Put this togeather today and ordered the first 100 today. I do plan to keep experimenting in the quest.
Great looking card but... Photography only has one r.
And...
To open a whole new can of worms:
Make sure you have all of your releases signed, i.e.:
The rider, the race team, and especially, Honda.
Tis sometimes better to be a big fish in a small pond than to be shark bait.
lol See what happens when one does not check his work. Thank You. As for the releases I have found that a free 8 x 10 works real good with the rider and team, Honda I not going to worry about as these are only going to be handed out to a small group and not in publications.
As for the releases I have found that a free 8 x 10 works real good with the rider and team, Honda I not going to worry about as these are only going to be handed out to a small group and not in publications.
I do the same. It was basically a heads up in case and for those who didn't think of it.
Personally, I think it is good free advertising for them. However, some companies are more protective of their name than others.
Tis sometimes better to be a big fish in a small pond than to be shark bait.
Thank You, Just corrected the order. That was a good laugh for a Sunday morning. I hope that is why we are all here, to learn and get input from others. Rod
Make sure you have all of your releases signed, i.e.:
The rider, the race team, and especially, Honda.
I beg to differ. The rider is performing at a public event and the shot is newsworthy. Fair use. The use on the business card, while promotional, may not meet the bar of commercial use, and would surely cost more to prosecute than the rider or team cares to spend on a case that is far from a slam dunk. Finally, no release is needed from Honda unless the new trademark protection law is passed, and that seems less than likely due to intense lobbying by many professional groups.
In summary: I do not see this shot as one that needs a release from any party provided it is not used commercially. And it is to note that selling prints is often not considered commercial use per se.
This is, however, not legal advice. Just being conversational.
I need a new business card. My old one had addresses and phone numbers and yadda yadda. That's no good for a guy married to a military girl. Plus I want to start emphasizing the fact that I'm doing more than photography (well I'm trying to do more than photography anyhow). And yes, I agree I shouldn't be giving this card out until my page is all set up (which it isn't).
Anyhow rip it to shreds, it's just a first doodling. Help me by not giving me a s%$t sandwich, just give it to me straight. What is good about it? What is bad about it? Scream at me and tell me I'm terrible at this whole design thing if that's what it takes. If it's praiseworthy I could always use some of that too :uhoh
I need a new business card. My old one had addresses and phone numbers and yadda yadda. That's no good for a guy married to a military girl. Plus I want to start emphasizing the fact that I'm doing more than photography (well I'm trying to do more than photography anyhow). And yes, I agree I shouldn't be giving this card out until my page is all set up (which it isn't).
Anyhow rip it to shreds, it's just a first doodling. Help me by not giving me a s%$t sandwich, just give it to me straight. What is good about it? What is bad about it? Scream at me and tell me I'm terrible at this whole design thing if that's what it takes. If it's praiseworthy I could always use some of that too :uhoh
Anywho, here it is.
Mike...it sucks...really it does for me anyway. I like to look at a something on a biz card..anything but you have nothing there mate. It looks like something a building company would have used in the 80's not a photographer that has the talent you have for gods sake. I cant help you with ideas except that you can do a lot better mate.
This one doesn't work for me. The "M/L" logo thing just doesn't draw my
attention. If you want to go with a minimalist look for the plain background,
I think that'd be great. I guess the logo thing is kinda cheezy looking
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
The use on the business card, while promotional, may not meet the bar of commercial use, and would surely cost more to prosecute than the rider or team cares to spend on a case that is far from a slam dunk. Finally, no release is needed from Honda unless the new trademark protection law is passed, and that seems less than likely due to intense lobbying by many professional groups.
I agree with the time and expense and 99% of the time it doesn't matter. But, put a photo of Mickey or the Magic Kingdom on your card and let it get into the wrong hands and see what happens. Disney doesn't care what the expense is.
In summary: I do not see this shot as one that needs a release from any party provided it is not used commercially. And it is to note that selling prints is often not considered commercial use per se.
I believe you will find a business card is a commercial use of an image. You are using the image to sell a product and/or service.
Mike, as far as the logo goes, I think it is fine. You'll find that a lot of well designed and recognized logos (e.g., IBM, McDonalds, etc.) are quite simple and yours meets that criteria; however, these logos are recognizable in large part because of the marketing of the brand over time. You don't have that in your favor.
