This is MK1 of the business card, I just put it together in about an hour. looking for comments and critiques. I am REALLY not sure about the pictures on the back, I would prefer 1 shot, but I don't feel that one shot can adequately display my different styles.
I am thinking of going with a few different cards, each with a different style of picture on the back, disadvantage to that is you don't get cross advertising. give a model a glamour card and her boyfriend doesn't see the auto picture for example.
Business card front mk2 - i've stuck with impact for the moment, considering alternatives. [Image: http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/insanedaniel/businesscardfrontmk2RGB-1.jpg]
and website , verrrry basic at the moment. Insane Photography - Newcastle and Hunter Valley NSW Australia (I have the domain insanephotography.com.au sorting out redirects now)
Dude you make that card thing in MS Paint? It's too dull, bland and boring. I don't actually have anything good about it tbh. With your type of style in photography i kinda expected something brighter. Same goes for your website, for the type of photos you have on the site it just doesn't go. This is just my honest opinion though.
hey man, its a work in progress :) I just uploaded it so aegis could give me a little help. interesting though, I wanted everything professional and slick with the highlight being the photo's themselves, you don't think it works? the back will be quite bright, with a compilation of 3 images.
there is also a 3mm bleed border around the card, so a lot of that blank space will go. I will put up the back in a minute :)
I like the business card, it's clean simple and easy to read but the website, dull, boring and what's with all the SmugMug advertising on the footer? Is that part of a deal for using a their template?
I am a COMPLETE newby to web design and building lol.
I have an image in my mind for the website, but no way to build it and not enough funds to get it done properly.
smugmug is a photographic specific hosting/website/ecommerce solution. you pay them a yearly fee to use their basic web design, e-commerce features and to host your pics etc. the website is completely customizable with CSS and javascript. I added the navigation menu up the top with a CSS script I found on the net lol. still have a LONG way to go with it. again, looking for simplicity and featuring the photos.
Ideally I want a simple clean menu up the top with my logo in the top left, and then the rest of the page a large slideshow.
I'm also thinking of putting a simple texture on the front of the card. I will give it a go now... EDIT : DONE :) I like it better
You're business needs some solid identity work if you're going to make a splash in the industry you're targeting. Ultimately the quality of your work (photography) is most important, and word of mouth is sure to drum up a lot of business. But if you're going to be marketing to strangers, via the Yellow pages and web advertising, you really need to grab their attention. The first step is choosing a primary colour as well as 1-2 tertiary, complimentary colours to create a foundation. It's important they represent you and your business, be it warm, cold, energetic. I wouldn't recommend your current ones, as they scream boring.
The next step is getting a professional logo designed, and it's not an overly expensive process. You might pay between $200-$500, and it's an important business investment. First impressions count, and they last. Another quick tip would be to stop using Impact on any work that is a part of your brand image - the type has a very 90's feel to it. Either get a custom typeface developed, or pay for something that's going to deliver a contemporary and unique appearance.
If you need some inspiration do a Google for some logo usage guides (for various corporate and international brands). This will give you some solid insight into how the pros put together concepts that work and what restrictions they place on them. You might even be able to source a handy set of colours that speak to you. From there it's a matter of reverse engineering the ideas and techniques that gel.
Oh, and if you don't have enough funds to organise a decent website, my honest advice is don't try to have one. Create a webpage instead. Design beautiful splash page, perhaps focusing on a single or few pieces of your photography, throw your contact details on there and leave it at that.
all very valuable suggestions rec, and taken on board, cheers mate.
was looking to keep the card and website in line with my watermark, which already has a certain amount of brand recognition among my target audience, and works with anything being greys and white's.
will give some colour a go.
recommendation re: webpage/site is good. the minimum I require for my web presence is contact details, short bio, portfolio of images. the only problem is that portfolio of images. the smugmug gallery system is very robust and easy to use. I will have to contemplate this.
I can understand wanting to keep things somewhat inline with your identifiable watermark. But, on that note, two comments:
a) You're still just starting out. It's not too late to create something new, something much better. In 5 years, it will be too late, without upsetting your brand momentum. b) Just because your watermark is white/grey/transparent, doesn't mean everything else has to be. Watermarks are just that, and should be based on your logo - not the other way around.
