Hi everyone!

As part of my photography course, I have to track my development on a blog. The posts from September 2011 until January 2012 are part of a module called Project Management, for which I was required to work in a group of eight students to create an exhibition. The blog followed every step we took in order to create a successful gallery. The blog posts starting from September 2012 follow my final year on the course. I'll be documenting my research and analysis of my final year projects, as well as include notes of my Professional Practice unit - which prepares us for a range of post graduate options. Finally it also looks at a project called New Creatives, where I'll be working alongside an artists to help college students get more involved with art.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Business cards...

Business cards are an important way of promoting ourselves in a quick and easy manner. They are almost like small leaflets but can easily fit in someone wallet. In a lecture about CV writing, my group and I started talking about business cards and whether we wanted to have them at our event, what quality the cards should be and what information has to be on them. 

The picture to the right shows the front and back of 4 business cards I got hold of. The first one is mine, the second one belongs to the group 14 metres square, the fourth one is Laura's and the last one is Tom's. All of them are very different from one another and all have their positives and negatives. 
I'll start with my business card. Obviously I am going to be quite biased about my card as I have created it myself. I feel that it states all the important information and having a photograph on there shows what kind of photographer I am. I decided to have a plain backside because I didn't want to repeat any information. The main focus is the front. I got mine printed for free at Vistaprint so the paper quality is optimum. It is printed on card paper and is slightly smaller in size than professionally printed business cards. Although since mine were free, I am very happy with what I have received. 

The second business cards has the same paper quality to mine, although I am not sure where they got theirs printed. Again it is a very simple design and has all the important information on the front, other than the website. They did make use of the back side of it. They decided to put the website on the back as well as a QR code so people could easily access the website. I think this is quite handy because they haven't got an easy domain name.

The third business card by Laura has a similar layout to mine, very simple and easy to understand. Her paper is a lot better quality though, it is very thick and has a matt finish. I really like the paper quality, but I suppose you get what you pay for! Since I got mine for free, I couldn't expect a finish like hers. 

Lastly are Tom's business cards. They also have a really nice quality to them, although they aren't my favourite business cards. It all comes down to personal taste and I am not a big fan of his layout. I do think that he has included all the important information like his website, email and phone number. On the back he has added his phone number again and a QR code so people with a smart phone can easily access his website.

Since all of these business cards are so different from one another I do feel like I have learnt something. We haven't been taught anything about how to create a business card or anything similar so creating these is completely down to a creative mind. It also shows different uses for business cards. Mine, Laura's and Tom's are all about our own photography, 14 metres squared is a business card for an exhibition. Looking at the business cards has also shown what different types of layouts and qualities are available. I decided to go for the cheapest option of business cards because I will never make any profit from business cards. Spending over £30 on these cards is quite a lot of money when you haven't got any kind of income from your work. I do think that once I am earning money from my photographs, I am more likely to order better quality business cards but for now I think I'll stick with free ones! 

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