Your card doesn't tell me anything about what you do. Dance studio, artist studio, photography studio, music studio, etc.? I think you need to figure out what you're trying to target and make that the primary element of your card. Keep the logo and shrink it in size (making it a non-primary element) or put it on the reverse.
You also need to capitalize the S in your e-mail address to be consistent with the url you're showing as part of your logo.
A few observations as someone who both designs and does large print runs of business cards for a living...
Be careful how hard you make a potential customer work. We live in an information economy. Thanks to powerful search engines and even opening up a phone book in a good size city... a potential client has hundreds if not thousands of other choices.
If you want a clean sleek front to your business card with minimal visual clutter... consider doing a double sided card with pertinent contact information presented neatly on the back and the front of the card more of a showcase of your photo(s)
Andy mentioned that he writes his number down on the back to increase the interaction time with the potential client. Thats a fine way to do things, but the key is he makes sure the client -gets the information.-
I'm not going to critique actual designs here, because honestly I find unrequested criticism really tacky and opinions are pretty cheap and worthless on the internet. If you like your card, if it suits your needs, and if it is getting you contacts from people... it does its job.
I will say... make -sure- you've got enough information on your card that you're potential client can reach you in an easy and comfortable way. Sure someone like me who has a home network, computers all over the house, computers at work, and high speed internet everywhere but his car will just punch in the website and look for the contact tab to get your info. -Most- people won't. In my experience getting clients both as a photographer and as a designer/printer you need to make it so easy for someone to contact you there is no reason for them -not- to do it.
I appreciate a clean simple business card, but make sure not to skimp on important contact info.
A few observations as someone who both designs and does large print runs of business cards for a living...
Be careful how hard you make a potential customer work. We live in an information economy. Thanks to powerful search engines and even opening up a phone book in a good size city... a potential client has hundreds if not thousands of other choices.
If you want a clean sleek front to your business card with minimal visual clutter... consider doing a double sided card with pertinent contact information presented neatly on the back and the front of the card more of a showcase of your photo(s)
Andy mentioned that he writes his number down on the back to increase the interaction time with the potential client. Thats a fine way to do things, but the key is he makes sure the client -gets the information.-
I'm not going to critique actual designs here, because honestly I find unrequested criticism really tacky and opinions are pretty cheap and worthless on the internet. If you like your card, if it suits your needs, and if it is getting you contacts from people... it does its job.
I will say... make -sure- you've got enough information on your card that you're potential client can reach you in an easy and comfortable way. Sure someone like me who has a home network, computers all over the house, computers at work, and high speed internet everywhere but his car will just punch in the website and look for the contact tab to get your info. -Most- people won't. In my experience getting clients both as a photographer and as a designer/printer you need to make it so easy for someone to contact you there is no reason for them -not- to do it.
I appreciate a clean simple business card, but make sure not to skimp on important contact info.
Welcome to dgrin and thanks for the great info!
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.
A few observations as someone who both designs and does large print runs of business cards for a living...
Be careful how hard you make a potential customer work. We live in an information economy. Thanks to powerful search engines and even opening up a phone book in a good size city... a potential client has hundreds if not thousands of other choices.
If you want a clean sleek front to your business card with minimal visual clutter... consider doing a double sided card with pertinent contact information presented neatly on the back and the front of the card more of a showcase of your photo(s)
Andy mentioned that he writes his number down on the back to increase the interaction time with the potential client. Thats a fine way to do things, but the key is he makes sure the client -gets the information.-
I'm not going to critique actual designs here, because honestly I find unrequested criticism really tacky and opinions are pretty cheap and worthless on the internet. If you like your card, if it suits your needs, and if it is getting you contacts from people... it does its job.
I will say... make -sure- you've got enough information on your card that you're potential client can reach you in an easy and comfortable way. Sure someone like me who has a home network, computers all over the house, computers at work, and high speed internet everywhere but his car will just punch in the website and look for the contact tab to get your info. -Most- people won't. In my experience getting clients both as a photographer and as a designer/printer you need to make it so easy for someone to contact you there is no reason for them -not- to do it.
I appreciate a clean simple business card, but make sure not to skimp on important contact info.
You're probably not referring directly to my card, but you might as well be. In my case, it's not really a business card, as I don't do this as a business. It's more of a "I just redesigned my smugmug page and I should have a cool card to go with it that I can hand to friends and make myself feel important" card.
I wish you would comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say about some of these cards, and also about the level of critique already in this thread. I'm sure you can find a card somewhere in here where they asked for feedback!
