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Moderator · Sep 21, 2006, 01:37 PM

Have ideas? I've found a few decent ones...but nothing inspiring. Metal and plastic..eh...kind of gimmicky. How bout just really well designed business cards with some style....

Y3a · Sep 21, 2006, 01:40 PM

Perhaps not exactly a "card" ?? sumtin' else maybe? Solar powered calculator or other device.

Nicko · Sep 21, 2006, 01:41 PM

How about one that turns into a sponge when you put it in water?

iREZ · Sep 21, 2006, 04:02 PM

how bout getting em printed on graham crackers....

mmmmmmm graham crackers.

Briareus · Sep 21, 2006, 04:12 PM

Wackyness like magnets, translucent plastic, non-standard shapes, etc. make me think "ooo... innovative" in a sarcastic way that doesn't justify the added production costs.

I'd say avoid gimmicky concepts and present design creativity within the expected parameters.

... although the graham cracker idea has potential

GSixZero · Sep 21, 2006, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by Briareus

... although the graham cracker idea has potential

As long as your info is written with chocolate and toasted marshmallow.

nonhuman · Sep 21, 2006, 04:45 PM

I think it would be cool to have business cards printed on very thin sheets of wood.

The more practical idea I had was to have your business card printed on post-it notes. That way your customers, or people you just meet, can stick it on their monitor and always have your number, email immediately available.

Mithras · Sep 21, 2006, 06:51 PM

I've met people with two sets of business cards -- a "business" card, and a "personal" card, featuring significant other, dog, etc. Kinda cute.

CMYKid · Sep 21, 2006, 06:56 PM

there are a number of paper houses that make wood thin enough to run through an offset press. some of it is pretty cool looking actually.

best cards I've ever seen have to be these tho. I made some very similar for a place i used to work. clear PVC, welded around the edges, the space between filled with two gels of different colors that wont mix. Identity and contact info are screenprinted on the inside. Hot.

rambo47 · Sep 21, 2006, 09:02 PM

I saw a business card of glass with the info etched in. Not practical, but it makes an impact. The guy at Plasma Design makes some pretty slick looking business cards.

KeriVit · Sep 22, 2006, 12:40 AM

Just make it a differnt size.

Jellytussle · Sep 22, 2006, 01:47 AM

Maybe bone with Silian Rail lettering? Or perhaps eggshell with Romalian type.

himself · Sep 22, 2006, 02:02 AM

I love letterpress-printed business cards.

Mithras · Sep 22, 2006, 05:54 AM

Originally Posted by Jellytussle

Maybe bone with Silian Rail lettering? Or perhaps eggshell with Romalian type.

This is getting somewhere. A business card made from human leather?

nbnz · Sep 22, 2006, 07:04 AM

Originally Posted by Jellytussle

Maybe bone with Silian Rail lettering? Or perhaps eggshell with Romalian type.

I prefer the pale nimbus white.

alligator · Sep 22, 2006, 07:30 AM

How about a scratch-and-sniff sticker?

Dark Helmet · Sep 22, 2006, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by CMYKid

Those are cool but they look expensive as hell.

Something important to remember when you make cards is that you should always keep them standard sizes, thin and flexible.

If people can't just put them in their wallet or in their card holders they are more likely to pass it around the office to show it off and then it ends up getting lost in the shuffle.

G4ME · Sep 22, 2006, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

I think it would be cool to have business cards printed on very thin sheets of wood.

The more practical idea I had was to have your business card printed on post-it notes. That way your customers, or people you just meet, can stick it on their monitor and always have your number, email immediately available.

A fine hardwood store near my house has their card burned on to 2ply vennear, very nice and quite durable too

CMYKid · Sep 22, 2006, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Those are cool but they look expensive as hell.

Something important to remember when you make cards is that you should always keep them standard sizes, thin and flexible.

If people can't just put them in their wallet or in their card holders they are more likely to pass it around the office to show it off and then it ends up getting lost in the shuffle.

Egh, expensive is all in your perception.

They really werent all that bad though. They came in multiples of 500 as I recall with a max of 5 masters per run due to the die and screen setups. So really not at all a lot for a smaller company, but not something you'd do if you had say 30 names to produce.

They're perfectly thin and flexible though, i carried them in my wallet with no problem. Standard sizes and shapes equal meh if there's a better option. Sometimes there is, sometimes not. I dont want anyone to keep my card in their wallet, thats not what it's for.

Railroader · Sep 22, 2006, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by G4ME

A fine hardwood store near my house has their card burned on to 2ply vennear, very nice and quite durable too

I have my business cards printed on wood veneer. It really stands out.

torsoboy · Sep 22, 2006, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

I have my business cards printed on wood veneer. It really stands out.

Where do you get them made/printed?

torsoboy · Sep 22, 2006, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Those are cool but they look expensive as hell.

Something important to remember when you make cards is that you should always keep them standard sizes, thin and flexible.

If people can't just put them in their wallet or in their card holders they are more likely to pass it around the office to show it off and then it ends up getting lost in the shuffle.

Where do you get them made?

Railroader · Sep 22, 2006, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by torsoboy

Where do you get them made/printed?

I did them myself. I milled an image into a metal stamp and burn the image onto business card-sized pieces of veneer. Kind of like branding.

I think I saw an ad in Fine Woodworking magazine for purchasing wooden business cards though.

Calimus · Sep 22, 2006, 03:54 PM

YouTube - American Psycho: Business Card Scene

IceEnclosure · Sep 22, 2006, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by Calimus

YouTube - American Psycho: Business Card Scene

best ever.

davesimondotcom · Sep 22, 2006, 04:41 PM

I think the most effective business cards I've ever seen were done by the firm I used to work for. They were for a photographer whose logo looked like an old box camera.

The cards were die-cut with a simple round die straight through the center of the logo that was centered on the card.

The effect is simple, but it also effective. Nearly every person who gets one holds it up and looks at light through it. Essentially replicating the idea of photography in the first place.

And they were not expensive to print.

ghporter · Sep 22, 2006, 05:16 PM

I got a card made on frosted plastic that had printing on both sides-the back's printing gave the front's lettering a very interesting 3D effect. Not cheap, but it sure got my attention!

davesimondotcom · Sep 22, 2006, 06:10 PM

Nonstandard sizes are also effective at getting attention. My last job had cards that were "half height." The width (longest side) was still the standard 3.5 inches. But the cards were not the standard 2 inches tall. They were 1.25" or so, I think.

They were also printed on French construction paper (mrfrench.com) in various colors with just a carbon black ink and a spot varnish that gave the paper a bit of a tint.

We ended up with three or four colors of cards with the same design, just the paper changed. The first printing, we also hit names with white, but it didn't work out too well, so we ended up with just black. And it was BLACK black - actually had carbon in the ink to make it as black as possible.

The things that make a card unique can be design, paper, ink, varnish, die-cutting. Just be creative.

Keep in mind, though, it's cheaper to buy expensive paper with a nice texture than to pay for a fancy die-cut!

Personally, I like to use a higher paper-weight to give cards a more substantial feel. 120# card stock is nice.