Author: Jennifer Wong | Business Card Design InspirationBusiness Card Design Inspiration

Mike Knapek Business Card

September 13, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Mike Knapek designed these business cards for his self-branding project as a graphic designer specializing in branding and identity for both print and digital formats based in Kent, UK.

“I wanted a brand identity and business card design that was unique and would leave a lasting impression to the person I gave it to. I created the icon using a 10×10 grid in illustrator and then created the vibrant marble effect using Photoshop that I think really helps the card stands out and get noticed,” Mike said.

Mike’s logo design is based on his initials MK. The cutout effect and its white colour outline is a nice contrast to the cool marble liquid background, talking about grabbing people’s attention!

These business cards were printed on 450gsm paper stock with matt lamination by Route 1 Print.

Printed by Route 1 Print

For Mike Knapek personal branding

Taavi Café Business Card

September 12, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Fabian Zöller designed these business cards for a new café named Taavi Café.

“Taavi is the Finnish word for ‘David’, which is also the name of one of the owners. As far as the branding of the cafe is concerned, it was clear very early on that it should be colourful, modern and eye-catching. That’s why we chose a simple black and white version of the logo and combined it with bold colourful patterns in Memphis design style,” Fabian said.

The brand identity has a fun and playful vibe to it. The catchy patterns on the back of the cards come in a few variants, while the front side contains brief contact details of the café printed in black ink, offering a great contrast to the yellow background.

These business cards were printed by Moo. According to Fabian, they decided to go with a special cotton paper, Mohawk, made from 100% recycled T-shirt offcuts – stuff that normally gets thrown away.

“As well as being tree-free, the paper is also bright white, with a beautiful texture and a very natural feel that goes well with the brand. With about 110lb weight (18pt thickness) it’s a more heavy paper, and it’s not coated, so you can feel the natural paper fibers very well when you touch it. For a recycled paper it is exceptionally bright white, so colours print vividly, which benefits the brand a lot because the key visual – the colourful memphis design patterns – really come to life on those cards,” Fabian said.

Printed by Moo

For Taavi Café

Dattabot Business Card

September 11, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Nandiasa Rahmawati designed these business cards for Dattabot, a Big Data analytics company with a focus on data integration based in Indonesia.

Previously known as Mediatrac, Dattabot was rebranded in 2016 as the user-friendly and ever-reliable data analytics company. Dattabot has been helping clients to use their potential existing data to something more than just sitting figures. Since this has made them viewed as a very scientific company, looking less techy and more approachable was their first priority.

“We came up with a new name that derived from the word ‘Data’ and the expression ‘Atta Boy’. We also developed the iconic Bot whose head is a rotated monogram of the ‘D’ and ‘B’ initials with facial features from ‘1’s and ‘0’s. Being the very basic of the data, the ‘1’s and ‘0’s were further developed into super-graphics and related icons,” said Ritter Willy Putra, the Art Director of Thinking Room design studio.

The entire visual identity is relatable to the data analytics industry, along with its striking colour palette and friendly approach to get the prospect’s attention.

Art Direction by Eric Widjaja

For Dattabot (PT Mediatrac Sistem Komunikasi)

Natalia Romero Business Card

September 10, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Natalia Romero designed these business cards for her self-branding as a freelance graphic designer based in Bogota, Colombia.

“The logo is a monogram based on my name’s initials, NR, through a minimalistic way, allowing it to be applied over the pattern I created without it getting confusing,” Natalia said.

“The pattern is inspired by the sunsets I saw throughout a long trip around Europe. It’s the union of forms, colours and patterns which crossed my path during my trip, for I am a believer that nature is the biggest source of inspiration and creativity, giving us infinite possibilities.” How true!

She explained further, “From said sunsets also came the colours that inspired me creatively for my personal image; pastel colours that transmit tranquility, neatness and are harmonious. In addition to this, they work perfectly when used with black or white. My personal image is a balance between what I am passionate about, what inspires me and how I reflect my work on said things.”

These business cards were printed on 350gr. matte coated paper by National Center for Graphic Arts in Bogotá, Colombia. According to Natalia, “The idea was that the paper would allow the colours to pop out from the pattern and at the same time for it to be resistant enough for its manipulation.”

Printed by National Center for Graphic Arts

For Natalia Romero personal branding

Ice Scream Business Card

September 9, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Asthetique designed these business cards for Ice Scream, an ice cream parlour in New York.