You're probably not referring directly to my card, but you might as well be. In my case, it's not really a business card, as I don't do this as a business. It's more of a "I just redesigned my smugmug page and I should have a cool card to go with it that I can hand to friends and make myself feel important" card.
I wish you would comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say about some of these cards, and also about the level of critique already in this thread. I'm sure you can find a card somewhere in here where they asked for feedback!
There is a huge difference between a business card that is meant to function simply as a calling card or for a specific purpose. I recently finished my student teaching and I've got a website specifically for educators, my students, and their parents. When I made business cards for my website I didn't want it to be a full blow business card with multiple means of contacting me. I wanted the card to do nothing more than provide visual interest and direct people to the website. Thus I copied the ultra simple CSS bar that I used at the top of the screen (which has the site name in it) and the -entire- card is simply a light blue band through the middle of the card with mysiteaddress.com in a darker blue text. No email, phone number or additional info. If they need that and I want to give it to them I write it on the back.
My cards for photography are a little more complex than just a simple band. I have a couple different card designs I use (not on this computer, I'll post a few later) one has nothing but clean black text on the front and the entire back is a photo... and another has a simple photo and my company name on the front and the indepth info on the back.
Two totally different cards for two totally different purposes.
As a side note... I have a friend who heads an anti-terrorist unit within the military. A few months ago he reached a level of training and classification that he was officially labeled as a "government asset" I made him a small run of cards that were simply his nickname and "Government Asset" centered on a marble cardstock business card. Great for handing out at the bar
There is a huge difference between a business card that is meant to function simply as a calling card or for a specific purpose. I recently finished my student teaching and I've got a website specifically for educators, my students, and their parents. When I made business cards for my website I didn't want it to be a full blow business card with multiple means of contacting me. I wanted the card to do nothing more than provide visual interest and direct people to the website. Thus I copied the ultra simple CSS bar that I used at the top of the screen (which has the site name in it) and the -entire- card is simply a light blue band through the middle of the card with mysiteaddress.com in a darker blue text. No email, phone number or additional info. If they need that and I want to give it to them I write it on the back.
My cards for photography are a little more complex than just a simple band. I have a couple different card designs I use (not on this computer, I'll post a few later) one has nothing but clean black text on the front and the entire back is a photo... and another has a simple photo and my company name on the front and the indepth info on the back.
Two totally different cards for two totally different purposes.
As a side note... I have a friend who heads an anti-terrorist unit within the military. A few months ago he reached a level of training and classification that he was officially labeled as a "government asset" I made him a small run of cards that were simply his nickname and "Government Asset" centered on a marble cardstock business card. Great for handing out at the bar
Okay... (one of the mistakes I made on my original cards)
I deal with an older clientele. Older eyes often have a hard time seeing smaller print. When you get the card to size, the font and size of some of your print will be difficult for some people to read. Specifically your URL and community.
I have started putting my info on the white back in large black ariel print. (or arial whichever you have )
Nice sunset.
Tis sometimes better to be a big fish in a small pond than to be shark bait.
Okay... (one of the mistakes I made on my original cards)
I deal with an older clientele. Older eyes often have a hard time seeing smaller print. When you get the card to size, the font and size of some of your print will be difficult for some people to read. Specifically your URL and community.
I have started putting my info on the white back in large black ariel print. (or arial whichever you have )
Nice sunset.
jk
Anyway, I took your critique to heart and decided to do go with a double-sided card format. Here is what I came up with...
Thanks for taking your time JBert... I like this approach much better...
Trying to decide which one to order
So far I have only printed up my own business cards on Avery templates. I am going to order some soon. These are three I made, using the downloadable psd file from overnightprints.com. I am still leaning towards the first, but may print some of the others later. Which do you prefer and any changes I should make?
I'm probably going to order 2-sided cards with more information on the backside, including my photography focus, fees, print prices and email.
So far I have only printed up my own business cards on Avery templates. I am going to order some soon. These are three I made, using the downloadable psd file from overnightprints.com. I am still leaning towards the first, but may print some of the others later. Which do you prefer and any changes I should make?
I'm probably going to order 2-sided cards with more information on the backside, including my photography focus, fees, print prices and email.
Hi Kim
If you choose the first one, you may as well eliminate your site address and phone number from the front. It is near impossible to read at this size. It will disappear when it is reduced to card size.
In fact if you are going to put your info on the back, I would eliminate it from all three samples and just leave your business name on the front.
