Sunday, January 16, 2005
Saga of a Business Card
You wouldn't think that a business card could be so complicated. And yet, I'm telling you right now that it is. 4 years ago when my mom and I started WrapStars, we had a cute clip-art design of a guy reaching for the stars. The site was cobalt, yellow, and white, and the design reflected the... simplicity of the web at the time. We printed business cards, using the Publisher block template, with our inkjet onto perforated card stock, and it worked fine.
No laughing! It was practically the 80s at the time! Ok, not the 80s. But it was 2000.
Then came redesign number 1, like I knew it would, which is why I never really went professional with the cards. I changed the blocks to a field of blues, but still, there comes a time when once good design crosses the margin of hokey and finally to outdated.
The star is one of the ones from the field above.
After another couple of years, it became just that, which spawned redesign number 2, and our current site.
Current Logo
After the rehaul, I changed the design of the cards a little, but just couldn't get the right feel using the colors from our new site. We hurredly put together a look for the holidays, which was just the logo and typed information at the bottom. And then...
The printers started breaking down. My own inkjet had never really printed text properly, though it can scan, copy, fax, and change the oil in your car. Then Mom's inkjet suddenly decided it was unable to print the last 2 cards except in one long inky line across the middle of the next-to-last set. But, it was Christmas and business was brisk. Orders were coming in constantly, and I never had time to stop and finish the card design. So, every few days I stood, not-so-patiently, in front of the faulty inkjet, pulling the cardstock gently with each swipe of the printer to make sure it didn't pile on top of itself. A 20-minute process.
Needless to say, I never want to do that again. And neither does anyone else in my general vicinity want me to do it again.
After many drafts this week and making it this far without actually getting a business card printed for WrapStars, I've finally managed a design that will work...
The logo isn't quite what we use on the site, but the S can be somewhat difficult to see on a dark background. As for the box, thank goodness for stock photography! Although truth be told, this picture had to be completely recreated in PhotoShop because of scaling issues.
If there's something wrong with it, tell me now, because it's off to the printers this week! ASAP. Right now. Immediately. Because we need more cards and the inkjet is calling...
No laughing! It was practically the 80s at the time! Ok, not the 80s. But it was 2000.
Then came redesign number 1, like I knew it would, which is why I never really went professional with the cards. I changed the blocks to a field of blues, but still, there comes a time when once good design crosses the margin of hokey and finally to outdated.
The star is one of the ones from the field above.
After another couple of years, it became just that, which spawned redesign number 2, and our current site.
Current Logo
After the rehaul, I changed the design of the cards a little, but just couldn't get the right feel using the colors from our new site. We hurredly put together a look for the holidays, which was just the logo and typed information at the bottom. And then...
The printers started breaking down. My own inkjet had never really printed text properly, though it can scan, copy, fax, and change the oil in your car. Then Mom's inkjet suddenly decided it was unable to print the last 2 cards except in one long inky line across the middle of the next-to-last set. But, it was Christmas and business was brisk. Orders were coming in constantly, and I never had time to stop and finish the card design. So, every few days I stood, not-so-patiently, in front of the faulty inkjet, pulling the cardstock gently with each swipe of the printer to make sure it didn't pile on top of itself. A 20-minute process.
Needless to say, I never want to do that again. And neither does anyone else in my general vicinity want me to do it again.
After many drafts this week and making it this far without actually getting a business card printed for WrapStars, I've finally managed a design that will work...
The logo isn't quite what we use on the site, but the S can be somewhat difficult to see on a dark background. As for the box, thank goodness for stock photography! Although truth be told, this picture had to be completely recreated in PhotoShop because of scaling issues.
If there's something wrong with it, tell me now, because it's off to the printers this week! ASAP. Right now. Immediately. Because we need more cards and the inkjet is calling...
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