Critique: Business Card/Logo

[uberfoto]

Ok so I have been using this logo and the orange color for quite some time now. I designed some business cards last year but never had them printed because I wasn't ecstatic about the design. I am constantly learning new tricks and getting new ideas and since my own card & logo will, in a sense, be the showcase to my abilities and style, I am always updating it or changing something around to make it look better. I thought I would let it sit until I was sure of the colors, logo and style I was going for. It's been ~2 years now and things have become more stable so...

After reading around and getting some feedback from others in the field, I have made some revisions and come up with, what I feel, is something I could be happy with for a while.

I would love some honest feedback and first impressions to make sure I am giving the right impression myself.

I am having a hard time coming up with a place to put PHOTOGRAPHY and DESIGN. I feel like I don't have room for it anywhere. On the other hand, it isn't that important to include anyway because those I give my card to already know what it is I do.

So be brutal, I love the criticism! Just don't say "I hate it because it sucks." You have to give me a reason!

The gray around the card is so you can see the card against the MR BG. White card on white BG didn't work...

 

[shecky]

type is very hard to read, tracked too close together.

"TM" is unnecessary and detracts from the mark.

 

[MagicWok]

I prefer the the one with just the webaddress on their actually. I like picking up cards with simple web adresses on their, it makes me want to check it out as I am curious. That is just me, others will be just too lazy.

Regarding the other cards shown, you don't need the 'design copy' either side of the logo. It detracts from thing, and actually makes the card seem unbalanced, to the left.

The UF logo needs playing about with a little I think before it's done. The bottom half of the U does not seem to work well at the moment. I think you need to come up with some variations of what you have at the moment. What does it look like with a lowercase 'f'? What happens if you align the top of the 'U' with 'F'? What happens if you try a different scale, much larger or smaller? Also, try raising the '..', as they are too low at the moment. It needs pushing to get something that works a bit better. But I like where it is at the moment.

Also think about the typeface you have chosen for the contact details, I'm not sure that it is a great choice, but have another look round at the typefaces. The choice of typeface means as much as the logo itself, it's a companys' identity too.

 

[uberfoto]

Sorry, the card is two sided; web address on one side and name/logo/contact info on the other.

Yeah, the U looks like it has some issues. The curve doesn't blend well with the verticals. I'll have to fix that somehow.

Trying a lower case F is a really cool idea! But it wouldn't match the entire logo. Here is the logo:

The UF is more of a symbol or crest or whatever you want to call it.

The typeface was chosen because it is similar to the logo itself. Do you have any suggestions for something else I SHOULD be using? Better yet, what would you use and why? I am going for simple/smooth/a little bold/with a modern look

I changed the kerning and got rid of the TM and the photo/design words (thank goodness). Are you sure I don't need the TM on there? I agree, it looks muy bueno without.

 

[Blue Velvet]

I like it, especially after some of the revisions. Would make a nice 2 spot-colour job with a matt laminate.

But I disagree strongly with the minimal web-only address approach. If I have a business card in front of me, I don't want to be faffing around trying to get your phone number from your website. I may not even be in front of a computer at the time. Don't make things difficult for a potential customer.

I also appreciate a short descriptor of the service because when I'm going through a set of business cards, I want to be reminded again what it is you do.

However, what I would also say is that as the number of elements in a piece are reduced in number, their relative sizes, positions, relationships to each other become increasingly critical.

I get the feeling that the size and positioning of the two elements on the front of the card is not quite right but without seeing a printed proof without the grey borders, feel unsure of my ability to say exactly what it is that doesn't sit right.

When I present designs that are predominantly white as comps to my clients, I create PDFs from them, then place those PDFs at 100% (in Quark or InDesign) against a 30% grey background on a much larger page size so that everyone can see exactly what they will look like.

 

[uberfoto]

I updated the files in previous post. Is that easier to envision?

 

[mkrishnan]

I like the versions in response #4 a lot, also.

 

[LeviG]

I like this one

but I think you should centre everything, your logo isnt centred on the page and I feel your info would better suit it if it was centred.

Although as you say its double sided then all I would have is the UF on this side

 

[Blue Velvet]

I updated the files in previous post. Is that easier to envision?

Better. I still would like to see more than just a web address, though.

One person above said it had something to do with laziness. No... it's about effective communication. You're not trying to start a viral campaign with these cards, you're using them to brand yourself and attract business.

We send a lot of work out to freelancers and design agencies. We send a hell of a lot of work to various printers... all of them have their phone number on their cards. If I need to talk to you quickly, I want your contact details. Leaving them off the card is a design affectation that hinders communication. The card is not for you, it is for others.

As far as positioning on the front goes, I feel it's a little bottom-heavy. The strap at the bottom could come up and in slightly and the central element could also come up very slightly and over to the right a little so it looks optically-centred. The 'U' part of the logo is the part that seems to have the most visual weight so shifting things over might help give a little more balance.

 

[uberfoto]

The UF is centered exactly but since it isn't symmetrical it may not look visually centered. I redrew the UF with the pen tool using a grid to make sure all of the curves were perfect. The funky curve transitions should be gone this time and I finally have a vector based logo to work with. (Been meaning to do that forEVER!)

I'm going to play with the positioning on the "front" (name and UF side) of the card. I printed one off and I am not sure I like having my name at the bottom. It looks a like I added it as an after thought or like it is being pushed off the bottom by the UF logo. I am ok with it being bottom heavy I guess...

I am up in the air about adding my phone number to the card. I had it on at first but took it off because I am not so sure I want to give my phone number to EVERYBODY I hand a card to. I will write it on if I have to even though that may be tacky.

And THANK YOU for the critiques! You guys/gals are really helping! I really do appreciate it.

 

[dogbone]

I'm not sure why the left side of the 'U' is lower and the dots shifted right.

 

[sushi]

Probably because I live in Japan and see business cards with English on one side and Japanese on the other, I prefer all the information on one side, whether there is a translation on the back side or not.

I find that the orange text is hard to read.

Because I deal with many non-tech type folks, I find that having your name before the info@... would be confusing to some. They might try to put yournameinfo@... so I would keep it separate with more spaces or on a different line.

Like the look of the U with dots. Pretty cool and eye catching to me.

 

[stephenproc]

business card suggestions

Hi!
At first glance they look great!- the name and logo are excellent- fashionable yet minimal and classic.
Some minor
possible improvements could be however:
1.using silver and grey (lose the orange and black)- there has been a trend away from contrast towards 'texture'= created with differenct tones rather than contrasting clolurs.
2. use an angular instead or radiused box- the trend is towards champfers instead of radii
3. read Ries and Ries; 22 immutable laws of branding and then rethink if you want to do photos AND design