I ran out of business cards at my last fair.
The cards have my details on one side (modflowers and the tagline “textile creations from vintage fabric”, plus my Etsy shop address, website and email details) with photographs of some of the vintage fabric designs in my collection on the other.
I haven’t changed the design of them in an age, partly because they are pretty and eye-catching (judging from how many people pick them up at fairs anyway!) and partly because designing new ones is, frankly, a right palaver. As anyone who has done it will know.
It’s so much easier to just reprint the same designs than to redesign them from scratch, because this involves all sorts of decisions…
What sort of “branding” to go for? Picking fonts, colours and layout options; working out what details to include and what to leave out; deciding which photos to use… and then having to change the photos (usually more than once) because the ones you picked were too blurry / the wrong size / not bright or colourful enough… * sigh*… you get the general idea. 
However, my existing cards feel increasingly like a me that isn’t me any more. So I decided at the weekend that I couldn’t put off the evil task of designing new cards any longer.
Oh, how I wish I earned the kind of money that allowed me to pay someone who knows what they are doing to sort this kind of thing out for me!
I don’t know whether it’s better to have a clear idea of what you want before you start, or to be just open to whatever seems to look best. I sort of have a foot in both camps, knowing that I want photos of my dolls and creatures rather than of fabrics, clear minimal branding and nothing too fancy or quirky, but not really knowing how to pull all that together.
I ended an afternoon of faffing about with no more idea of whether what I had designed was any good than when I started.
I even asked for opinions in a group I’m in on Facebook, only to be presented with a further selection of dilemmas…
Do I include my Etsy shop address to make it easy for folks to shop, or do I direct everyone to my website? Which social media should I mention and which should I leave out? Aaaarrrrghhh!
Anyway, I’ve had enough of it for now. Whilst cleaning out the spare room for my Aussie niece’s visit I happened upon a box of old Vistaprint cards I got for free when I first started sewing. So despite the fact that these have the wrong web address printed on them (my old WordPress.com blog redirects to my current website anyway) I am just going to apologise in advance to any of you who receive one of these with your orders in the meantime.
Oh, and if you are interested, I am going to be selling a few bits in time for Christmas via my Facebook page and my Instagram – That’s one thing I have decided (though I had to run a poll on Facebook first, and I haven’t yet fixed a date.)
Apparently decisions are just not my forte. ♥
A bit of a refresh every now and then is good, no matter how painful the process.
As someone who managed major design projects for over 20 years, may I offer some thoughts? Your brand, web and email address on the front. Social media stuff on the back, with the symbols for FB, P, Tw, G+ etc next to the relevant addresses. You are less about the vintage fabric sales now, but have a strong presence with your dolls and creatures, so photos of fabric aren’t as relevant any longer. And that’s my tupp’orth.
Thanks Kate!
I’m using a basic layout template on the print website moo.com, as I don’t have Photoshop or Illustrator to produce a design from scratch. This limits what I can do with layout, fonts, etc. to a quite small range of options. Which is fine, but brings it’s own challenges.
I don’t like using social media icons much (I find them ugly unless reworked to fit with branding / relevant colours) and I don’t have the option to use them anyway. So I can either use words, or leave the social media details off altogether and just have my web and email address on the cards. I’ve chosen the latter (hopefully so they look streamlined and minimal, rather than cluttered and tacky!)
I’m still trying to decide whether to have a range of different photos on the other side of the cards, or just pick the best and go with one design. I’m tending towards a range at the moment, but might need to do a photo session to get enough decent quality photos of the correct orientation and quality.
I’m hoping my niece with her posh DSLR camera might be up for helping me out!
Within the scope of what you can do, I reckon you’ve chosen the best option, then! Good luck, and I hope you’ll show us what you end up with.
Your cards are cute with the dear face of your doll on it! I’d reference your Etsy shop and your website if you have the room. Can your Aussie niece help you sort this out? Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Happy Holidays!
Hi, I love your branding. I just wanted to say that I think your original tag line reads more accurately. The new one sounds like you are selling vintage dolls and creatures. Just a thought. I have to do new cards too, what a nightmare! I have all the same issues as you. Would be interested to know what you think of the Moo cards.
Sorry Angele, I only just spotted this. Moo cards are lovely. The quality is better than any others I’ve tried. Thanks for the comment!