On the topic of your website; if you don't need to create a bloated, encumbered web presence, don't. Less is often more. I personally think a bio is completely unnecessary and perhaps even detrimental. Don't let them jump to judgment without even initiating contact with you. You're creating a website to market your business, not applying for a job.
another valuable thing I was told that I forgot, is to have a decent "light" area, so others can write info on your card, or you can write quotes etc before handing over.... orange works well for that I think
Quote from rec;382032: I can understand wanting to keep things somewhat inline with your identifiable watermark. But, on that note, two comments:
a) You're still just starting out. It's not too late to create something new, something much better. In 5 years, it will be too late, without upsetting your brand momentum.
very true mate.
b) Just because your watermark is white/grey/transparent, doesn't mean everything else has to be. Watermarks are just that, and should be based on your logo - not the other way around.
true. I guess I have a soft spot for impact :) being too young to remember its use in the 90's :P I will investigate logo's now.
On the topic of your website; if you don't need to create a bloated, encumbered web presence, don't. Less is often more. I personally think a bio is completely unnecessary and perhaps even detrimental. Don't let them jump to judgment without even initiating contact with you. You're creating a website to market your business, not applying for a job.
exactly true mate, and a philosophy I would like to stick with. good point about the bio, its a carry over from modelmayhem, where your right, I use it to pre-judge models, whether they are gonna be annoying young b*&^^ or useful clients.
I agree with rec on the bio comments. Noone cares about your story, they just want to know you can deliver. Just as you would with a CV - if the content doesn't prove you're capable of the job, don't include it.
Id go a minimalist website/webpage with your best shots and your contact details. The first image of business card + photos would be fine. Different design of course. I wouldn't put any of those skanky hoes on it either :)
1. I am now almost 100% set on developing a splash page, with just my info and a filmstrip type portfolio
2. no bio :)
3. getting into the swing of it with the logo / business card. [Image: http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/insanedaniel/businesscardfrontmkIIIRGB.jpg]
please let me know what you think :) I am just playing around with these now, I think my design skills are lacking, but able to be used!
I'm glad you've gotten rid of Impact on a general scope.
But, your logo is of the utmost of importance if you're in a creative industry, marketing yourself as a creative. That won't cut it. It looks like a MS Word text effect. Don't want to be harsh, but I also don't want to pretend it's fantastic - I'd be an asshole to do that.
You really do need to spend the money to get it done by someone with experience in brand identity. As I said, it's not expensive, it's a weeks wage. And you'll need to spend the equivalent just to organise a unique 1300 number or to print some business cards and letterheads, to put things into perspective.
It's one of the cheapest parts of setting up a business, and one of the most important.
On a positive note; grey/orange are indeed complimentary colours, and it's looking better in that regard. I would ask what relevance cracked concrete has to do with your business, though.
Imagin yourself as a perspective client in a mad rush. Two types springs to mind.
First the Bridezilla, she's organising her wedding and with the new increases in the interest rates on her home loan shes can only afford $200 for a Photographer. So shes heard about you from a friend that said "We got this guy to do it, and the pictures turned out fantastic." The first thing she will need to remember is your web site url! Something catchy, or something easy to remember will help her hit your web site.
Secondly, she is only concerned about couple of thing.
1) Locations of other weddings you've done 2) The quality of your work 3) The quality of your work when you took pictures of her friend at her wedding (Please note, see a lawyer about sharing photo's of other peoples events) 4) The price!
You have about 20-30 seconds to achieve this. She has the kids in the back, the mother on the phone and also the farther just suddenly dropped the hammer on his foot. You get the picture.
The next type of customer you will have is the Business guy who is organizing a convention. Either he will already have contacts or he will use Google or bling to search for you. He will be looking for previous work you've done at previous conventions and the cost of each one.
How much you charge per hr and the quality of your work.
Either way, I would recommend dropping your web page name. Coming up with a different more easier to remember name. Re-optimise your web page for the main customers you will be targeting. Get listed on google and bling for the top 10 searches (You can pay people to do this for you). Have two version (javascript based, Flash base, and then plain static base web page).
You have 20-30 seconds to make a sale, or word of mouth. Please note, you will need to go and see a lawyer before you start taking photo's of people to understand the legal ramifications on copyright who owns what. That is something that neither myself or anyone on this forum can advise you on. A good lawyer will cost your $200 to $400 per hour and that's the only way your going to get legal advice outside the inter web.
