Business Card: Grid System ?

[BeautyNut]

I understand that layout [page] grids are important, and I've read plenty of responses speaking of the 'grid format.'

Does anyone happen to have a sample grid for business cards -or- any other type of grid formats (brochures, newsletters, magazine pages, etc...)?

If so, please show me or send me in the right direction.

I do need to learn this 'grid system' more, because most of my designs are probably uneven, and I need a lesson or two in this area.

I'm working on a business card, and my layout just looks odd, and I wanted to ask for assistance.

Thank you very much, and I hope that I'm making sense.

[garricks]

I'm working on a business card, and my layout just looks odd, and I wanted to ask for assistance.

You can always post the card in the Crit Pit for feedback...

[BeautyNut]

:o I know, but I'm scared to death! LOL

However, I KNOW that it is not personal, and all critiques are only meant to help and give suggestions.

I'm really having a hard time, but I'm slowly coming along.

I hope to get enough courage oneday to enter 'The Crit Pit of death' LOL - just kidding! just kidding!

Everyone has been so kind to me, and everyone knows that I'm not a pro-YET! LOL ;)

Something just is 'off' with my layout.

I like simple and 'less is more' perspective too, but I feel like there is a huge section just blank.

I have
1- my personal logo ((that I tried to create :o;)))
2- name
3- 'Title' Graphic Designer ((which I feel that I haven't earned, yet!))
4- mobile number, because it would be usless to put a home number since I wouldn't be reached there
5- email address.

I have a few other degrees that I thought about adding to the title since it would go along with graphic design.

I might add 'Freelance' to that as well, and 'Feel free to contact me at anytime.'

Comments, Suggestions so far?

Thank you!

[Roth]

Some of these (http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2008/06/37-business-cards-best-of-june-2008/) cards are a bit outlandish but with the simpler ones you get the idea.

Your 1-5 seem about right. Forget the 'freelance' and 'feel free...' parts. The first is redundant, the second tacky.

[BeautyNut]

Roth,

Forget the 'freelance' and 'feel free...' parts. The first is redundant, the second tacky.


Thank you so much.
It always nice to get a different perspective, and I always struggle with what sounds tacky or corny.

Now, may I ask, is 'freelance' just simply 'understood' when someone has Graphic Designer on his/her card? I've very new to this realm, so I appreciate any tips.

Also, I just wanted to make my card sound inviting, which is why I wanted to add 'Feel free to contact anytime.'
Why is this tacky?

By NO means am I disputing your comment, I just wanted to know why and get someone [that knows a lot more than me ;)] to explain why this is not the best feature to add.

That's why I'm running this by everyone, and I truly appreciate your help.
I'm here to learn and get as much as possible.
:)

[Grfk Dzgn]

I think using the term "freelance" is just tedious.

And since it is an open invitation to contact you when a business card is received - "feel free" is already stated. "Contact anytime" - isn't quite true, is it? I mean really? 3:00 AM?

Trying to be personal and approachable with, "Feel free to contact anytime", is a hokey overtone and doesn't make any sense anyways. Inviting business cards capture the interest/imagination of those who receive it for the express purpose to which it is designed.

[obesebee]

You need to post your card so we can have a look. It will be good practice getting critiqued. Learning to show your work and talk about it objectively is important, and a forum is a good a place to start as anywhere.

[BeautyNut]

Grfk Dzgn,
"Contact anytime" - isn't quite true, is it? I mean really? 3:00 AM?
Heck, yeah!
I'm broke and need the money. ;)
I'm only kidding - excellent point.
Right, 3 am would not be welcomed.

Trying to be personal and approachable with, "Feel free to contact anytime", is a hokey overtone and doesn't make any sense anyways. Inviting business cards capture the interest/imagination of those who receive it for the express purpose to which it is designed.
I agree.
You wouldn't 'pass out' business cards IF you didn't want others to contact you. It's like having a business (for example, a restaurant) being in the middle of downtown with having a huge sign outside reading "Here we are OPEN, PLEASE come in! I gotcha!

obesebee,

You need to post your card so we can have a look. It will be good practice getting critiqued. Learning to show your work and talk about it objectively is important, and a forum is a good a place to start as anywhere.

