you're never going to please everyone, and everyone is always going to say something different. personally, i liked your first one the best. before you made ANY changes.
make a card that makes you happy. don't make one to try and make EVERYONE else happy, cause it just ain't gonna happen.
One can and should follow basic design rules. Your card does and it looks great.
...
and the back. like it or not, it's pretty damned functional. it's got everything i need it to have.
The only thing I would do is to tie the "photographer" text and the "Joe Salas, 4theriders.com" parts together by aligning them all to the same place on the right.
Other than that, I think your card is outstanding. If you were to move that part over I'd say your card is easily in the top 10% of the cards in this thread.
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.
One can and should follow basic design rules. Your card does and it looks great.
The only thing I would do is to tie the "photographer" text and the "Joe Salas, 4theriders.com" parts together by aligning them all to the same place on the right.
Other than that, I think your card is outstanding. If you were to move that part over I'd say your card is easily in the top 10% of the cards in this thread.
your signature is awesome! hahaha! how'd you do that?!
as for alignment... i did align it as you mentioned, but quickly discarded that as it looked too clean. i don't like stuff being perfect. i like small nuances. it makes it much more personable.
I decided to change it up a little, and go back to a script for one of the lines...
But now you have a formal serif font, an italicized san serif script, and a san serif handwritten casual font. It is now less consistent than it was before with the similar but mismatched fonts Mike was talking about.
There is not enough contrast between the orange background and your primary contact information: e-mail and website. Also, many people do not have easy access to a computer. I'm not sure you want to exclude them as customers.
"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to. Oh well."
-Fleetwood Mac
What do you think of mine? I just made it today while on a road trip and I think it suits my personality (though it doesn't match my website!). Please critique if you will!
:
Front:
Back:
I'm thinking of darkening the petals on the first one where they are under the text. I'm also thinking of printing it on metallic... can anyone recommend the best paper for this from whcc?
What do you think of mine? I just made it today while on a road trip and I think it suits my personality (though it doesn't match my website!). Please critique if you will!
:
Front:
Back:
I'm thinking of darkening the petals on the first one where they are under the text. I'm also thinking of printing it on metallic... can anyone recommend the best paper for this from whcc?
I may be missing something on various business cards I see here, including this one. IF the purpose is to drive people to your website, and only your website, then I guess it is OK. IF the purpose is to have people contact you because they like what they see on the card, why is the only way to reach you the website address? Do you print your phone number and/or e-mail address there? I know there is no SMTP service on smugmug sites, so they would then have to open an e-mail program to send you a message. And lots of people don't have e-mail or can't get to it as fast as a phone. Shouldn't you give the client/buyer choices in reaching you?
:soapbox
:whew OK now that that is off my chest, on to your actual card. I'm not sure why you have 2 fonts. It isn't too bad since they are both san serif and relative style, but they are different. Maybe do your web address in all lower case of the one your name is in. On the side with the flower, I would move your name further into the lower right hand corner so the flower is unobstructed. Otherwise I like it very much. The images are good and transfer to B&W well. The pink draws your eye but isn't garish. Overall I like it very much.
"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to. Oh well."
-Fleetwood Mac
i agree w/ your rant. you're absolutely right. from a marketing perspective, if you're trying to get people to contact you, you need to have some contact information on your card. now on the other hand, if you're just looking to showcase your work and not necessarily looking for bookings, this is probably fine.
if there's anything i'd add while stepping atop the soap box is to get your own doman name. at $9/year it's cheap and shouldn't even be a blip on the financial radar if this is a business for you. email hosting can be essentially free via google. so your net cost = $9 for a recognizable Internet domain name... a smugmug pro account costs way more than that a year.
okay, i'll get off of my soap box now. didn't intent to come off as mean, just puzzled. :soapbox
I may be missing something on various business cards I see here, including this one. IF the purpose is to drive people to your website, and only your website, then I guess it is OK. IF the purpose is to have people contact you because they like what they see on the card, why is the only way to reach you the website address? Do you print your phone number and/or e-mail address there? I know there is no SMTP service on smugmug sites, so they would then have to open an e-mail program to send you a message. And lots of people don't have e-mail or can't get to it as fast as a phone. Shouldn't you give the client/buyer choices in reaching you?