On #1 it's hidden by the grass anyway. On #2 it would allow you to use larger images. On #3, to my eye, taking your web address and phone number out would make a more dramatic card. And again, the reduction in size will make it hard to read anyway.
My choice would be #3. Certainly catches the eye, tells a story, and showcases your talents. The only drawback is Overnite Prints converts to CMYK and has a problem matching high saturation reds and oranges. That alone may preclude your using the #3 sample.
Hope this helps.
Tis sometimes better to be a big fish in a small pond than to be shark bait.
So far I have only printed up my own business cards on Avery templates. I am going to order some soon. These are three I made, using the downloadable psd file from overnightprints.com. I am still leaning towards the first, but may print some of the others later. Which do you prefer and any changes I should make?
I'm probably going to order 2-sided cards with more information on the backside, including my photography focus, fees, print prices and email.
Kim,
If your trying to convey "On Location" photography, than #2 says it best. In fact, I'm not sure that you would need to change a thing.
I've used that font before. It fits well with this card.
Comments
Great looking card but... Photography only has one r.
And...
To open a whole new can of worms:
Make sure you have all of your releases signed, i.e.:
The rider, the race team, and especially, Honda.
http://jburtphotos.com
http://jburtphotos.smugmug.com
Basic but makin' changes
I do the same. It was basically a heads up in case and for those who didn't think of it.
Personally, I think it is good free advertising for them. However, some companies are more protective of their name than others.
http://jburtphotos.com
http://jburtphotos.smugmug.com
Basic but makin' changes
I get my business cards printed at iPrint.com. Great site for cards you have designed or they have templates too.
http://www.dgrin.com/images/attach/jpg.gif
http://www.dgrin.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13947&stc=1&d=1153681881[/IMG]
In summary: I do not see this shot as one that needs a release from any party provided it is not used commercially. And it is to note that selling prints is often not considered commercial use per se.
This is, however, not legal advice. Just being conversational.
Cheerleading: http://www.CheerPhoto.com
Blog: http://cambler.livejournal.com
Anyhow rip it to shreds, it's just a first doodling. Help me by not giving me a s%$t sandwich, just give it to me straight. What is good about it? What is bad about it? Scream at me and tell me I'm terrible at this whole design thing if that's what it takes. If it's praiseworthy I could always use some of that too :uhoh
Anywho, here it is.
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
Mike...it sucks...really it does for me anyway. I like to look at a something on a biz card..anything but you have nothing there mate. It looks like something a building company would have used in the 80's not a photographer that has the talent you have for gods sake. I cant help you with ideas except that you can do a lot better mate.
.....you want sugar with that ?
That's all the sugar that I need
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
These are for my production company, the photo business ones are still in development. Front / Back. Yes I know my flatbed scanner is dirty.
Take a Peek!
This one doesn't work for me. The "M/L" logo thing just doesn't draw my
attention. If you want to go with a minimalist look for the plain background,
I think that'd be great. I guess the logo thing is kinda cheezy looking
I believe you will find a business card is a commercial use of an image. You are using the image to sell a product and/or service.
Ditto
http://jburtphotos.com
http://jburtphotos.smugmug.com
Basic but makin' changes
Your card doesn't tell me anything about what you do. Dance studio, artist studio, photography studio, music studio, etc.? I think you need to figure out what you're trying to target and make that the primary element of your card. Keep the logo and shrink it in size (making it a non-primary element) or put it on the reverse.
You also need to capitalize the S in your e-mail address to be consistent with the url you're showing as part of your logo.
For what it's worth...
Pat
I'd suggest using your wonderfulphoto domain for your e-mail address as well.
Ariel,
That is an outstanding image...
Russ
Be careful how hard you make a potential customer work. We live in an information economy. Thanks to powerful search engines and even opening up a phone book in a good size city... a potential client has hundreds if not thousands of other choices.
If you want a clean sleek front to your business card with minimal visual clutter... consider doing a double sided card with pertinent contact information presented neatly on the back and the front of the card more of a showcase of your photo(s)
Andy mentioned that he writes his number down on the back to increase the interaction time with the potential client. Thats a fine way to do things, but the key is he makes sure the client -gets the information.-
I'm not going to critique actual designs here, because honestly I find unrequested criticism really tacky and opinions are pretty cheap and worthless on the internet. If you like your card, if it suits your needs, and if it is getting you contacts from people... it does its job.