Never have two versions of a website, that's insanity. Keep it non Flash, and jQuery based - you can get some shit hot galleries going easily through some great Java libraries.
Definitely agree with Rec, save and pay the money for a decent logo. A great logo will never let you down, a dicey one will.
And I agree with Azreal. It's a good old fashioned cricle jerk in here.
Two versions of a website is extra effort which is extra time which is extra money, and often is for little to no tangible benefit or return. Keep it simple, pick one, and do it right. Given it's a business website and you want to reach the widest audience possible, I'd steer clear from Flash altogether.
I have read very carefully all the suggestions in this thread, thank you all so much for your input. Looking at my initial card designs, wtf is all I can say.
this is mk1. Logo is professionally designed, and is at mk1 stage, although I am quite happy with it.
I have put this card together tonight, the lightning photo is my own, and serves I think to provide an image, without locking me into a style. it also suits the geometry of the card and I think will look quite good printed with good stock.
one thing I am lacking with this card is white space on which you can write info etc, but I think its a trade off with a really snazzy looking card. I tried various combinations of white but it just doesn't look as good to me. I am looking at getting it printed onto some form of good quality stock. (rant time.... every single business card printing website has heaps of options for printing, and they all tell you vaguely what they mean, WHY DON'T ANY OF THEM HAVE ANY EXAMPLE PICS OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT..... /end rant)
Forget the lightening. People will assume you're a landscape photographer.
Unless you start specialising in something, forget having a picture on your business card. Nobody does that anyway. If you do, you frame it and make it smaller (ie. not taking up the whole card). Everything you've written on the back (which is really 2 things... 1 thing + auto) really points toward the fashion, so if you did go this way, a picture of a model would be more suitable. Obviously you'd do a tight zoom crop of a shot due to the fact that it's going to be quite small. If you did want a massive picture on there (it'd have to be fucking shit hot), then I'd put it on the opposite side to what you have. Your contact information needs to be clear and concise, so when there's a snazzy picture there it's distracting.
...and you're right. You need white space to write shit. I think the back would look just as good in reverse (text - black/red, background - white). Also I reckon your logo needs to be smaller and everything needs to be styled better. For starters you've got a logo with a sans serif font and then you've used a serif'd font for your info. That's bad. Unless you're a design ninja and you can somehow tie them. You can still be loud with smaller elements (which I can see you want to be - loud). Just seriously though. Logo. Smaller.
checked out a lot of card printers around the place,
have come down to 2 places, Moo in the UK, MOO Business Cards | Unique Custom Business Cards | moo.com or Krankn in vic. Plastic Business cards - Translucent (Clear frosted), Credit Card Style, Foiling, Silver & Gold Bases
with moo, I can have a dif. picture on every card, and they are relatively cheap. its a lot more work to prepare my best 10 or so images for printing, but carrying around a mini portfolio is pretty cool.
with Krankn, I am looking at the Premium PVC Cards Translucent (Frosted Finish with screen printed inks). [Image: http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/insanedaniel/pvcwhite.jpg] Picture from krankn.
my design for that type of card is this: (mk1 lol, trying to apply all design principles I have learnt so far.)
Obviously the frosted plastic/glass looking background is representing translucent plastic. [Image: http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/insanedaniel/transparentcard1RGBfrontbacksmall.jpg]
please let me know what you think, which way I should head. Thanks to all you guys that are contributing, it being only a side-business at the moment, I have very little $$ to spend on designers etc, so everything I can do myself that only requires my time is the way to go for me.
I would prefer to get things right the first time, my motto at the moment is set things up and plan to go big, even if you are starting small. That way all my processes, accounting, marketing etc will be in place without a mad scramble when things start getting busier.
The translucent plastic cards are quite expensive, $580 for 1000 but krankn sent me a sample pack, and they really look and feel the goods. the cheaper plastic ones feel just that...
It's the best you've put together so far. I see you've taken on the 'less is more' approach which I commend. ;) The style suits your logo, and more importantly, is a good fit with the industry you're in and current trends.
I love the frosted plastic look, and if you don't expect to churn through hundreds of business cards, it's probably worth doing. Obviously it will get very expensive if you're throwing them about willy-nilly, so try not to do that. For the few you do hand out, it will definitely add a 'wow' factor which is only good for your business image.