:soapbox
Thanks for the advice! I do agree with you both for a business card - it needs contact info! I did forget to mention this, sorry... this is just for giving to people I know when they ask for my website address, not for a business at the moment. :-)
I will definitely add the other info when I make a business card sometime in the future (after I get a nice domain name, business phone number... and a real business of course!:D)
The font I used is called "Agency FB" - I used the regular and bold versions. Maybe I should have just used one version?
This is the new front because too much would have been cropped off, though I'm not sure if I like it as much. I definitely agree about the petals; I shouldn't have put the text over them. It's too bad that I sent the order already... next time I will post it long before I order!! Thanks again for the critique; I very much appreciate that you took the time to reply!
Thanks for the advice! I do agree with you both for a business card - it needs contact info! I did forget to mention this, sorry... this is just for giving to people I know when they ask for my website address, not for a business at the moment. :-)
I will definitely add the other info when I make a business card sometime in the future (after I get a nice domain name, business phone number... and a real business of course!:D)
The font I used is called "Agency FB" - I used the regular and bold versions. Maybe I should have just used one version?
This is the new front because too much would have been cropped off, though I'm not sure if I like it as much. I definitely agree about the petals; I shouldn't have put the text over them. It's too bad that I sent the order already... next time I will post it long before I order!! Thanks again for the critique; I very much appreciate that you took the time to reply!
I was going to say. I thought they were the same font just that one was bold and the other wasn't. I personally like the use of your font in your card. There are two things I would change. 1) Leave off www and replace it with http:// and then add an extra / at the end. So you'd have http://rkhudson.smugmug.com/. 2) On the back of your card, line up the bottom of your name and the {photographer} text with the left of the web address.
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.
I was going to say. I thought they were the same font just that one was bold and the other wasn't. I personally like the use of your font in your card. There are two things I would change. 1) Leave off www and replace it with http:// and then add an extra / at the end. So you'd have http://rkhudson.smugmug.com/. 2) On the back of your card, line up the bottom of your name and the {photographer} text with the left of the web address.
Thank you! I did line that text up in the final draft before I sent it. I guess I like how the www looks instead of http:// but I would change it if needed - is it just personal preference or is there another reason? Your suggestion would probably go well with the grungy look of the card though!
Thank you! I did line that text up in the final draft before I sent it. I guess I like how the www looks instead of http:// but I would change it if needed - is it just personal preference or is there another reason? Your suggestion would probably go well with the grungy look of the card though!
In general, people's attention span wanes after the first "dot." Most folks out there are used to two "dots": www"dot"domainname"dot"com. Add a third "dot" as you have in the example above, and you risk losing a person's attention. Sounds silly, I know, but it's true. Give them two "dots" to deal with and they will be more likely to remember the address.
The above is a general editing/web guideline, not a rule. In the end, it's your card! One less "dot" makes it a bit more user-friendly, is all.
In general, people's attention span wanes after the first "dot." Most folks out there are used to two "dots": www"dot"domainname"dot"com. Add a third "dot" as you have in the example above, and you risk losing a person's attention. Sounds silly, I know, but it's true. Give them two "dots" to deal with and they will be more likely to remember the address.
