All About You in 2 x 3-1/2 Inches

Business Cards So Tiny and Powerful

There are so many avenues in the field of graphic design, from brand identity, brochures and posters to motion graphics and video. The one piece of printed graphic design that has always fascinated me is, and always will, is the business card. It is your first impression, your calling card as they say. In a small, usually 2 x 3-1/2 inch space, it has to give someone all your pertinent information, but also be stunning and eye-catching in its design. 

Think about it, your name, tag line, company, phone, fax, address, website etc.; it’s a lot of information in such a small space. The design, color and logo have to be clear and clever. Back in the day, (and I’m referring to the 80’s) there was on occasion, the opportunity to use both sides and multiple colors when the budget allowed. You could even sometimes use a custom die cut shape, but more times than not, this was too expensive. Most of the time it was just one or two colors on a single side, but with some good design skills, it could be gorgeous. 

Some Favorite Horizontal Designs I Have Saved Over the Years

With today’s technology and social media, you can have a very simple card with just a website link and email. I've heard some people say they don’t even use business cards anymore. Are they a dying art form? When I started out in design there was no internet, email was just beginning and we didn’t have social media. The business card was everything.

In my early days after graduating from college, I loved designing logos and creating simple identities for clients. Usually, it consisted of just a business card, letterhead, envelope and shipping label. Today a business’s branding can range from these important basic items to huge identity programs including brochures, packaging, signage, media webites and more. Having your identity, look consistent and cohesive across all platforms, printed materials and media is what “branding” is. The fact that  graphic design has moved more into digital media and less printed material does not change the fact that whatever it is you are using for your branding identity, it has to be good basic design.

I will always love business card design. I have been collecting them wherever I go since college, whether they’re from restaurants, shops or even a doctors office. I am always amazed when I see a layout or some typography that is fresh and new. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time, sometimes you can use an existing design and add a new spin on it. It’s also easier today to print in multiple colors and use both sides at little or no extra cost these days. But you have to be careful not to over design with those options. Sometimes just a simple one sided, 2 color design is all you need.

Some Favorite Vertical Designs I Have Saved Over the Years

Good design is about taking the clients needs, being inspired by existing and vintage work as well current and popular trends, and then creating something that is unique from that. I know these days anyone can create their own business cards from templates on websites like Vistprint or Zazzle. It’s a great DIY for the average person who needs a quick calling card with little experience and a low budget. But a really good, distinctive design stands out from the rest when it is created from scratch and the designer took the time to explore and develop an identity. 

As a designer, I feel the business card is a place to showcase your skills in logo design, layout, color and typography all at the same time in the smallest of spaces. I feel if you can master that, you could design anything! Hopefully the art of beautiful business card design is not becomming extinct in the digital age.

Happy Accidents

And Learning to Not Think About It

As I have mentioned before, I am a planner, I always have been. I plan dinners, errand runs, vacation itineraries, house projects, chores, outfits... you name it, I plan it. I think that’s why graphic design was such a great career choice for me. I was always creative and the structured rules of graphic design suited me perfectly. I had grids to follow, color harmonies to make work, typography do’s and don’ts to abide by, etc. A match made in heaven for a while. 

There was no such thing as a happy accident for me. Some graphic designers can create very freely and intuitively, not me, possibly in the early stages of logo design, but not really anywhere else. Everything had to be perfectly aligned and have a place on the grid. I would overthink everything I worked on, and when I thought I was done with a design, I would start overthinking all over again. My brain just works that way and it has been very hard to switch gears. I am still a work in progress.

Since I started creating fine art, I have struggled. Fine art for me means process over product, playing and experimenting. A lot of times I start thinking about what I am creating, what it will look like and how it will be used before I even begin. I took a painting class many years ago and that was the first time I totally let the colors and brush strokes move me. It was exhilarating and freeing, but not easy. I was the only one in class who didn’t use a still life set up, I just painted and it opened my mind up to organic creativity.

I have slowly let go more and more over the last few years. I sit now with my watercolors or markers and just paint or draw. I don’t think about what it will be as much, I just do it. The whole process is a happy accident in a way and I am usually happy with the end result because there was nothing preconceived. I use it as a meditation, and I still struggle a bit with completely letting go, but that’s OK. 

I am an artist and I am a designer, I am a combination of the two. I am Yin and I am Yang. There are times my creative counterparts will fight each other and times they will compliment each other. Either way, I will always create.

You can take the girl out of the design studio, but you can't take the design out of the girl...

I Sometimes Miss Graphic Design, My Peers and My Mentors, But I'm Happy With the Choices I've Made

I often think about my education in graphic design and my professors that have shaped me into the creative person that I am. I will be forever grateful to them for everything they taught me. The artwork and design I create and the way I look at things around me is a result of the foundation of design principals they instilled in me.

I also think about and miss the group of designers and friends I graduated with at the University of the Arts. We were the infamous graphic design class of ‘85, the “rat-pack”; a crazy, close knit, extremely competitive and creative bunch who supported and pushed each other to be the best that each of us could be. We celebrated our 30th reunion at the UArts graphic design department’s 50th anniversary, a little over a year ago, and it was amazing to be together again. Today we are a combination of design directors, teachers, business owners, professionals, fine artists, and parents. I am so proud of all of them and their accomplishments. When we all saw each other that first day of the reunion it was like being in a time machine, we didn’t skip a beat. Distance and daily life may separate us, but the love and respect we had for each other has never changed and I don’t think ever will. 

I was very lucky to work for some great small design firms after college, coming away from each one with an abundance of learning and growth as a designer. I sometimes look through my old portfolio of mostly corporate work that I did and think, damn that’s good, where did that girl go? Then I remember she’s here, just reinvented as I mentioned I often do, in my last blog post. 

So why all this nostalgia you ask? I sometimes wonder if I should have stayed active in the field, but then I remember why I didn’t. I loved everything that had to do with the creative part of the job, from steps in creating a logo to laying out a brochure. What I couldn't handle, was the rest of it; the deadlines, the proofing, the midnight press runs and the clients who just couldn’t see your vision. 

I have to also add that I am a little bit of a perfectionist, (ok, maybe I’m OCD with a touch of ADD), and the type of person who stresses over every little thing. It became clear one night after I called my husband at 2am crying on a press run when I was convinced there was a typo I missed, (when there was not), that it was just too much for me.

As I was contemplating quitting my career, I realized I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t work. I started babysitting at 14 and worked all through high school and college and landed my first job very soon after graduation. In 1992 I was diagnosed with lymphoma and had to take a leave of absence for treatment. I had a great attitude and six months later after tests, surgery, hospitals and chemo, I went right back to work. I had never not worked, it was so foreign to me. So when I had my panic attack on that press run, the night I called my husband, I knew it was time to make a change. It was year after chemo and I had just found out that I was pregnant, which was a miracle in itself. I decided to it was time to quit, take a few months to myself and a become a stay at home mom. 

Though I miss graphic design itself from time to time, I never miss the “job”. I have since found many other ways to stay creative and feed that bohemian artist that dwells in my soul. And I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Being a mom is the best, most important job I’ve ever had and even though my kids are adults, I am realizing that job never ends... and that’s ok with me.