I suppose I should at least throw in one piece of criticism: the phone number and text on the back (Art - Beauty etc) doesn't really look good in that font, in my opinion.
I was thinking of getting a few hundred Moo mini-cards to hand out willy nilly, they are really cheap, can have good photos and use good stock apparently.
I was also thinking of using a few of the mini-cards as "you've been spotted" cards, to give to girls I want to do free shoots with, cos they are outstanding etc.
also to show that I'm actually a photographer not a creepy bloke trying to scam into their pants by claiming photography :P girls that check out my portfolio after a night out etc are always really surprised. Oh, you actually ARE a photographer :P lol.
That new font is an improvement. Keep the orange boxes between the words on the back though? I'd actually keep it right in-line with the logo, and use the logos' orange full stop to space those words as opposed to a little full stop or a big hollow square. That make sense?
Salt Print rock. I can recommenced them personally. And GI does have a point about the font size. When you've got the cards displayed at that size here you can read it. But it would be virtually illegible once printed in-the-real.
I personally do think that those flashy cards will make a difference though. Whether that difference delivers enough business to make up for the ridiculous cost of having them produced is another matter entirely. ;)
to GI : I see your point, and its a valid one, but I'm hoping to break into the sydney fashion/advertising scene, so I think every bit helps there. I plan to get another lot of cards done fairly cheaply to just smash out to as many people as possible.
on another note, requested sample packs last thursday from a few printers, had the krankn ones on monday morning, haven't seen the salt or UPS print ones yet :/
just another quick one, got my sample pack from Print100 Global - Products - Full Colour Business Card and with the 250GSM paper they look pretty damn good... and $76 AUD including delivery for 1000.... I think I just found my cheapo card supplier....
That's a pretty insane deal. Let me know how you go. Also keep in mind you'll pay another 10% on that when it comes through customs, plus the obvious delay this causes.
I never pay anything that comes through customs, mark it as a gift or just tell them you don't know what it is. Unless you plan to write it off on tax I don't think it would be a problem. Also well done on your progress, you've come along way since the first card prototype!
My first lot of business cards were crap but they were cheap and worked, as long as they had all my details no one seemed to care, it may be worth while obtaining some cheap cards just to hand out like lollies, I would always give clients a few cards and people worked in places like defence force or lived in remote areas I would give them 20 or so cards. It definatly worked for me as a cheap form of advertising, eventually I got better cards but kept the prices down as much as I could. I think simple does work although a fancy card does look impressive, does it really get you more work? I used Vista Print for most of my advertising and E-print in Winnelle for big stuff like posters.
the gallery will be coded in jQuery very similar to this WQ jQuery
and its costing me $200 for the jQuery coding provided I compile all images etc.
got my webhosting from PANTHUR - Australian Secured Robust Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, SSL Certificates and Cheap Domain Registration aussie hosting, quite cheap and really good recommendations on whirlpool. THey have AWESOME customer service, they called me 15 minutes after I payed, at 9pm at night to welcome me to the service and see if I had any problems, true 24.7 service.
I don't like how you say "models" and "people" - as if they're different things, one isn't the other. :P
Also, Darren, there's a very big difference between selling a grass-roots IT service and a 'professional' photography service - appearances do matter, the industry obviously revolves around visuals and aesthetics - it's important to make a strong first impression.
they aren't people. honestly. dealing with models is horrible, I wish there was a way to cut them out of the equation lol.
Thanks for the critique on the website rec.
If I'm going to make changes to the mockup I need to do it today, the guy is gonna start coding tomorrow. I have enough knowledge to take a code and content manage it myself, but I don't think I will be able to make many changes without breaking it haha...
not really on the design - i'm a programmer - my designs suck (see my busted-arse website in my sig for an example of me failing at design). the gallery format is fine, tho i hope you'll be allowing people to view larger versions of the pics when clicking on them. just wondering how many images you're going to have in that scrolly thing - too many and it will become cumbersome for users to find anything in "yeah i saw a neat pic in your gallery i'd like you to do a shot of me like... it was something like 30 images in.. or something.."
the gallery will be full sized images, no clicking, no linking. just a splash page, will have a maximum of about 20 shots up on there at this stage.
at a later stage I will get it coded so the people, landscapes, models each link to a subset of images, but at this stage simple, cheap & elegant is the go.