The above is a general editing/web guideline, not a rule. In the end, it's your card! One less "dot" makes it a bit more user-friendly, is all.
reg a domain name for $7 on godaddy, and simply use the CNAME feature that the SM pro accounts offer... that's what i do... seppes.com points to 4theriders.smugmug.com makes life much simpler, especially since CNAME allows you to append DIRS and the likes to the end, such as seppes.com/kittypics
I haven't really got a'proper' one yet ( just a vistaprint job that I'm not showing you!) but here's one I mocked up a while ago just to get more photoshop experience
Looks simple but I had to do a lot to the background to clean it up as it was taken in a junk yard, extended the shoulder on the right, and put a camera in his hand etc ( yes I know the 5D doesn't hae a flash), get the lightingon the hand right ( nearly) etc
I plan on using the "Andy" technique and writing my phone number on the back (the back isn't UV coated for just that reason).
although if i may make 1 suggestion; and it's my soapbox suggestion... change your email address to use your domain name. email hosting and email forwarding services can be found for free and practically free. :soapbox
although if i may make 1 suggestion; and it's my soapbox suggestion... change your email address to use your domain name. email hosting and email forwarding services can be found for free and practically free. :soapbox
! Believe me, I tried. GoDaddy's e-mail thing just flat out sucked and would not cooperate. After three hours futzing with it, and with an urgent need to get cards ASAP, I slapped the functioning addy on there with a personal promise to get the domain one up and running when I'm not ready to strangle my keyboard.
! Believe me, I tried. GoDaddy's e-mail thing just flat out sucked and would not cooperate. After three hours futzing with it, and with an urgent need to get cards ASAP, I slapped the functioning addy on there with a personal promise to get the domain one up and running when I'm not ready to strangle my keyboard.
I have looked at and dealt with most of the major registars and a number of regional ISPs. I know smugmug likes others, but I recommend Network Solutions. Yeah, only 1 mailbox (not 5) for about$20/year, but you do get 3 aliases with that. But their customer service is fantastic .
I have never been on hold for more than a few minutes, no weird 'advertising' stuff tied to name registrations, their online domain & e-mail tools are fairly intuitive, and you can understand the tech support people.
No, not as in non-native English speakers - as in they don't expect end users to be UNIX gurus with degrees in PHP scripting or to understand the 7 layers of the IP stack to understand what they are saying.
Not sure how to do a CNAME change to point your domain name to smugmug? They'll do it for you! And their browser based e-mail tool is fairly decent and robust - no need to use a desktop mail program unless you want to.
BTW - Great cat image on the front!
"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to. Oh well."
-Fleetwood Mac
! Believe me, I tried. GoDaddy's e-mail thing just flat out sucked and would not cooperate. After three hours futzing with it, and with an urgent need to get cards ASAP, I slapped the functioning addy on there with a personal promise to get the domain one up and running when I'm not ready to strangle my keyboard.
i'm beginning to think i should offer cheap email hosting for SM folks that need it. hmm...
Comments
Mind you, you can do different variations of the same font. Italics vs not, large vs small, etc.
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
The only thing I would do is to tie the "photographer" text and the "Joe Salas, 4theriders.com" parts together by aligning them all to the same place on the right.
Other than that, I think your card is outstanding. If you were to move that part over I'd say your card is easily in the top 10% of the cards in this thread.
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
your signature is awesome! hahaha! how'd you do that?!
as for alignment... i did align it as you mentioned, but quickly discarded that as it looked too clean. i don't like stuff being perfect. i like small nuances. it makes it much more personable.
Here's a link to the tool that I found (don't know if it's the same one that Mike used, but it has the same effect): http://www.revfad.com/flip.html
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
That's exactly where I did my sig. You can see all the cool stuff I find on my delicious.
http://del.icio.us/lanemik
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
Facebook: Friend / Fan || Twitter: @shimamizu || Google Plus
But now you have a formal serif font, an italicized san serif script, and a san serif handwritten casual font. It is now less consistent than it was before with the similar but mismatched fonts Mike was talking about.
There is not enough contrast between the orange background and your primary contact information: e-mail and website. Also, many people do not have easy access to a computer. I'm not sure you want to exclude them as customers.
-Fleetwood Mac
here is mine. I don't use a pic on purpose.
cheers
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
Front:
Back:
I'm thinking of darkening the petals on the first one where they are under the text. I'm also thinking of printing it on metallic... can anyone recommend the best paper for this from whcc?
