Some business cards I made....

[Keiphus]

Posted some older ones about a year ago... this is the 4th series and was wondering if I could get some feedback before I went to print.

 

 

 

This is for a European Car club based in San Antonio TX. The whole idea is that their logo (>>StrictlyEA.com) is actually an emblem (the >> part) on the back of a blue car... and the only other info that it needs to have is the rest of the logo, the little motto underneath, and the cars listing.

 

 

 

Any ideas on how else I could align things or any other ideas in general? The 3D was done in XSI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks guys.

[videl200]

Those are extremly good. i like them

[eddiePerfect]

Relly good, what program did you use?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ep.

[Keiphus]

The 3D rendering was done in XSI, and the text was added in Photoshop.

 

 

 

When these go to print however the text will be vector based just to make it a bit cleaner.

[____]

Back design?

[_k0m0d0_]

Nice!

 

 

 

Back design?

 

What it means...

 

 

 

~komodo

[slapstick]

Just to follow up on my last post - what I meant is I hope the back isn't a bland flat colour.

 

Especially white.

[Keiphus]

Originally these cards were designed to have 2 sides.

 

 

 

The logo picture was going to be the "presentation" side, and all of the text and other info would be on the back. That's how we've done several in the past.

 

 

 

However, after alot of requests we decided to make these cards one sided with a white background for the sole purpose of being able to write on them. You have no idea how much of a pain in the [wagon] it is to write on a glossy surface. The back IS white and that is because when these cards are put on peoples cars they will often have a personal message of encouragement on the back. It's much better for business and we get alot more members that way.

[____]

ok - you got good solid reasoning there ;)

 

 

 

I've just seen a lot of business cars with like.. nothing on the back cept white, and yea, they don't write on them due to the glossy-ness.

[teenageloser33]

Extremely good job Keiph, nice to see something from ya again. You certainly haven't lost your touch, keep it up. The design is very smooth and unique. Very easy on the eyes and the way you laid things out helps the eyes move through the design. Ace job mate.

[terley]

very good graphics, but it may be a bit complex for a business card.. they're only so small, and with all that on one card it could look too cluttered.. In the future I'd simplify it a bit more, business cards have to be able to be mass produced..

[Random]

yep, like terley said, very nice graphics but a bit too much for a business card.

 

 

 

And they'd be mighty expensive to make to any decent quality :P

[Keiphus]

This is the 4th series I've done, and they are actually simpler than previous designs. The older and busier ones printed fine, as I'm sure these will. Trust me, these things you have stated are some of the very first issues I tackle when I set out to design something like this. Thanks for the input though, those are definitely things to think about when doing something like this.

 

 

 

Teenageloser - How can I lose my touch when I've been doing this everyday for the past 2 years since I've been posting? =P Thanks bro.

[Keiphus]

ok - you got good solid reasoning there ;)

 

 

 

I've just seen a lot of business cars with like.. nothing on the back cept white, and yea, they don't write on them due to the glossy-ness.

 

 

 

Our old designs had 2 sides, one with info and one with a cool color or graphic on it... I agree with you, 2 sides kicks [wagon]... but what can you do, they really wanted a blank side! oh well.

[Kaejer]

Looks like a nice solid business card, pretty simple. It would probably beed a good idea not to do the bottom one to avoid bleeding 8).

 

 

 

One question though. Do you not have an address or phone number or something to contact/reach the club to put on the card?

[ColAvanor]

Nice looking. Spiffy. Though I've never seen a business card with non vector graphics. Yeah, I don't go out that much do I?

 

 

 

On the text. I think the brands are a bit cheesy looking. Not really fitting. The logo (which for some reason doesn't seem to be on the surface rather than hovering few millimeters on top) and background have this 3D perspective and suddenly there is a flat 2D text that tries to interact with it. The lower text is ok as it is a separate element. I'd suggest perhaps planting the car maker's onto the car's surface. For me the text needs to be either separate from the background or truly a part of it.

 

 

 

I might also add that the reflection is well, somewhat unapparent for a car. Is it supposed to be inside a dealership? or what?

 

 

 

And then just a quick suggestion. Have you tried giving the logo a bit glow? Not sure if it's needed but now it's a bit "clinical".

 

 

 

Great work nevertheless.

