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Blessed
03-19-2010, 12:56 AM
Business Cards - the print media that will never die. In this case my client has been a makeup artist for a long time, but he's just now starting to do some work for himself. It's been the week of the business card around here - I've done about a half dozen of them. Here's this one:

Front
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm73/CrazyDogsBlog/BusCardSamples/card7.jpg

Back
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm73/CrazyDogsBlog/BusCardSamples/card7back.jpg

thoughts?

vangogh
03-19-2010, 02:32 AM
Seems pretty simple in a good way. It's got the basic info that's needed. I'm not sure how much else it needs. If there's competition in the area maybe a single line about why Frank. Then again his email kind of does that now.

The background isn't my favorite. It seems mostly or all decorative. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but I don't know that it adds anything to the message. Is it supposed to represent something or is it just decorative? If it is trying to communicate something, I'm not getting it. If it's decorate than what does it really add? Is there something else that could be used as a background that would communicate something about Frank or his business?

Business Attorney
03-19-2010, 09:56 AM
Just a thought, but if you go with the swirl design on the front of the card, how about solid black for the back? The background makes the bottom line (particularly the "Frank") a little tough to read on my screen at about 4x the size of the actual business card.

Harold Mansfield
03-19-2010, 10:17 AM
If there's competition in the area maybe a single line about why Frank. Then again his email kind of does that now.


You know, that is the first thing that came to mind..you know how I hate business people that use free email addresses, but in this particular instance it works and I probably wouldn't change it. It serves a better purpose that just email, it's a memorable slogan. Very smart of Frank to do that.

As far as the card...I like it. I agree that the swirl on the back interferes with the text, but not enough to be confusing..it's obvious from reading the front that the word is 'Frank".

What I do think is missing is where Frank does business. It says 'Regional Make Up Artist' is "regional" the name of his business or does that infer an area that he works...if so, I'd like to see some mention of what that area is.
If he works nationwide, then that is important as well , I think.

I think in this age we don't assume any boundaries.. many people can now work with clients nation and world wide. .if there is a predefined area where Frank is available, I don't think that you can just rely on the area code to say it.

Blessed
03-19-2010, 09:42 PM
Thanks for the input guys - Frank did take the adding his region (The Midwest) into his card.

I told him that he needs to buy the domain "frankmakesyoubeautiful.com" if it's available and then do frank@frankmakesyoubeautiful.com for his email address. He doesn't want to do a website yet - needs to get some income pouring in first.

Harold Mansfield
03-19-2010, 10:02 PM
I told him that he needs to buy the domain "frankmakesyoubeautiful.com" if it's available and then do frank@frankmakesyoubeautiful.com for his email address. He doesn't want to do a website yet - needs to get some income pouring in first.

He can still register the domain for $10, if for no other reason that to have it secured and have the email address to use now.
Then build a site when he's ready.

Paul Elliott
04-07-2010, 12:27 PM
Jenn, I realize that my comments are too late for Frank, but they may help others.


The background is overwhelming and heavy. It is a case of the graphic artist wanting to be appreciated for his or her artwork. The graphic artist's job is to make the material more "readable"--consumable.
The typeface is upper and lower caps. Subliminally initial caps with the remainder being lower case is better for instant recognition.
Much of the card space is wasted in the sense that we really learn little.
"Regional?" Which regions should I have done? (I only reveal some of them to the public.<pained grin>) I agree with Harold that this should be much better defined.
His list of services on the back should be in at least 2 columns so the remainder of the card can be used for other information, such as "Why Frank?" as VG suggested.
Add his smiling head-shot. Again, this gives a particular person for us to begin to "know" beginning the "know, like, and trust" process.
I also agree he should have a professional domain, hosted or not at this point. He can purchase it and have his email address forwarded to the address he usually uses. I know NameCheap.com offers this at no additional charge. I'm sure other domain registrars do, too.

Remember, the subliminal parts are far more important than the "liminal" parts.

Paul

Blessed
04-07-2010, 02:46 PM
Hi Paul!

Welcome to the conversation anytime :)

Your first point - I agree with and disagree with... trust me, I talked him down to a much more basic background than he initially wanted.
Typeface... that's always a sticky point isn't it? I gave him a dozen choices - this is what he picked. In general I agree with your analysis, in this instance I don't.
As for point 3 - I think a business card should lead you to call the person it references, not teach you about them. This may be a disagreement of semantics - but I think it tells you enough - he's a makeup artist, he has a phone number, an email address and he does makeup for several different types of situations.
Point 4 was addressed - and Midwest was added as the region
Point 5 - I would have liked a paragraph or sentence or something better than the list - that included all those different types of events and a short "why Frank" statement, but this is what the client insisted on so this is what I gave him.
Point 6 - maybe on the back of the card - alongside the sentence/paragraph/why Frank I really thought would be better than the list - but I wouldn't have used it on the front of this card.
Point 7 - yep, we all agree on this point... except of course for Frank who wrote the check to pay for the design :)

The subliminal parts really are far more important than the "liminal" parts. Frank's cards are put in Bridal shops, passed out at trade shows, included in packets of information sent to theatre companies, handed out when he is out networking with his wife who owns a couple of Just Between Friends franchises, etc... He wanted something that would stand out from the crowd of business cards in your hand at the end of the evening. This card does that. Up to this point all of his advertising for the independent work he does as a Makeup Artist has simply been word-of-mouth - it got to the point where he needed business cards, because people were asking for them. I won't be surprised if within the next year or two he gets a website going, a brochure and improved business cards - I doubt that the front of the card will change much, but I see a whole lot of room for improvement on the back of the card and I think I'll be able to defend my suggestions when it comes time to re-order. We'll see!