Ok, you talked me into it. ;)
As HARD as it may be, it really will be beneficial to me.
You're right being objective to your own work is important and one of the only ways to improve in order to become a great designer.

I will work on it a little more to the 'actual look and feel' that I was going for, and then I'll post.

What I'm afraid of - not so much the critique- IS people giving me GREAT suggestions on how to improve, and since I am new with CS, NOT knowing how to make the changes without step-by-step instructions.

I'm mostly afraid that I can't 'create' the suggested changes at my level.
However, I will post my card in The Crit Pit ((gotta start somewhere, right?)) ;)

[morea]

Beauty, is the business card you're working on a school project? To be honest, I've seen a lot of critiques from schools that were a lot harsher than what goes on here in the Crit Pit.

If you're not confident enough in your design abilities to show your work here and you feel like you're not ready to call yourself a graphic designer yet, AND if it's not a school project, maybe it would be more effective for you to practice with something other than a business card. There are some great project ideas listed in the GDF Design Challenge (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17133) thread.

Are you planning to use the card to solicit work from clients?

[BeautyNut]

morea,

Beauty, is the business card you're working on a school project? To be honest, I've seen a lot of critiques from schools that were a lot harsher than what goes on here in the Crit Pit.


Yes, it is for a school project.
True. My teacher gives me her honest opinion.
Don't get me wrong, she is kind and helpful when giving me feedback, and I know it is only to help - not hurt me.

Second, she KNOWS that I want her honest feedback.
Some of my fellow classmates can't take critiques and suggestions for nothing - drives me crazy!

I have to remember it is NOT personal.

I will definitely look at the Challenge threads, because I DO need practice.

Honestly, yes, I would probably use this card to gather clients - in the future.

Trust me, I know my designs won't be at the top, but I do need to hear feedback and toughen my skin a little (ok, a lot). ;)

[morea]

It can be very tough to take critiques at first, but it gets easier with practice, honest!

Even the gentlest of critiques might sting at first (particularly if you're a perfectionist and you try to get every single thing "right", it can be disappointing to be told that something needs to be changed), but we can learn LOT and really grow in leaps and bounds as designers through the critiquing process.

Don't feel bad if people make suggestions to improve your work, that's how you learn! Some of the suggestions might be things that you have not been taught in school, and if you've never been taught something, you can't be hard on yourself over that.

The fact that you BELIEVE that there is something to learn makes you a lot more likely to grow from the process. (Occasionally novice designers will post in the Crit Pit expecting nothing but praise for their work and take offense to any and all suggestions made about the piece. They don't learn anything that way, and just keep on making the same mistakes over and over again.)

I don't know if you will find this article helpful, but if you're interested, here it is:
How to Accept Criticism (http://www.elfwood.com/farp/guides/takecriticism.html)

Hang in there, it gets easier.

[BeautyNut]

You are so kind, thank you.

Well, I do already have a background in design / creative type of field (my name might give it away ;) ), when I started that business at 19 years old, it was difficult to take criticism, but after a while, you are right! It gets easier, and ONLY made me better at my job.

I will be the first to admit that I am still learning and always will be, but overall, I'm a darn good stylist from my critiques and mistakes. :)

It's those that can't handle critiques and suggestions that never seem to improve and learn more. Just from my experience. :)

[Drazan]

Saying you freelance is like saying that you do this "on the side" and you are not a real business. That also leads to the illusion that clients will get your services cheaper than a real business.

If you do work and get paid for it - then it is business and should be referred to as such. it will be better for your reputation and your client mentality towards you.

Jade

[Drazan]

OH! to answer your original question, check out this link.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/04/14/designing-with-grid-based-approach/

:)
Jade

[BeautyNut]

Drazan,
Thank you.

I agree.
When I see "Freelance", I think of 'self-employed' or independent contractor (i.e. from home). Or, as you said, negotiable prices versus stable prices with a larger company.

I appreciate your help. Great site, thank you!

Don't get me wrong, there are GREAT freelance workers out there that do well, but for me, I still need a lot of practice to advertise myself as such.

I would be using this business card for employers to possibly contact me for work, maybe. :o

[Drazan]

Then definitely don't list freelance.

For the landslide of applications we get, we don't consider anyone who has an ongoing freelance business. We've found that the person tends to want to "keep" the freelance and work for us. Which is a contradiction to our clients.

