Business card crit.

[JoshuaJonah]

Just need a crit. on business cards.

I ran out of my old ones and wanted to make things alot simpler. I wanted to make them clean, simple, and casual. I run a very casual and personal business, so i wanted to reflect that in the Business card.

Oh, and before you say anything, I'm keeping the typography on my name on the front. Thats not changing;)

Front:

http://www.JoshuaJonah.com/card/front.jpg

Back:
http://www.JoshuaJonah.com/card/back.jpg

[B L U E]

dunno how well that drop shadow will print. and i do think another font would work better for your name:) like the colors though

[JoshuaJonah]

They will be printed full color glossy by a press, so the drop shadow will work fine:)

[SlowRoasted]

I'm not liking the drop shadow. You didn't use one on the front and I think to be uniform you should ditch it. Other than that I like it.

[112am]

Seconded on the drop shadow, shouldn't be on a business card imo. The front is nice and clean. The back, however, is unbalanced and could use some work.

[Sinister Rouge]

I agree, I like the front, but the back needs work. As noted above, it looks unbalanced and hard on the eyes.

[aldomatic]

i like it, except for the back side.. what about if the back side was all green?

[Sinister Rouge]

a four sided bleed can get pricey, although if that is not an issue, it might look good.

[kevinc]

The drop shadow doesn't really work. It seems like a case of adopting a particular web design style and applying to a different medium. Unforunately it's not as effective in print. The extra info on the bottom edges are just hanging there with no definition. I would suggest putting the list in one corner, and your personal info, stacked, in the opposie corner.

The "I'm a web designer" bit sounds too casual. Quirky is fine, but you need to be very consistant and very careful.

The typeface and colour you've chosen are nice, unqiue and effective, so I think you have a good brand to work with, but need to spend more time on the layout.



Also, and this is a more general comment. Do you really do all those things you say you do on you biz card. It seems like you're doing about 5 people's jobs and that's tough, and doesn't always give a great impression. It might be better to focus on one or two aspects and run with that.

All the best!

[Sinister Rouge]

another thing to keep in mind, is that green a pantone color or within the cmyk gamut?

[rawnewdlz]

How about using the texture from your footer for the back of the card?

[BS]

The back side is very hard on the eyes i think on the back side you should go with a lighter green and get read of the drop shadow

[Sinister Rouge]

How about using the texture from your footer for the back of the card?

i don't think a printing press could do it easily. If he is just printing from an ink het okay, but if he needs to go to a service bereau that would probably be impossible on an ink press.

[Cello]

I'm going to disagree with the above comments; I like the back as it is. Makes good use of white space. I'd keep the drop shadow but reduce it's intensity a tad.

There's nothing wrong with mixing web/print styles IMO - as long as it's well executed - which yours looks like it will be.

[kevinc]

Cello - it sounds you're expressing a personal preference, which is fine, but not a good basis for evaluating the effectiveness of a design.

[Cello]

Well, there will be always a little subjectivity in such things :)

Perhaps I should re-phrase. I do happen to think it's an effective design due distinctiveness and originality - as mentioned before, as long as it's well executed. There have been lots of threads here on Kirupa where the stock answer is 'never print a drop shadow'. I think JJ's example is one where it works and works well for design, originality and creativity.

And to be subjective - I like it ! :thumb:

@kevinc - good point; well presented.

[lorren.biffin]

IMO, the drop shadow should definately go...gives depth to one element out of three, just doesnt match up(i've never really liked drop shadows on lime green though either.)

Also, the rounded edges may be just a whee bit to big.

other than that, they're ok :)

[DariusMonsef]

i don't like the drop shadow either...

Also your wording on the back is strange to me... I added what I would consider better word choices and if you are going to capitalize any words, just cap them all.

[SlowRoasted]

Nice stuff pretty.

[JoshuaJonah]

wow.... lots of comments.

I should really wake up before noon:D

Well, no i dont want to use the tweed thing on the back, i'm actually going through some doubts on my web design and i have a feeling the tweed wont be there anymore once i actually start working on it.

I think the solid color back is a good idea. I like the way you mocked it prettyboy, i think the bar at the bottom really works. I was trying to think of ways to separate the elements at the bottom, i think pipes are ok. I was originally going to use the stars, but well, it had too many stars.:)

I'm going to play with the full green back a little(and I'll get rid of the drop shadow).

The front i am happy with. The "quirky" thing is just the way i am and well, thats what i want to convey to customers. I don't want to seem like some big professional webfirm with corperate clients, thats not me, and i dont want to set any incorrect expectations.

I'm a single person who likes to make websites and has to walk his dog every two hours. I drink three pots of coffee a day and and hardly ever wear socks. Thats what i want this card to portray. :)

[DariusMonsef]

I'm a single person who likes to make websites and has to walk his dog every two hours. I drink three pots of coffee a day and and hardly ever wear socks.

I think the back of your card should say exactly that! I'm totally serious.

I'm a one man design studio who loves designing websites. I walk my dog every two hours, drink three pots of coffee a day and hardly ever wear socks.

It just gives a really personal feel with the statement...and it is sort of wacky and creative (something the design world tolerates if not likes.)

[JoshuaJonah]

kinda like this?

http://www.JoshuaJonah.com/card/buscardback2.jpg

And yes, i tried your idea:)

[ApixDesigns]

josh. im gonan be completly up front with you. i hate it. the back looks extremly tacky, and the text under your name on the front looks bad. i have a few idea's if you'd like a hand with it. i know designing isnt one of your strong points.

[JoshuaJonah]

lol, hit me up on skype or MSN, i'll log on:)

[DariusMonsef]

ps. when asking for feedback it helps if you give high enough res images for us to really see it ;)

[JoshuaJonah]

lol, it's at real size, a little small when pasted here:)

[DariusMonsef]

what do you mean real size? anything submitted to print should be much higher than 72dpi. try 150-300 dpi.

[Sinister Rouge]

yes, 300 dpi for print. then post a 72 dpi scaled down for us to view on the web.

Josh, do you plan of having this printed at a service bereau or are you doing it yourself via an inkjet?

[jacob]

Hey Josh,

1. This is a perfect print job to run as a 2 color job rather than 4c process. By using 2 pantone colors, the green will be extremely pure and will be solid ink. By using cmyk process you will have halftone AND the color will be dirty.
You can get a great price from a small local print shop for a 2 color job like this. Use cmyk process for photos. Also, I dont like the idea of glossy for these cards. This would look great on a Satin 130# card stock. Smooth and thick. (forgive the unintended double entendre)

2. Either version of the backside is fine, but the original one you showed had the type quite small. try and go a little bigger. At least 7 or 8 pt. Maybe it was already, hard to tell.

3. Drop shadows are fine for printing-- they just have to be done correctly. What you need to know is that ink can gain on press-- ESPECIALLY with these cheap gang-printed business card runs (think 36 different cards on 1 sheet of paper, and the press operator just running them straight in terms of total ink density and not paying attention to YOUR color).

That said, always err on the lighter side when it comes to drop shadows. You dont need much to 'place' something on a plane. Much less than you do for screen presentation. See what the same shadow looks like at 1/2 or even 1/4 the density you have.

I also think the WAY you made that drop shadow was a little too webby. Have it only on 2 sides, like right and bottom.


I do like what you are doing more with the second design you posted.
Business cards should be simple.
When you are done with whatever you come up with, email it to me and I will preflight it for you.