I will say... make -sure- you've got enough information on your card that you're potential client can reach you in an easy and comfortable way. Sure someone like me who has a home network, computers all over the house, computers at work, and high speed internet everywhere but his car will just punch in the website and look for the contact tab to get your info. -Most- people won't. In my experience getting clients both as a photographer and as a designer/printer you need to make it so easy for someone to contact you there is no reason for them -not- to do it.
I appreciate a clean simple business card, but make sure not to skimp on important contact info.
Welcome to dgrin and thanks for the great info!
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
You're probably not referring directly to my card, but you might as well be. In my case, it's not really a business card, as I don't do this as a business. It's more of a "I just redesigned my smugmug page and I should have a cool card to go with it that I can hand to friends and make myself feel important" card.
I wish you would comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say about some of these cards, and also about the level of critique already in this thread. I'm sure you can find a card somewhere in here where they asked for feedback!
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Thanks
There is a huge difference between a business card that is meant to function simply as a calling card or for a specific purpose. I recently finished my student teaching and I've got a website specifically for educators, my students, and their parents. When I made business cards for my website I didn't want it to be a full blow business card with multiple means of contacting me. I wanted the card to do nothing more than provide visual interest and direct people to the website. Thus I copied the ultra simple CSS bar that I used at the top of the screen (which has the site name in it) and the -entire- card is simply a light blue band through the middle of the card with mysiteaddress.com in a darker blue text. No email, phone number or additional info. If they need that and I want to give it to them I write it on the back.
My cards for photography are a little more complex than just a simple band. I have a couple different card designs I use (not on this computer, I'll post a few later) one has nothing but clean black text on the front and the entire back is a photo... and another has a simple photo and my company name on the front and the indepth info on the back.
Two totally different cards for two totally different purposes.
As a side note... I have a friend who heads an anti-terrorist unit within the military. A few months ago he reached a level of training and classification that he was officially labeled as a "government asset" I made him a small run of cards that were simply his nickname and "Government Asset" centered on a marble cardstock business card. Great for handing out at the bar
yet no one has commented on my card yet...
Russ
I deal with an older clientele. Older eyes often have a hard time seeing smaller print. When you get the card to size, the font and size of some of your print will be difficult for some people to read. Specifically your URL and community.
I have started putting my info on the white back in large black ariel print. (or arial whichever you have
Nice sunset.
http://jburtphotos.com
http://jburtphotos.smugmug.com
Basic but makin' changes
jk
Anyway, I took your critique to heart and decided to do go with a double-sided card format. Here is what I came up with...
Thanks for taking your time JBert... I like this approach much better...
Take care...
Russ
Glad I could be of assistance Russ.
I found leaving the back a light color and uncoated allows you or the customer to make notes on it.
I've been looking for a short concise description for my banner. Mind if I use "Commissioned Photography"?
http://jburtphotos.com
http://jburtphotos.smugmug.com
Basic but makin' changes
I believe that my final design for the backside will be a yellow background and black text (keeping with the color theme), and no coating.
Thanks again...
btw: if "commissioned photography" works for you, go for it...
Russ
Take a Peek!
So far I have only printed up my own business cards on Avery templates. I am going to order some soon. These are three I made, using the downloadable psd file from overnightprints.com. I am still leaning towards the first, but may print some of the others later. Which do you prefer and any changes I should make?
I'm probably going to order 2-sided cards with more information on the backside, including my photography focus, fees, print prices and email.
Life Imprints by Kim
If you choose the first one, you may as well eliminate your site address and phone number from the front. It is near impossible to read at this size. It will disappear when it is reduced to card size.
In fact if you are going to put your info on the back, I would eliminate it from all three samples and just leave your business name on the front.
On #1 it's hidden by the grass anyway. On #2 it would allow you to use larger images. On #3, to my eye, taking your web address and phone number out would make a more dramatic card. And again, the reduction in size will make it hard to read anyway.
My choice would be #3. Certainly catches the eye, tells a story, and showcases your talents. The only drawback is Overnite Prints converts to CMYK and has a problem matching high saturation reds and oranges. That alone may preclude your using the #3 sample.
Hope this helps.
http://jburtphotos.com
http://jburtphotos.smugmug.com
Basic but makin' changes
Kim,
If your trying to convey "On Location" photography, than #2 says it best. In fact, I'm not sure that you would need to change a thing.
I've used that font before. It fits well with this card.
Very impressive...
Good luck with your endeavors...
Russ