NEW BUSINESS CARD (DESIGN PROCESS)

IT'S RIDICULOUS, BUT UP UNTIL NOW I HAVE NEVER COMMITTED MYSELF TO DESIGNING A BUSINESS CARD THAT I AM 100% HAPPY WITH. I HAVE ALWAYS COME UP WITH RUSHED ONES OUT OF NECESSITY (EG. BEFORE AN IMPROMPTU CLIENT MEETING OR EXHIBITION LAUNCH). HAVING AN INTERESTING, WELL DESIGNED BUSINESS CARD IS BASICALLY ESSENTIAL TO ANY SERIOUS, NETWORKING FREELANCER, SO IT'S TIME TO SORT MY LIFE OUT AND DO ONE!

EXAMPLES FROM HE BLOG OF FRANCESCO MUGNAI

FIRST OF ALL I DID SOME RESEARCH FOR A BIT OF INSPIRATION.  THIS BLOG HAS SOME FANTASTIC EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIVE BUSINESS CARD DESIGN WHICH I FOUND REALLY HELPFUL AND REALLY GOT ME THINKING - IT'S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH ANY PORTABLE SHAPE WIH A PRINTABLE SURFACE AND YOUR IMAGINATION! I REALISED THAT BOTH IN ORDER FOR ME TO ENJOY CREATING IT AND POTENTIAL CLIENTS TO ENJOY RECEIVING IT, MY CARD NEEDED TO REFLECT MY PERSONALITY AND INTERESTS AS WELL AS MY SERVICES.

FOCUSING ON MY FAVOURITE THINGS (B-MOVIE MONSTERS, EC HORROR COMICS, ANYTHING RELATED TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE) I CAME UP WITH THESE INITIAL DESIGNS (SEE ABOVE, A SKULL AND ME AS A ZOMBIE. APOLOGIES FOR THE BAD PHOTOS, I LIKE TO WORK PRETTY MUCH IN THE DARK WITH JUST A LAMP #GOTH4LIFE, HAHA). I'D DONE A BIT OF BRAINSTORMING WITH MY BOYFRIEND TO WORK OUT HOW THE CARD COULD BE INTERACTIVE, AND WE CAME UP WITH THIS FOLD OUT DESIGN BASED ON THINKING ABOUT PAPER MONSTERS WE USED TO MAKE AS KIDS AND THE EXQUISITE CORPSE GAME:

I SETTLED ON THE SKULL DESIGN AS, BECAUSE MY CARD WILL BE TRADITIONAL SIZED, SIMPLICITY OF LINE WORK AND FOCUS ON GOOD DESIGN WILL WORK BEST ON A SMALL SCALE. ALSO I HAVE AN IDEA THAT THE FINAL DESIGN WILL EMPLOY THE STYLE OF EC HORROR COMICS PRINT AND 1950S BRITISH BOOK JACKET DESIGN (MY WORK IS VERY MUCH INSPIRED BY THESE AESTHETICS!). HERE IS THE SIMPLE FINAL DRAWING I DID OF MY EC HORROR COMICS-INSPIRED SKULL, WHICH I THINK DEMONSTRATES MY ILLUSTRATION STYLE WELL:

THIS IS ANOTHER MOCK UP I DID AFTER ADDING 

COLOUR AND INFO, THOUGH THE PROPORTIONS ARE COMPLETELY WRONG (THANKS TO MY DAD FOR POINTING THIS OUT BEFORE I CONTACTED A PRINTER!):

THIS IS ANOTHER MOCK UP I DID AFTER ADDING 

COLOUR AND INFO, THOUGH THE PROPORTIONS ARE COMPLETELY WRONG (THANKS TO MY DAD FOR POINTING THIS OUT BEFORE I CONTACTED A PRINTER!):

THIS IS A TRUE COLOUR IMAGE OF THE (ALMOST) FINAL DESIGN, WHICH STILL NEEDS SOME TWEAKS:

I'LL POST THE RESULTS OF THE FINAL PRINTED CARDS WHEN I GET THEM DONE SOME TIME NEXT WEEK. TO ANYONE ELSE STRUGGLING TO COME UP WITH AN INTERESTING BUSINESS CARD DESIGN I WOULD REALLY ADVISE DOING SOME RESEARCH (DON'T BE AFRAID TO 'BORROW' IDEAS...) AND THINKING 'OUTSIDE THE BOX', I HATE THAT CLICHÉ BUT IT'S TRUE - PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING CAN BE A BUSINESS CARD!

= KIM =