Having recently been a part of a design workshop in Taiwan, and not having a business card to give anyone (it seems that I’m the only student in the world without a card) I am looking into having some made.
I can probably have some Carnegie Mellon ones made, but that’s not very exiting. Does anyone know of a good website or print shop that can do cards on good paper? I’m looking for a beefy paper stock, flimsy cards turn me off.
I may end up making them myself, which would be a lot of fun anyways.
print them yourself. as a student, and even as a “professional” right out of school this makes the most sense. if your school has a color plotter available for student use you may consider tiling your card in illustrator and printing it out on 18"x24" bristol paper. the print quality will be good, the paper has the right weight and you’ll have the satisfaction of having made your own cards, and you’ll save a bunch of money…also, your going to want to change your card on a weekly basis so it doesnt make sense to spend the dough on ordering cards.
You can print on Avery cardsheets. You print a page and then you just snap them off, clean edges. Pretty thick stock, does the job. Or just print them on heavyweight photopaper and cut them yourself, you probably won’t be passing out 500, just take an hour and print 10 sheets, you’ll have 100 cards cut in 20 min.
I think it is a good idea, esp if you keep it simple, name, website (or coroflot folio url) and one hot sketch…
Skinny, If I remember right you had cards in school? Some were DJ cards, some were Designer Cards? I remember thinking that was pretty pimp. Or where you out of school at that point?
I’ve heard the same thing, which is why i’ve never had a business card to begin with. After all, I’m not in any sort of business, other than working long hours in studio, shop, and elsewhere. However, it seems like having a small card with information on it is a good way to convey contact information. Maybe smething less business, more fun. A Fun Card.
We have a letterpress studio here at CMU where people of all design disciplines can learn the art of typesetting, printing, and bookmaking. I’ve decided that a letterpressed card would be a nice trinket. We’ll see, demand for time in that space is high.
I’m guessing that having a portfolio online (coroflot or otherwise) is a convenient way for prospective employers to view my work. Is there any evidence to the contrary?
I think it’s a great idea to have a card…it’s never too early to start networking…
To elaborate more on my first post, the overnightprints.com site it great. You can get cards REALLY cheap ($10 for 100) and the card stock is nice as well. The full color process is NOT limiting. Apologies if this sounds like an advertisement, but I’ve researched dozens of online shops, and that site is the BEST. You can even play with UV spot coating, glossy/matte finishes, etc.
Check it out.
In my opinion cutting homemade cards, and the Avery sheets, are good as temporary cards, but they scream “cheapskate” and “unprofessional” With affordably priced, professional shops out there, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to get some high quality cards printed up…
given that you probably only need a small quantity, why not take advantage of that fact and do something really custom.
like screen printing on a vintage 45 record, or cutting up a piece of wood and sticking a label on it, give away a small toy with a hangtg with your info…?.
esp. as you a student, i think it would be great to stand out from the usual paper business-y cards…
when i was back in school, i used to print up different cards every week on cardstock on a color dy-sub printer…variety is the spice of life.
in any case, its always a good idea to start your personal CI and branding. it makes a huge difference IMHO to the quality and value of your presentation and portfolio. i just finished my own new CI, here…
A card is a good idea. Even better is a fold-out card with thumbnail work samples. A student handed me one of those at an IDSA conference and it instantly gave me an idea of what the guy was capable of (and was obviously memorable.) Handmade is fine, just keep your craftsmanship up.
i dunno… i think a card with sketches instantly screams “student” to me. i can see the idea showing your capabilities, but its a little like a hairdresser shop with all those horrible photos of the 'dos in the windows.
i personally think it is better to present an image of who you want to be, not who you are. if you want to get into a profession, move up the totem pole, and build on your creative talent, do it in way that shows you already are accomplished, and have some cred. present a well executed, unique card and it will stand out.
you dont see professional designers (i hope) with sketches on their card, why stand out as a “student” looking to pimp your skils?
Copeland made us do the ID cards, then I did the dj ones, that must’ve been after school, seems like another lifetime ago, I can barely remember.
Having a business card is just a good idea, call it a business card, contact card or whatever, it’s better than having to write your name, number and email on a napkin or something else that’ll get lost.
Also, I’d say sketches on them definitely look student, but a cool image is nice. I print of some with a nice shot of a portfolio project, helps people remember who I am when I leave. People will more likely remember the cool project they saw than just my generic name when they look at the card a month from now. As long as you can do it tastefully, go for it.
I didn’t know you could get pro printed cards for $10 now, it’s been over 8 yrs since I’ve looked at prices. Might have to check that out, thanks for the tip.
Thanks for everyone’s feedback. I have a couple of ideas and will be sure to post a picture of two of whatever I make up here. If anyone has anymore thoughts on the matter, please post them!