I’ve got a confession to make. Of all the pieces that make up an identity package, my favorite by FAR is the business card. Why? The sheer flexibility it offers. There are NO limitations to what you can DESIGN with a business card. Any style, any shape, any color, and outlandish thing you can imagine can actually WORK as a business card.

There is no other single design piece I’ve found that offer’s so much flexibility. We’ve talked before about fake finishes design tricks and cheap ways to make a big difference, but let’s look at some ideas that you can use to display your text.

Text. We know that a business card HAS to contain information, and more often than not, it has to contain LOTS of information. Information that is ESSENTIAL to a strong business card. This alone, may sound like an overwhelming task, but what it REALLY is, is an overwhelming opportunity to do something great.

Let’s look at some inspiration for just such an occassion:

Orientation. Dare to be different. Change the orientation of your business card from horizontal to vertical. And don’t forget the front AND the back.

Right Alignment. Contact information right aligned is probably the most common of ANY alignment style for a business card. However, you can still pull it off with class:

Left Align. While the alignment may be common, this design is anything but. When you “create” a business card every detail is important.

Diagonal. These cards show a different kind of alignment– go DIAGONAL. Arrange the content and the text in such a way that it creates a design itself.

For more inspirational business cards visit Daily Poetics Flickr stream.

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For a graphic designer faced with the decision of getting things printed, dealing with print houses can seem like a daunting task. There are so many to choose from and tons of things to take into account, when selecting a good one.

What should you look for in a printer?

1. Request Samples. If you’ve never used the company before or seen their work elsewhere, request samples of their printing. This is fairly common and shouldn’t cost you anything. Nearly every day I get sample printing, papers or packaging in the mail from companies that are competing for my business, and you should too!

2. Check the weight. Make sure the printing will be done on a nice weight paper. Not to heavy and not too light for the job. If you are getting business cards printed, you don’t want a lightweight card that will be easily crumpled. Instead, you want a sturdy card stock that will stick with your customer for at least a couple of years.

3. Color matching. Does your printer have a disclaimer on their color matching? If they do, be wary. Printing in color is a tricky process, so be sure your printer will back up their products. If their ink comes out the wrong color, you and your clients should NOT be left holding the bag!

4. Logos. Some printers, especially the cheap ones, give you a cheaper rate if you allow them to print their logo on the backside of your piece. Depending on your client, your job, or your budget, this may or may not be an option for you. But, it should be a question you ask as you are getting quotes and selecting printers!

5. Finishes. Ask whether or not your printed pieces will have an UV coating on them, a gloss or other finish. This addition will drastically change the way your final print turns out, so you need to be ready for anything!

My favorite printer?

I love OvernightPrints.com. They are fast and affordable for excellent quality.

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Okay, I know this is supposed to be a print design resource, but i think inspiration can come in many forms. I love this advertising campaign that was done by the Washington State Department of Health for their anti-smoking campaign.

Instead of using the typical "stop smoking cold turkey" cliche, they literally show you how to do that. I think the result is truly what Seth Godin refers to as a "Purple Cow" in his book about remarkable marketing.

Midnight Snack from JP Jones on Vimeo.

Dark Alley from JP Jones on Vimeo.

Cocktails outside of the box! from JP Jones on Vimeo.

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The term typography refers to exactly what you’re reading. Yep, you just read some more. Any text you see with the eye is an element of typography. But typography is not simply letters arranged into words. Typography is an art. But if you know what to look for even a novice can tell the good from the bad.

to serif or not to serif: Those who specialize in typography will often throw around words like serif, sans serif and kerning. So what does it all mean? Like everything else in the design world there are several rules of thumb to use when deciding which type of font to use. Broken down into the most basic format there are 2 main types of fonts: Serif and Sans Serif (there are others like slab & script, but for the sake of this article we’ll deal only with these two).

Serif refers to any font that has “tails”. Tails are the little extension that appear at the bases of the letters. A classic example of this type of font is anything in the Times family. Serif fonts are great to use for large blocks of text. Most books and magazine columns are set in a serif font. The little tails on the letters guide the readers eye from letter to letter allowing the human brain to quickly scan a word.

Serif fonts are perfect for printed pieces where print resolution is high (at least 300 dpi). The letters are crisp and clear and the tails can aid the reader without obstructions.

For screen resolutions such as a Web page, a sans-serif font is optimal. Sans-serif simply means “no-serif” Breaking it down further these fonts are the ones that do NOT contain “tails”. Sans-serif fonts are commonly used for display text (anything over 16pts in size) and headlines in print work.

Because the letters are “clean” they have become more and more popular in the current minimalistic society we live in. Most designers still shy away from using a sans-serif font for large blocks of printed text, though it is
almost always used in Web design.

With screen resolution at only 72 dpi, Web page text is already harder to read than a printed page. Never would you want to us a serif font at such low resolution as the added tails will cause the letters to blur and make reading difficult.

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