OUGD603. Extended Practice. Jessica Martin Branding. Development - Business Cards

i went onto indesign in order to do some design development and try to establish some working business card layouts.

i began by developing some basic grids in indesign to work with. i then dropped the basic logo into the grid -

while considering the placement of the logo i considerd how i could visualise the idea and theme of photography while maintaining the simplicity of the logo and layout. i cam up with some simple vectors that embodied photography quite simply and well -

i also considered some more colour variations -

having digitally considered some logo side layouts i then went on to develop the text side of the business card

i wanted this to be simple and easily read to contrast the visual side and to deliver the relevant informnationm to any potential customers of the clients.

as before i produced a grid that i stuck to and then proceeded to explore a variety of typefaces, some serif and some sans-serif, all of which i thought could have easily embodied the professional/playful domena of jessica martin.

gil sans -

didot -

century gothic -

century schoolbook -

i then showed these designs to the client and advised her that i thought the gil sans variation was the strongest because it communicates professionalism and structure but is not overly formal like some of the serif fonts are whcih wouldnt be in line with jessica herself. she agreed and gave me the go ahead to print.

i considered doing a front side black on black and did some test prints -

i decided while sometimes a strong look this style didnt work this time and so i discarded that concept and went back to developing the other styles.

i found out that moo ( http://uk.moo.com/ )  do an offer in which they will print ten designs onto business cards for free and a taster/sample pack for the customer. i thought this would be a good idea to do both because it would allow me to see what professional print would add to the designs but also because if jessica decided she wanted to get a pack printed for use then she would be able to choose the design she liked the most from a physical sample.

they look really nice and cleanly printed however i felt like in order to relate to my design practice and to give her something a bit more personal i would need to produce the cards myself.

i deicded on this path and proceeded to screen print the cards by hand to then hand mount them.

i began by laying out the cards front and back in in design ready to print for exposure.

i then proceeded to clean and expose the screens ready for print. i chose the black stock and off white stock from the library as the two sides and printed the logo side in white on black and the text side inm black on white.

unfortunately on the logo side i made the crop lines too fine and when exposed onto the screen they didnt really come through and so i was forced to measure out the lines by hand in order to curt each card out of the stock to mount onto the mounting stock.

i used one of the moo cards for size reference in order to try and maintain continutity in size while cropping the cards.

because i had decided that a white/black double contrast would work most effectively for the main body of each side of the business cards i considered houw i could involve som colour. jessica is a bubbly and colourful person and photographer but the black/white communicates her professionalism so in order to involve a hint of colour and playfullness i decided to mount in a triplex format using the middle stock as the colour.

i produced 3 different sets for different purposes:

- 1 set mounted on thick mount stock - the purpose of these cards are to make an impact on the audience. their intended setting is alongside any work showing in galleries or exhibitions. since these cards are too thick for easy portability, and would not fit into a wallet sleeve, they are intended to be picked up by an exhibition audience, who might include potential clients, and stay with them in their pocket or bag and, because of the size and durability, they will not get lost or forgotten about like more flimsy business cards could. in this way jessicas business will be more likely to be selected by clients because of this larger physical reminder.


- 1 set mounted on standard weight brilliant yellow GF Smith stock - the purpose of this set is to make an impact on customers who jessica might meet while out and about. unlike the thick ones these are easily transported and fit into wallets and purses etc.  intended for light hearted meet and greet situations or small talk circumstances, this set embodies jessicas energetic and kind hearted attitude and personality.

- 1 set mounted on standard weight cool mint GF Smith stock - this set works more in line with the above set however the colour tone used in the central split is intended more for the professional side of her postential meets. while still colourful, thew cool mint turquoise communicates a more professional, engaged, and motivated aura about jessica. this set is perfect for business clients, potential job/studio applications or meeting, and such.




i made a mini mounting station at home where i cut the stocks to size, cropped the business cards and mounted them together using spray mount then alowed them to dry.

the final outcome photography can be found on a separate post under the same base title.