[Keiphus]

The car makes are supposed to be completely seperate from the actual background, I simply used the lines of the logo as rules to align to; they weren't trying to be part of the car.

 

 

 

I'm afraid that if I tried to make them all chromey like the >> then it would only dilute the design, there is a certain exclusivity given to it when it is alone like that.

 

 

 

The reflection is just supposed to be like the side of wherehouse or something, nothing special. A big trend in the aftermarket car scene is that they find completely random and interesting spots to take pictures of their cars, alot of times next to big garages or things like that. The reflection adds to the realism, it isn't supposed to have any symbolic quality.

 

 

 

I didn't try a glow, but unfortunately I've already sent these cards off to print, so it's too late. I'm actually quite happy with how they came out.

 

 

 

Kaejer - The bleed is something that has already been taken into consideration and accounted for, the ones submitted for print had additional bleed borders added to them.

 

 

 

Thanks for the crits guys I'll be sure to post up the next version in a few months (whenever we run out of these).

[ColAvanor]

I know the makes are not a part of the car. Come on....

 

 

 

I'm just saying they are aligned to a 3d object and that kind of turns me off. And I didn't mean you should chrome them up, just fit the perspective. :D

[Keiphus]

Oh ok I thought you meant chrome them... anywho they've been sent off; I made a few changes to the text as far as the leading is concerned but other than that there weren't many other things.. thanks for the crit dude. much appreciated :)

[venomai]

Awesome work keiph! :D Only thing I'm not happy with is the font choice. I'm not much of an Arial fan! :P heh

 

 

 

I'm very interested in getting into some simple (profit) graphic design like business cards and the like. Any suggestions? Is it even possible for a 16 year old? Where should I look?

 

 

 

Also, are you a freelance or contracted designer? Or is it just a hobby?

[Keiphus]

Hmm... suggestions..

 

 

 

Well, I work for a VFX studio and we do special effects for things like TV commercials, corporate videos, etc etc... we do basically anything 3D that is needed by any client who has money. ;)

 

 

 

As far as my graphic design career, it's all freelance. The first thing to do would be to set yourself up with a nice portfolio. Even a simple website with just a few basic examples of your work can be helpful.

 

 

 

I'll remind you that you want to do what other professionals are doing. Don't do what "looks cool" to some Tip.It kid if other industry professionals tell you it's lame. In the end, the Tip.It people aren't the ones you are going to be doing the work for.

 

 

 

As far as getting your foot in the door, I would recommend finding a decent mom and pop shop, or resturaunt who needs their business cards redone. Go in, talk to the manager, show him some of your work, and offer to do them for free. Ask that he only pay for the actual printing of the cards. This can usually be done by any online manufacturer for ~$50/1000cards. From there, use those cards as an example to other business, and slowly decide how much you think your time is worth. How long does it take you to finish a card? How expensive are they? How much would people be willing to pay? Etc.. As far as money goes, it's all just a game. Everyone has their price and so long as you don't exceed it you are fine.

 

 

 

Btw, I don't claim to be any sort of good at graphic design. As you can see the image posted here was nearly pure 3D with a little bit of text on it. But hey, I try.

 

 

 

If you have any other questions please feel free to post them. I think I can help alot of people here for the simple fact that I was once very active here, know what it's like to be both in this world and in the professional world.

 

 

 

The best advice I can give you is to learn how to sell yourself and your work.

[venomai]

Woah! Thanks a million for this great advice, Kepihus! :D I'm sure it will be very helpful.

 

 

 

Well, I work for a VFX studio and we do special effects for things like TV commercials, corporate videos, etc etc... we do basically anything 3D that is needed by any client who has money.

 

Nice! That sounds very cool. What program(s) do you use to add the effects, particularly 3D animations, to the videos?

 

 

 

Thanks again for the help. :)

[himy_name_is]

WHOA! :shock: those are nice.. But the one thing that caught my eye was the reflection on the symbol and car, a wall and window with shades handing down :D XD. thats the one thing I didnt like.

[Keiphus]

Depends on the project Venomai... generally I use SoftimageXSI for all 3D effects... compositing is done in either After Effects or on a Flame system.

 

 

 

We do use a little bit of Cinema 4D for some of the lower budget stuff... also we do have ZBrush and Modo but we don't really use them... unfortunately.