I just re-read the first few posts in this thread, and I just have to say, lol. I had no idea! learnt a lot about design and perception in the last few weeks, thank you all so much...
about an hour after I ordered by business cards my logo designer emailed me with a conceptual drawing of a new logo thats freaking awesome... I told him it was awesome timing heh. will upload and use it when he gives it to me finished...
Quote from grandinferno;383439: So you've ordered your cards but you just got a new logo? :\
Dude, what size are these cards (as in mm x mm). The contact details are way too small still. TRUST ME.
Unless of course you're printing A6 business cards.
yeah, not by choice, I thought the logo designer was done, but they emailed me a new concept design that they thought up.
I'm gonna try and cancel the card order until next week with the new logo, so I will upsize the details again, although honestly, looking at business cards I have in front of me, they pretty much all use small font...
I honestly think that website would look better without the two side pictures... The background with faded inside goes very well with the middle photo and text colour, however the two sides photos look a little out of place (that could just be my own picky opinion) Also are you planning on keeping it to a single page? Because I believe this would be shooting yourself in the foot.
I guess it all depends on your targeted market/employers. If you just want model work then I guess you’ve got a very basic and simple idea / website that should work. However if thinking of branching into the wedding/function and sporting market then I think you need to rethink how your webpage comes across (as much as it sucks people these days judge books by their covers)
You would get more results/enquiries if you created separate pages displaying your different types of work e.g. modelling, wedding, and sporting. I also think mentioning weddings and functions somewhere would be helpful if you’re looking for that type of work.
at the moment, yes, single page, however the code is already in to make the people landscapes models into links with separate pages, I will do that soon.
I don't want weddings, and I don't shoot any sport for business, so thats alright. I just wanted a basic page that I can direct people to to see my work.
to rec: cheers mate, I'm trying to get the biggest picture I can on the screen. may look at tweaking sizes to adjust.
I think it would look better without the two side pictures as well.
Maybe have two photos that are the same size and are cut to match the curved edge of the background so they are semi circle? The current two just seem out of place.
haha, i had javascript disabled, so I'm thinking, why the fuck are you complaining about the vertical scroll, of course theres vertical scroll, the images go top to bottom.
I'm using Chrome both at work and home (1920x1080) and the space saved at the top where the Toolbar is makes it a no scroll site for me. However in FF I too get vertical scroll.
Answer - Use the better browser and get back some of your screen real estate.
Quote from rec;383610: He's running a business, and needs to cater for the largest viewer demographic. Ie. not Chrome, despite how awesome it is.
i sure hope you meant "ie: not Chrome" there and NOT "IE, not chrome" - the combined shitful releases of IE haven't had the largest user demographic for a long time.
Quote from Aegis;383622: i sure hope you meant "ie: not Chrome" there and NOT "IE, not chrome" - the combined shitful releases of IE haven't had the largest user demographic for a long time.
IE is still the largest user base. Looking at the stats for 2 none tech sites 1 has over 65% of the user base on IE. The other has ~45% of the user base on IE and the numbers for that site are skewed by a significant number of those hit coming from internal users in a environment where IE is not the default browser. Its only on sites with a more computer savvy user base that you see IE slip behind. For example the gaming clan site I have running on my host has IE and Firefox splitting about 70% of the hits evenly between them.
BTW I think tapatalk shows up as nokia6682 in webstats.
Quote from morge;383624: IE is still the largest user base.
negatory. from our webhosting environment, the only sites that give IE greater numbers are the government ones we host (and the Govt, of course, still uses IE). but don't listen to me, try the W3C's own browser stats: Browser Statistics
I have my hand in a few high traffic websites. For Gamers-Underground.com, AMD and Western Digital promotion sites the majority of visitors use Firefox. For Tatts Lotto, Golden Casket and UNiTAB, the majority of visitors use Internet Explorer.
Whatever the browser most used to browse your website, you need to cater for that. And in all cases, even in the case of those W3C stats, it's not Google Chrome.
That seemingly unnecessary clunk at the top of the browser (which Chrome so beautifully does away with) needs to be considered when designing, as Chrome users are still a minority.