Prof Practice - Business Cards

As part of the professional practice module and as part of my external work with clients, I was required to design and own business cards. I had two approaches to this. I needed a business card which was going to represent me as an individual. This way I can market myself as a freelance filmmaker/director whilst networking etc. I wanted to design a business card that had the right balance of professionalism and artistic flair. My secondary approach to business cards was due to my involvement with GMTD and with my current business partners outside of academic study. At a recent meeting we discussed GMTD business cards which we could use to promote the business and secure clients. 

Firstly, I began designing my own personal business card through vistaprint, one of the worlds leading suppliers of promotional and marketing materials. As I previously stated, I wanted my business card to combine professionalism with a hint of style. I wanted a minimalist design, no logos or graphics, just well spaced out and easy to read text. To pull this minimalist design off I was going to need an effective colour scheme. 

One of my personal favourite colour schemes is blue and gold. I think it has a stylish and sleek look, whilst also managing to be professional and objective to the untrained eye. I took a great deal of influence from the cover of 'The Catcher in the Rye', as shown below. 

As well as creating a business card based around the aforementioned themes and qualities, I designed a second business card that was less bold in colour contrast. I also included a background image instead of a solid colour. The main difference between the two is that the first is a more informal card, which would work after introducing myself and handing over to the person. The second is more simple and enigmatic. I hoped that the image would want you to know more - and at that point you're drawn into the website at the bottom. This could be a make or break point as they see my website as good enough or not, by that time the business card is irrelevant. On neither of the business cards did I opt to include information on the back. This is because I don't have enough information to give as of yet, e.g. office addresses. 

Another reason the cards are different is because I want to have a discussion with people close to me and who know me about whether I should sell myself as a director/production manager or writer/director. I also need to have the same conversation about the cards visually and the layout. Other peoples opinions are going to heavily impact the process of creating a business card, simply because that is the aim of one in itself, to impress another person. I will return to my designs once I have a better idea about both of these things. 

Now we move onto the business cards for GMTD, which is now GMTL. I learned in a recent business meeting that Get Me the Designer was becoming part of a mother company named Get Me the Limelight. The shift in momentum is so that GMTD doesn't become a one trick pony, and that the mother company can establish creative services for other things not just fashion designers. E.g. Get Me the Music (could be a possibility, but just an idea). I said very early in my involvement with GMTD (now GMTL) that we would need two things to sell our services; a website and business cards. Without these things I don't think you're taken very seriously. We're currently waiting for the cards to be finalised but we do have the graphic designs which were sent over from our graphics designer. Now it is up to the powers that be to decide on one of these.