to match to Pantone colours. I also wanted to play with vertical text placement which I quite like but feel might work better as the cover of the business card in order to not distract from the information presented on the back.

Feedback

The primary feedback was that I had made my outcomes were too cluttered. It was also noted that having two shades of bright purple would mean using 2 Pantone colour and would impact the cost of printing and therefore it would be more viable to include only one.

Revised Outcome

Based on this feedback I used the cover of my first outcome without the pattern and the back of the second outcome without the vertical text. I felt the back was a little unbalanced with all of the text placed to the left and therefore added the shapes used in my fifth element pattern to create a little point of interest in the top right-hand corner. I have created this in 2 shades of purple however if I were to move forward with this I would change to the Pantone shade used for the cover. Overall I am very pleased with the outcome and now comparing it to my first two attempts I feel that this more minimalist approach is a lot stronger and presents my details more clearly.

What have I learnt?

• Business cards can be very versatile and include interesting elements and textures.
• Adding in too many elements can cluster the design and take away from a potentially much stronger more minimal outcome
• While the design is important when it comes to business cards it’s really about getting your details out there so keep them front and centre.

How can I apply this to my work in future?

• I should consider how fun and experimental I want my business card to be particularly if I have the opportunity to spend a little extra on them.
• When creating a business card design in future I think it may be a good rule, to begin with a clean minimal outcome and create variations with more details particularly when designing for a client. This will give the client the option to keep things simple.