Thanks again for the input - I appreciate it.

Paul Elliott
04-07-2010, 04:26 PM
I love it, Jenn!


Point 7 - yep, we all agree on this point... except of course for Frank who wrote the check to pay for the design :)


It all boils down to the person writing the check ... good or bad!

Keep up your excellent work!

Paul

Harold Mansfield
04-07-2010, 06:17 PM
I'm curious if he took your advice and registered the domain or not ?

Paul Elliott
04-07-2010, 06:29 PM
Jenn, if he didn't, I'll register it and sell it to him next year for a mere $100. <big grin>

Paul

Harold Mansfield
04-07-2010, 06:57 PM
Jenn, if he didn't, I'll register it and sell it to him next year for a mere $100. <big grin>

Paul
In all seriousness, that;s the rub. For $10, especially for something that you know you want, are going to probably use later, and know that you need..there is no excuse for a business person not to secure something like that because by the time you "get around to it"..it will be gone. No Question.

Sometimes I register domains just so no one else can use them. I'm probably holding around 20 right now that I will never use, but I can't take the chance that someone else will use them.

Paul Elliott
04-07-2010, 07:05 PM
In all seriousness, that;s the rub. For $10, especially for something that you know you want, are going to probably use later, and know that you need..there is no excuse for a business person not to secure something like that because by the time you "get around to it"..it will be gone. No Question.

You're right, Harold, it's a very real fear. I know of people who scrape State records for new filings of Incs., LLCs, PCs, etc., and search for the domain names by those names. When they find ones not yet registered, they simply do so and sit on them until the companies decide they are desperate enough to pay an inflated price.

That very thing happened to a client of mine who chose to put off looking for his domain for about 6 months after he had his Inc.

Paul

Harold Mansfield
04-07-2010, 07:39 PM
You're right, Harold, it's a very real fear. I know of people who scrape State records for new filings of Incs., LLCs, PCs, etc., and search for the domain names by those names. When they find ones not yet registered, they simply do so and sit on them until the companies decide they are desperate enough to pay an inflated price.

That very thing happened to a client of mine who chose to put off looking for his domain for about 6 months after he had his Inc.

Paul

Ugh ! I hate to hear stories like that ! It's so easy and only takes 5 minutes. I will never understand seemingly intelligent people who run businesses that do this.

Out of all the things you do for your business, registering your domain is the easiest, cheapest, quickest, yet the most important thing you will ever do if you plan to do anything online now or in the future.

Paul Elliott
04-07-2010, 08:19 PM
Ugh ! I hate to hear stories like that ! It's so easy and only takes 5 minutes. I will never understand seemingly intelligent people who run businesses that do this.

Out of all the things you do for your business, registering your domain is the easiest, cheapest, quickest, yet the most important thing you will ever do if you plan to do anything online now or in the future.

Indeed!

Paul

Blessed
04-07-2010, 08:44 PM
No he hasn't taken my advice yet - I've given him a short break on the topic because this is the busy time of year for his wife's business and they had a baby yesterday :) However... at the end of April I'll be broaching the subject again. I've had crazydogcreative.com registered for a couple of years now - although I haven't done anything with it yet (starting to, but... ) just because I knew I should nab it while I could.

Paul Elliott
04-07-2010, 09:28 PM
No he hasn't taken my advice yet - I've given him a short break on the topic because this is the busy time of year for his wife's business and they had a baby yesterday :) However... at the end of April I'll be broaching the subject again.

Childbirth? What kind of excuse is THAT!? No, no, ladies! :eek: Don't hit me again! I've already shut up! <beeg mestake!>

regionalmakeupartist.com, midwestregionalmakeupartist.com, and frankmakesyoubeautiful.com are all available. ... at least for about another hour! ;)

Jenn, get them all 3, or at least 2, and offer them to him free when he does his next contract with you. :D

Paul <sometimes hating himself, though he gets over it on the way to the bank.>

Blessed
04-08-2010, 12:26 AM
getting over it on the way to the bank is a good thing!

I would reserve those... if I had a credit card. Used up the last visa gift card the other day - have to go buy another one tomorrow!

:D However... if those domains are missing anytime soon, I'll know who bought them!

Paul Elliott
04-08-2010, 12:37 AM
However... if those domains are missing anytime soon, I'll know who bought them!

Well, no matter "who" has them, they can always be had at a very reasonable price! I can make all the arrangements for you. :cool:

Paul :D