Ice Scream is a perfect place for families and children to spend time together, creating memories and enjoy the warmth and joy the place has to offer. The 24-seat nitrogen ice cream parlour is a declaration that the Bronx, namely the Mall at Bay Plaza, can certainly contribute to the world of design.

The name ‘Ice Scream’ is smart and memorable. The typography arrangement for the logotype is unique and super catchy as well!

Drawing inspiration from the 80’s Memphis design movement, Ice Scream is a waffle cone of modernism, pop art, and a sprinkle of the 1950’s Kitsch design style. With its neo-memphis design, Ice Scream was manifested to create a vibrant yet relaxed milieu allowing for a full mental holiday. All of these were clearly expressed through the vibrant business card design, which is not only colourful and striking, but creative enough to get people excited about the ice cream parlour before they even seen the place!

Overall, the card design is bold, modern and fun! It actually matches the brand message of spreading joy and creating nostalgia at the same time.

For Ice Scream (Jonathan Pinkhasov)

Enviromate Business Card

September 6, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Lucas da Silva designed these business cards for an environmentally friendly startup named Enviromate based in Australia.

“Enviromate is a startup from a friend of mine. He wants to offer eco-friendly products locally in Perth, Western Australia to replace plastic. This project is still in the early stages, the business card was a suggestion for him to go around locally and start promoting his future business,” Lucas said.

The logo is, no doubt, the center of attraction of this visual identity. Speaking of the design process behind it, Lucas said, “By the time we started, the client just wanted a quick logo to put in a box of straws that had ‘something to do with the ocean and the recycling symbol’. We were in the make for 1.5 months and we had drawn several different turtles before settling for the final design, which was great!”

“I suggested the leaves in the recycling symbol so it’s not 100% associated with the ocean, and I also introduced a nice CMYK green for the same reason for the other side of the card,” Lucas added.

These cards were done on an 86x54mm artboard. According to Lucas, this is his preferred sizing over the average 90x50mm, “I believe it fits the wallet better. Early recommendation was to apply spot UV on the logo at the front, but the client has opted to do a 400gsm matt laminate instead, on both sides.”

For Enviromate

Juni’s Bar Business Card

September 5, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Josh Walker designed these business cards for Juni’s Bar, an experiential project into bar and gastro dining.

“The branding project was taking influence from high end chains and bringing it down to an affordable and achievable level which all can enjoy. The colours and typography reflect the interior design of the bar and promote a sleek, contemporary dining experience.” Josh said.

When it comes to printing the cards, here’s what Josh suggested, “I’ll be using moo.com for this project. The cards will be printed on a 600gsm Luxe stock to give a sturdy and firm feeling to the already solid brand.”

“There is scope for foiling in place of the tan colour on the front of the card as well,” he added.

For Juni’s Bar

Pedantics Business Card

September 4, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Tuyệt Duyệt designed these business cards for Pedantics, a printing company specializing in letterpress and foiling printing techniques for handmade journals, ledgers and stationery sets. It is based in Vancouver, Washington.

“Pedantic’s handmade items (or books) are in low volumes, which is a good option for people who are looking for unique, higher quality print-outs/products and are kinda nerdy,” Khanh said.

Speaking of the design inspiration, he continued, “The founder was thinking about creating something that can stand on its own but at the same time, can be joined into a decoration easily; something that works with one colour but can also be made into two colour variants. The business cards will be printed with red foil on white or brown paper, which can be applied to letterhead, envelope, invoice, etsy shop logo etc.”

“The main logo with the initial ‘P’ represents the brand name ‘Pedantics’. The client wanted the cards to look vintage, currently with my designing style.”

“Apart from the contact info, there’s the hand symbol with a silk band surrounding it and an eye symbol inside the hand. The idea is to convey that everything will be done via handmade at Pedantics, including the direction they will take and understanding their customers’ requests.”

These business cards were letterpress-printed by Beaver Engraving Co. in Portland, Oregon. Khanh explained, “It is a method of transferring the design, hot foiling and debossing the paper at the same time. It was hard to keep the details of the eye when foiling, factors such as paper heat and pressure all play a part in printing. All details with dies cut were etched into paper via hot foil, the design ‘bite’ into the paper and the result is both obvious and tactile.”

Printed by Beaver Engraving Co.