It's different when you work an in house job where freelance is not a competition to the main job.

Jade

[BeautyNut]

Jade,
Good points.
Thank you for explaining a little more.
That settles if I should 'add it' or not! :p

[Tea]

I recently read Morea's link again to the how to accept criticism (which has some excellent points) and if I remember correctly, there is one part in there that struck me; that being when after 6 or 7 times people bash the same thing over and over, it does become personal.

I've read many of your posts BeautyNut and you seem to be able to handle the responses very well here as well as being appreciative of the advice and help that you receive. I think you braving out the Crit Pit of Death (that made me laugh!) is a big step in your young career!

Bring it on!

[BeautyNut]

LOL, I certainly will.

That's right -I log on here to get help - ya'll don't find me. ;)

I am very appreciate of all the help.

[CkretAjint]

What I'm afraid of - not so much the critique- IS people giving me GREAT suggestions on how to improve, and NOT knowing how to make the changes without step-by-step instructions.

Bauty, here's a little secret. That's how you learn! If you don't know how to do something, you research it and ask for help until you do know how to do it. Then you know something new and you keep building upon that until you are "good"... ;)

[CkretAjint]

Anywho, back to the original question:

Does anyone happen to have a sample grid for business cards


I am going to show you mine. but it won't do you any good. There isn't much of a grid to follow. I just aligned my items up and made sure that I liked the flow of the design over all...

http://www.thomasmaxson.com/concepts/bCardGrid.jpg

Grids and such really depend on the originator and how they want the piece to look. Using someone elses grid will get you no where...

[Tea]

I can't find the exact thing I'm looking for, but..one of the compositional methods I teach my kids is the Golden Mean and I think Ckret's card above looks like it uses it.

see here:

http://goldennumber.net/goldsect.htm

and here too (scroll down to the diagrams):

http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/design_and_the_divine_proportion/

[garricks]

Tea, could you have it filed under fibonacci?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number

[BeautyNut]

CkretAjint,

Thank you!

See, I like your layout!

I'm designing mine in that format-
logo on left side and contact information on right - straight down.

Personally, I like the feel and read of this format - simple easy and quick.

I tried reversing to logo right side, and it doesn't feel right.

Also, I don't honestly care for information scattered around.
However, I've seen plenty like this that do look nice, but not for me.

What if I don't have all that information?

I'm not including a postal address or second telephone number.
My card is basically blank, it seems. :(

Q: How did you get your image to post like that?
Screen Print feature? :cool:

[CkretAjint]

I used the built in screen grab on a Mac, shift + apple key + 4. Then draw a box around what you would like to capture.

[budafist]

I think an easy way to understand or build a simple grid is to make sure all the pieces in your composition relate to one in another by aligning at least 1 edge of the object with another edge. For example, the baseline of your name might align with the baseline of the first line of your contact details (even if your name and contact details are different sizes).

[Tea]

Tea, could you have it filed under fibonacci?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number


I thought about that too, but there is a site I have bookmarked some where (god knows where and what machine!) and it has some really beautiful diagrams with just the golden mean ratio without going into the Fibonacci Principle in depth.

The ones I posted are similar, just not as clear.

I taught my one class about the Fibonacci principle a few years back and one of my students returned after graduating and the instructors were floored that she was taught that in high school. I was smiling.:)

[CkretAjint]

Here are two more that I pulled out for you:

http://www.thomasmaxson.com/concepts/bCardGrid02.jpg

http://www.thomasmaxson.com/concepts/bCardGrid03.jpg


As you can see there isn't a set grid for any of them... It's what ever I, as the designer, want! Who knows what I could do with suck power and control... *insert villainous evil laugh* :D

[BeautyNut]

Thank you for finding those for me.

I see better now.

My poor card is going to be so bare - yet very simple!

LOL :p

[Syphon]

As you can see there isn't a set grid for any of them... It's what ever I, as the designer, want!

CkretAjint is right. Whatever design you come up with needs to be something you want or love, or the client wants. And sometimes you can come up with a cool business card design by thinking outside the box, or in this case outside the grid. BeautyNut, if you are looking for ideas for business cards, some simple, some wild, check out some of the business cards some users upload at Flickr.com (http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=business%20cards) under groups. I sometimes go there to get ideas or inspiration to improve.