2. Analysing business cards
There is a common format among a lot of business cards where the companies logo will be printed as a stand alone item on oneside of the card accompanied with a
flat colour or simple design pattern and on the opposite side will be the company’s contact information and general information about the company such as what
industry they work in, their address and sometimes a short slogan or statement.
Due to the limited space on a business card, there is not enough room to display a whole lot of information, which is why most
business cards are very minimalist and due to the small size of the text it will be difficult for the reader to read. However, the minimal
information does not take from the detail and effectiveness of the business card. You can still display all of the information you need
in the space available to you. For example this card, which only contains a small amount of text it tells you, the person’s name,
occupation, website, mobile number and address.
When I create my own business card, I would like to create something that sets a good first impression to the potential client or
customer. I will achieve this by creating something appealing, minimalist and presents me as a professional.
Inspirations
What appeals to me in this example is the use of flat, pastel tones. They appeal to my senses and stick out to me, without being
overbearingly detailed, which I think is important because, to me, as a consumer I do not appreciate when an advertisement/product
is too obvious, flashy and has a lot of information. This makes me feel as though information is being forced into me against my will.
This card is a great example of something that isn’t too flashy and obvious, but still stands out and is pleasing to look at.
This example is also something I would like to incorporate into my design. The use of colour block gradients in a business card is a subtle
way to add character to your design. It draws attention to your product but is not overly outlandish.
3. First draft
For the first draft of my business card. I took inspiration from the meaning of my logo, the projector projecting the logo. I did this by using a
lighter tone of my main background colour to mimic the light coming from the projector. I took parts of some of the examples I looked at and
wanted to replicate such as the colour block gradients, flat and pastel colours, use of shading to make the design pop more than just using a
singular colour.
I noted and included the most important features of a business card which are; Social media profiles, email, phone number, a brief explanation
of what the business offers, a memorable logo and an address.
4. I made some updates to the first draft in order to make the design more polished and professional. Firstly, I reduced the size of the logo in
the middle of the front side of the card. I did this to make the logo more subtle and less overbearing on the eye. I felt like there was too
much empty space around about the gradient, so I added another layer of colour to define the background and use up more of the available
space.
I made a slight change to the brief explanation of what my business offered. I removed the word ‘production’ as I felt like it was unnecessary
and preferred the more minimalist look. I also put them each on a separate line to distinguish them from each other and make it more like a
list.
Final result
