Meaty

A meaty solution to business cards. It is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd and find new ways to say hello. These business cards above, are made from some sort of dried cured meat (jerky or similar). Relevance is the key to making a impactful card and they have certainly got it right for this survival training company. The edible cards are not only functional for informing people of the employees contact details, but can be used also as much needed nourishment on trips and expeditions. Very clever!




And again, meat is the theme. This innovative butchers "La Charcuterie" have created salami stickers. Stickers, which look like slices of salami! I believe that the translation from French means that they also specialise in pork. Correct me if I am wrong here. But a fantastic idea to make their rather minimalist business stationery relevant and appealing.

Business Card Fever

Having recently embarked on some freelance work, designing business systems for friends and family, I have become obsessed with original designs and outstanding execution. The one shown above is a card for a fitness instructor which is made out of rubber. The information on the card is unreadable until the user pulls the two edges and stretches the rubber surface to reveal it. I personally think that this is precisely what a business card should do. It should demonstrate exactly the business of the person named on the card. Execution such as this isn't seen enough in the working world and deserves to be noticed. Often the design will make you laugh like the one below which is the business card of a debt recoverer, giving the clear but tongue in cheek message that if you do not repay your loans then he will break your bones.



Above is another great card for a dentist, which shows embossed teeth that reflects the patients teeth cast which they often have during treatment. It provides the card bearer with an idea of what is to come. Therefore it acts as more than just the container for basic information and contact details. Instead it goes beyond to hint at the experience or service to be provided. Whether that is good or bad!

I recently purchased the book Business Cards 2: More Ways Of Saying Hello which has some fabulous examples of great card design. This website
Cool Business Card Designs has a good few examples also. I should mention the film American Psycho here, since there is a funny part in that about business cards. That can also be found on the site.