I may be missing something
:soapbox
:whew OK now that that is off my chest, on to your actual card. I'm not sure why you have 2 fonts. It isn't too bad since they are both san serif and relative style, but they are different. Maybe do your web address in all lower case of the one your name is in. On the side with the flower, I would move your name further into the lower right hand corner so the flower is unobstructed. Otherwise I like it very much. The images are good and transfer to B&W well. The pink draws your eye but isn't garish. Overall I like it very much.
-Fleetwood Mac
MUCHO GUSTO!
if there's anything i'd add while stepping atop the soap box is to get your own doman name. at $9/year it's cheap and shouldn't even be a blip on the financial radar if this is a business for you. email hosting can be essentially free via google. so your net cost = $9 for a recognizable Internet domain name... a smugmug pro account costs way more than that a year.
okay, i'll get off of my soap box now. didn't intent to come off as mean, just puzzled. :soapbox
- my photography: www.dangin.com
- my blog: www.dangin.com/blog
- follow me on twitter: @danginphoto
I will definitely add the other info when I make a business card sometime in the future (after I get a nice domain name, business phone number... and a real business of course!:D)
The font I used is called "Agency FB" - I used the regular and bold versions. Maybe I should have just used one version?
This is the new front because too much would have been cropped off, though I'm not sure if I like it as much. I definitely agree about the petals; I shouldn't have put the text over them.
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
In general, people's attention span wanes after the first "dot." Most folks out there are used to two "dots": www"dot"domainname"dot"com. Add a third "dot" as you have in the example above, and you risk losing a person's attention. Sounds silly, I know, but it's true. Give them two "dots" to deal with and they will be more likely to remember the address.
The above is a general editing/web guideline, not a rule. In the end, it's your card!
por que? i agree about the http:// aspect, however, the trailing slash is redundant and it'll muck up the clean look that that font already has.
reg a domain name for $7 on godaddy, and simply use the CNAME feature that the SM pro accounts offer... that's what i do... seppes.com points to 4theriders.smugmug.com makes life much simpler, especially since CNAME allows you to append DIRS and the likes to the end, such as seppes.com/kittypics
it's also not fickle about caps vs non caps.
Looks simple but I had to do a lot to the background to clean it up as it was taken in a junk yard, extended the shoulder on the right, and put a camera in his hand etc ( yes I know the 5D doesn't hae a flash
...pics..
Front
Back
Shown actual size, as I was designing to spec in InDesign.
[EDIT: Updated images to be legible (hopefully!).]
neato! very clean and easy to follow. no phone number though?
- my photography: www.dangin.com
- my blog: www.dangin.com/blog
- follow me on twitter: @danginphoto
Thanks for the compliment!
I plan on using the "Andy" technique and writing my phone number on the back (the back isn't UV coated for just that reason).
although if i may make 1 suggestion; and it's my soapbox suggestion... change your email address to use your domain name. email hosting and email forwarding services can be found for free and practically free. :soapbox
- my photography: www.dangin.com
- my blog: www.dangin.com/blog
- follow me on twitter: @danginphoto
I have looked at and dealt with most of the major registars and a number of regional ISPs. I know smugmug likes others, but I recommend Network Solutions. Yeah, only 1 mailbox (not 5) for about$20/year, but you do get 3 aliases with that. But their customer service is fantastic
I have never been on hold for more than a few minutes, no weird 'advertising' stuff tied to name registrations, their online domain & e-mail tools are fairly intuitive, and you can understand the tech support people.
No, not as in non-native English speakers - as in they don't expect end users to be UNIX gurus with degrees in PHP scripting or to understand the 7 layers of the IP stack to understand what they are saying.
Not sure how to do a CNAME change to point your domain name to smugmug? They'll do it for you! And their browser based e-mail tool is fairly decent and robust - no need to use a desktop mail program unless you want to.
BTW - Great cat image on the front!
-Fleetwood Mac
i'm beginning to think i should offer cheap email hosting for SM folks that need it. hmm...
- my photography: www.dangin.com
- my blog: www.dangin.com/blog
- follow me on twitter: @danginphoto