Build a Better Business Card #02
Crystal posted this on March 12, 2008
Summary
Business: More Than Coffee! Lounge, Restaurant
Pluses: Strong and simple layout, suitably soothing colors, readable font and text, effective graphics
Minuses: Too much text, blank back
What’s great about it
I love the mood of this card. The flowing lava lamp background appropriately resembles cream being stirred into coffee. The logo is a series of coffee-colored arcs, loops, and swoops at the top, while the bottom is a solid band that grounds (no pun intended!) the design . It feels both refined and fun, sleek and a bit silly.
The layout is common for vertically oriented business cards: centered text, logo at the top, and content below. The rare find is plenty of space between lines of text. The font is wee, but the extra space keeps each line readable. It also helps that related content is grouped by extra space above and below.
The text can get away with being so teeny because the font is clean and simple. Wispy details from a serif font—like Times New Roman—would have left the tiny text unreadable and cluttered the card.
Where help is needed
With such a long domain name, the email and website addresses could be pared down to clean up the bottom of the card:
- Drop the “www” from the domain name, since the “.com” at the end clearly marks it as a website address
- Drop the domain from the email address
The result would look like this:
mwiggs@
MoreThanCoffeeLounge.com
which communicates both addresses without the duplicate content that burdens the card.
And like many business cards, unfortunately, the back is blank. Because this coffee shop does indeed have more than coffee, there are lots of options for the back:
- a map of their location
- shop hours
- a list of their specialty items: fresh pastries and array of milks (soy, rice, and almond)
- a list of their Signature Drinks
- the daily soup schedule
- an abbreviated sandwich menu
- a reminder of special services: catering, private event hosting, and free WiFi
- a list or schedule of upcoming events
- Loyal Lounger program benefits
What would you do to improve this business card? Leave a comment…
Tagged with: Build It Better · business card design · business cards
Comments
12 Responses to “Build a Better Business Card #02”
Leave a Reply
Full feed updates
You know, I’ve noticed there’s one thing that’s commonly overlooked when it comes to business cards. People tend to take notice (even if they don’t realize it) when your card is printed on quality card stock paper. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive, but people notice these things. Give it a try - you’ll be surprised how many people will take your card and bend it between their fingers, visibly taking note of the higher quality.
So much of running a business (especially a microbusiness) is about creating perceived value. If you have a well designed company website, matching stationery, and a nice business card on good card stock, potential clients take notice.
Great post, great advice, as always!
Kyle / OnYourBusiness.com
Howdy Kyle, and thanks!
You’re right about the importance of high quality stock. We can sometimes maybe get away with a crap design, but never ever poopy paper.
This card is on thick cardstock with a matte finish that’s a bit silky, almost soft. A tidbit worth sharing, eh? I’ll be sure to include paper quality info in upcoming Build It Better posts.
Confession: My own business card needs work. This series is my analysis of faves as I rev up for a redesign…
Crystal
Another option for the back is a coupon. A coupon is the call to action that can move someone from, “Hmm. I’ll have to stop in there sometime,” to “Wow! I am going to check this place out and get my free cup of coffee.”
Great ideas. I am also revising my business cards and getting ready to roll out my new look, so your thoughts are useful.
@Cathy — A coupon is a great idea. I saved the card because it was sexy, but I’d have returned to the coffee shop by now if it had a coupon.
Glad to be of use, particularly to you. Your “feathers on the wind” concept from the teleseminar with Chris Knight keeps me typing
Looking forward to your new look,
Crystal
One thing I noticed about this card is that it is simply a vehicle for transferring contact information.
I am a firm believer that every marketing piece should have a call to action. As Cathy mentioned, a coupon would work well there. Or an invitation to go online an check out their “Daily Coffee Trivia” where someone can win free product or something. It sounds like they have a great concept but are not leveraging all of the tools they have at their disposal.
Recent blog post from Brent Allan: So there he was, on his knees, BEGGING . . .
Hi Brent, and welcome! Great idea about a call to action on a business card. It’s perfect for this scenario, especially with the incentive of a contest/freebie.
One of our favorite eat out places is famous for their calls to action and incentives. After fixing a long-winded (no pun intended) problem with their air conditioning, they mailed out postcards apologizing, and inviting everyone back now that it was fixed, and a free taco for giving them another try. Worked a wonder for them.
Thanks for your comments and ideas! Really enjoyed your pricey burger post, by the way. I added a quote from it to the comments on The Value of Value: Snippers on Pricing Our Services
One good thing about a blank back is that it allows the receiver of the card to write down important things like
“Meet Kate in this cafe, Thursday 2008-06-12, 4 o’clock”
or
“The owner seems really cool. Ask about hosting our PR event there.”
Recent blog post from Lynoure Braakman: Anorak numb relay
Hi Lynoure and thanks for your comment!
Now THAT is an excellent point. It is nice to have space on the back to jot a note, whether we want to add a reminder about a specific product or service, or they want to record a note-to-self like you listed.
So maybe the ideal solution is to leave plenty of white space, but put something on the back? Even if it was just the logo in a corner with a few lines for writing on. Anything useful, just so it doesn’t look like we forgot to design the back
Thanks again!
[...] In previous Build It Better articles we learned how not to administer an ecourse, poked at PDF ebooks, and redesigned some business cards. [...]
Crystal,
I happened across a link today that I thought you might enjoy:
http://reencoded.com/2008/06/15/fourty-two-more-creative-business-card-designs/
It might make for an interesting post to take a few of these unique business cards and critique them like you have in these first two Build It Better posts. If nothing else, they’re worth checking out for their novelty.
Recent blog post from Kyle / OnYourBusiness: 7 Lessons Learned Abroad
Kyle! SWEET!! Thanks for sharing the seriously bodacious eye candy out there. I don’t think I blinked the whole time I was reading and scrolling. Like someone asked in the comments: Where do they get these things printed?!
One criticism that covers all of them is that they don’t fit into a standard business card holder, but ya know, I wonder more and more if that even matters…particularly for “cards” that serve a purpose, like the nail file and air freshener. Will definitely have to give these some attention, and do some more business card critiques soon, too…
Many thanks for the yummies!
I totally agree. I like to use the cupon on my cards. Unfortunately it means I have to print a lot of cards but its working for me. I would recommend it to anyone looking to improve business.