The evolution of our business cards
Written by Verne on October 18th, 2007They’re here! TPH (our newly-found printer people) just delivered our new set of business cards. I’m really excited about them because they’re slick, they’re very well branded, and they’re rockin’ the increasingly popular 3.5″x1.5″ dimensions.
When I threw out the idea of getting new cards done a little over a month ago, my team rolled their eyes. “Again?” they sighed. It’s true, we got our first cards less than 3 years ago, and since then, we’ve gone through 3 design changes (the new one inclusive). But with good reason! As any entrepreneur would know, nothing is ever quite concrete in the first few years of a new business. Our agency is no different - and as we’ve evolved as a company, so has our business cards. And looking back at each of the cards, the evolution is pretty evident. Here’s what I see:
February 2005
Specs: 3.5″x2.0″, 12 pt card stock, backless, printed at Kinkos
- We started out as just a web agency so our retardation with print work shows through a bit on our early cards.
- Amateur print work: the design for this card was done as a PSD, rather than a vector EPS file.
- Our first lesson in branding: never cut off pieces of your logo, especially if it only appears once on the card.
- Friends don’t let friends print business cards at large printer chains. Their service sucks and they’re more concerned about turning around orders fast than about delivering quality.
September 2006
Specs: 3.5″x2.0″, 10 pt card stock, front & back, printed by a business contact (not sure who the printer was)
- We have a brand! Part of it is blue. And part of it is that geometric set of triangles that now has a home next to a company name written out in a consistent font that is not Arial. Score!
- We also started branching out into print and brand work so our cards are done properly this time around.
- Notice the change in my position title from Creative Director to Executive Director. I think at the time I was doing a lot more business development and the company needed a face to lead it. I was that face.
- Notice the change in email address format from firstname@ to firstname.lastname@. This was partly done to accomodate two Kevin’s on our team, and also in following a more ‘corporate’ vision we had at the time. What can I say, I worked at Microsoft at the time, and well, you don’t get more corporate influence than that.
October 2007
Specs: 3.5″x1.5″, 12 pt card stock, front & back, printed at The Printing House (highly recommended)
- As an indication of the establishment of our print business, we finally have a trusted printshop to rely on.
- The brand strengthens: simplicity has been a prevalent element in our brand since the beginning. Only now does it finally show through on our business cards. The difference is simple… and a lot of white space.
- Notice the change in my position title from Executive Director back to Creative Director. This comes after a few years of running the business and realizing what I’m really passionate about (creative). It also comes from a strategic move to sway the public perspective away from the idea that one guy runs the business. In reality, the company is built on the blood, sweat, and tears of 5 Executive Directors.
- And of course, the new size! This is a clear reflection of our agency’s ability to stay on top of industry standards and all that is the latest and greatest. The new size also says that we’re cooler than you. Na-na-na-na-boo-boo. Just kidding.
So there you have it. The intimate journey of a growing agency and its business cards. How often do you refresh your design? What stories are embedded in your cards?
And just for kicks, I’m entering this post into YGG’s Business Card Contest that they’re running with Orange32. Sure, I don’t really need new business cards (given the subject of this post), but I like to support YGG’s initiatives. That or I like free stuff.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 6:15 pm and is filed under agency life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Satish
October 18th, 2007 at 7:19 pmThank goodness for the print business. Also note the change in the logo for the 3rd set, reflecting a previous brand problem between the logo’s font type and the company’s actual written name as “Vdot Media” (not all caps).
I love the new ones – now deliver me my box :).
Business card contest closes on Friday. The entrants we’ve got. -- Young Go Getter
October 19th, 2007 at 11:02 am[...] The evolution of our business cards – Creative Briefing [...]
John
October 19th, 2007 at 5:05 pmI must say they have steadily improved. The material on these new cards are so much better. I wasn’t expecting the smaller size so that was a bit of a shock. Also, I just realized… where’s the TM!
Naomi Dunford
October 19th, 2007 at 8:31 pmHello fellow marketing and small business blogger from Ontario! (Who knew? Man! You think you find a niche…) I just found your site through YGG and I loved checking out the evolution. You’re right, slick cards. Very slim and yummy.
Verne
October 20th, 2007 at 3:09 amHi Naomi! Great to have you here on the site, and even greater to connect with a fellow Ontarian small business owner and marketer!
We’ve actually been getting a lot of mixed reactions from the new cards. A lot of people are shocked at the unconventional dimensions, while others are impressed. Can’t win ‘em all! The important thing is that they’ll remember our card now.
John – Glad you’re enjoying the new cards! More the reason to pass them around now. I made the conscious choice not to include the ‘TM’ because we haven’t figured out a good place to put it! Though I agree, we definitely need to show off our very own piece of intellectual property some more.
Satish – Good point, I did forget to mention the identity change. The lowercase text has actually fared well for us in terms of getting the spelling of the name right.. something we continue to struggle a bit with.
Naomi Dunford
October 20th, 2007 at 6:10 pmYou notice I didn’t say “fellow Toronto…”. This is because I’m a little bitter about not being in Toronto anymore and pretty jealous of anyone else who does. Yes, there’s the whole half-the-cost-of-living thing, but I forget that sometimes when I’m missing the restaurants. And the bars. And the restaurants…
Damn I miss the food in Toronto. Maybe I should learn to cook. :)
Satish
October 21st, 2007 at 11:30 amIttyBiz looks great, so its a nice find here for all of us :).
Naomi I think there are marketing small biz / entrepreneur events that happen here, small and personal dinners and bar gatherings, etc. Check those out and see if you can find one happening soon (I have no idea where they happen, but have heard of them).
Rami
October 21st, 2007 at 11:43 amGreat cards, I’m sure they would have looked just as good in a square format!
Naomi Dunford
October 21st, 2007 at 2:32 pmThanks, Satish, I’ll definitely check those out, and thanks for stopping by IttyBiz. :)
I’m in London right now, which is pretty dead when it comes to these things, so I’ll check out the Toronto ones.
giz
October 24th, 2007 at 9:36 amslick :)
Frank
May 13th, 2008 at 2:11 pmCards look great. Most people do not realize how much of an impact business cards still have. They are mini billboards and are a necessity in the business world. My company (www.worldprinting.com) alone printed over 2 million business cards last year. Maybe on your next order you’ll give us a try! Cards look great!!
Denis
November 29th, 2008 at 12:39 amThat new card size is simply shorter in terms of height, correct? I expect it would be incredbily hard to find when flipping through a large stack of cards.
Andrew
June 17th, 2010 at 2:29 pmI gotta say, i liked the September 2006 version best out of all the versions. But it’s nice to see the card evolving.