Extended Practice Brief #6: Business Cards Initial Ideas [Nina X Graphic Design 2]

Following our first meet up and my initial logotype ideas, I developed some initial business card ideas. I chosen pastel colour palettes to emphasise Nina's style and the playfulness that she wanted to convey in her business card. 

• Pastel Pink - cheerful very girly
• bright and inviting
• works well with the black logotype
• LAYOUT - centred, works really well for utilising the big space in comparison to the amount of information and text available.
• It focuses the audience on the text quickly while keeping a simple and sleek layout that also corresponds to the logo on the back of the card. 
• Left aligned – quite awkward? too much white space wasted 
• Feels like it needs supporting elements like illustration etc. to help it stand properly within the design. 

• Pastel Coral/Pink - a hint of chill character to the business card
• still inviting and fun 
• also works well with the burgundy
• modern tone, not exactly typical shade of pink 
• Burgundy logotype - quite a bold colour which is still inviting and cheerful. It has a sense of luxury that isn't over the top and a classic feel that when used in the contemporary logotype gives it an overall modern tone to it.
• LAYOUT – Left aligned with Name and contact info spaced top to bottom
• Instantly feels wider and fuller on the page 
• A good space to separate the info clearly while giving the illusion of filling the gap. It gives a good balance for the information to be laid out on to the card. 
• horizontally centred – really effective in focusing the audiences attention to the important information on the card
• Familiarity – as audiences will be more familiar with reading from left to right, just like how the hierarchy of information is designed on the card. 
• good balance of white space and used space on the card dimensions as well 
• It fits will with the centred logo on the bag 
• Gives the audience a clear direction and ease to navigate the business card (flip to the left then read from left to right) fluid.

• Yellow - clear contrast to the burgundy
• joyful atmosphere
• makes it look like a business card for a food company though 
• doesn't emphasise a modern photography, fashion commercial tone
• LAYOUT – centred, works really well for utilising the big space in comparison to the amount of information and text available.
• It focuses the audience on the text quickly while keeping a simple and sleek layout that also corresponds to the logo on the back of the card. 
• Left aligned – quite awkward? too much white space wasted 
• Feels like it needs supporting elements like illustration etc. to help it stand properly within the design. 
• Illustrative background – struggling with the awkward white space, utilising the feather motif gave the business card a much more dynamic and inviting atmosphere, hints at the fine art style that Nina also works with at the same time also supports the logo by contrasting it's clean and simplistic design with something very free flowing.

Thoughts & Reflection:

Out of the three I very much prefer the centred info layout with the third logotype and illustrative background as I though it's a good balance between having a very clean and contemporary logotype with a background that entices   people and make people appreciate the business card more. The centred layout is also very familiar and easy therefore I think it's the most appropriate. It's simple bu functional. Also, it's easy to alter especially if Nina wants to put her website URL on future business cards as well. I preferred the coral pink colour as I think it's a slightly unique and stylish colour that fits the aesthetic and tone that we are aiming for the business card and the brand identity. In my meet up with Nina, hopefully we can decided on the colour and layout of the business card so that I'll start on developing physicals for them.