For Pedantics

David Byerlee Business Card

September 3, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

David Byerlee designed these business cards for his self-branding project, David Byerlee Design. David is a graphic designer and art director based in Australia.

“The logo concept puts emphasis on the letters ‘ID’, representing ‘brand identity elevation’ and point-of-difference,” David explained. “The identity itself, plus the card execution is purposely minimalist. This helped to emphasize the messaging, whilst pushing clean and premium cues.”

These business cards were printed on Colorplan ‘Frost White’ 350gsm by Peacock Print in Adelaide. These cards were 85 x 55mm, applied with blind emboss and one colour (black) print. The blind emboss/deboss allowed for a tactile design, even without colours. Overall, a brilliant design to symbolize creativity and minimalism!

Printed by Peacock Design & Print

For David Byerlee personal branding

Amperian Business Card

September 2, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Yana and Jun designed these business cards for Amperian, a wedding services provider specializing in desserts bar.

Amperian approached Yana and Jun to develop the identity, including positioning and naming of the brand. “A distinct color palette combination is developed to help establish Amperian as a bold new contender in a relatively new market,” Jun said.

Keeping in line with the company’s business of creating customized wedding services, the business cards are printed in as many different colour variations to give them a unique quality. The dual tone background is a beautiful match to the logotype, which has a clear legibility due to its perfectly chosen font type – Areplos.

These business cards were printed by Moo. According to Jun, “We wanted to take advantage of digital printing to give as much variety to the name cards as possible, so even though it was quite a nightmare to upload 150 different PDFs through the browser, it was worth it. Each card is quadplexed into a 600gsm-thick card with customizable coloured edges.”

A truly outstanding effort to celebrate variety while standing out from a pile of regular business cards!

Printed by Moo

For Amperian

Bluelass Tattoo Business Card

August 31, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Stephen White designed these business cards for Bluelass Tattoo, a tattoo parlour in Falkirk, Central Scotland.

“My client, Zara Dickson, the owner of Bluelass Tattoo, came to me to design her first ever tattoo studio that she was opening in Falkirk, Scotland in the UK. Zara gave me pretty much free rein to brand her studio that she named herself. She did, however, know that she wanted her studio to be a twist on conventional studio’s in the UK that can unfortunately appear inaccessible to the general public due to dark colour palettes and obstructive branding. So this was the main inspiration for the overall design,” Stephen explained.

During the design process, Stephen knew that the overall brand should be traditional at heart as a nod to Zara’s profession, but should also be seen as a modern studio through the use of a vibrant colour palette.

“Utilizing a typeface that we customized to give it a more unique feel, we managed to achieve a traditional tattoo studio inspired word mark with flourishes that add character to the brand and reflect the fun nature of the client Zara. We employed an ornate design based on old traditional tattoo studio flourishes to act as a complex textural background to the master logo and main applications such as business cards, appointment cards and gift vouchers which helps elevate the brand and ads to the overall look and feel. These can also be employed for other collateral such as posters, social posts etc.”

These business cards were printed by Awesome Merchandise. According to Stephen, “They offered a wide range of not only stationary print, but other items such as stickers and t-shirts that Bluelass Tattoo sell through their shop. I believe that my client opted for the Heavyweight business card option for both business card and appointment card.”

“As this was my clients first time running her own business and we knew that she would need a mass order of cards, we opted to keep them simple when it came to print. There was no use of spot varnish or foiling, however. We ensured that the cards were the heavyweight option that give a luxurious feel with a subtle texture, and are sturdy to ensure the cards can stand up to being written on as well as serving in a wallet for a duration before her clients are meant to be tattooed.”

It’s a well thought-out business card design that not only expresses the brand’s vibrant, fun, approachable image, but also successfully reflects the owner’s personality and expertise as well.

Printed by Awesome Merchandise

For Bluelass Tattoo

Luke Van O Business Card

August 30, 2019
By: Jennifer Wong

Luis Coderque designed these business cards for a creative consultant named Luke Van O.

“Luke van Oudtshoorn defines himself as a Creative Consultant. He’s an insightful strategist with an analytical equilibrium and proactive creative approach, who wouldn’t be who he is without a tendency to rebellion,” Luis said.

While the back design remains the same, there are three different versions for the front design, using different type colours as the background.

“The brand identity is based on the mix of strategic and creative thinking, using the chess board as a grid to compose only those combinations which create a checkmate,” Luis added.