New Business Cards, Website Matching and Overall Design

i know your website has more white - still i would prefer the number 1 option with black background- that looks more 'elegant' and 'exquisite'.

I'm looking at this on my screen and it's about 50% bigger than the actual printed card will be...so I'm a little concerned about the size of the type. It looks cool, but is it going to be too hard to read, especially with all the varnish pizzazz going on around it? I think so. Increase the type size. And not just a tiny point...see if it's easy to read when printed at 100%.

The black card is great. Love the type, and the rounded corners. Looks very sophisticated. Type size is fine, and classy, I dont think it is too small.

Hi Nick

First off - I am a big fan of rounded corners. I love rounded business cards too. It's hard to explain why, but I guess the feel of a rounded business card is more pleasurable then the sharp edges of a square-edged one.

I don't think your business card necessarily has to use the same colours as your site - if anything using contrasting colours is a good idea. Once someone has used the address on your biz card the likelihood is they'll toss it away anyway.

Spot UV is a lovely finish and I think your design could work well for it.

So why the low scores? Typography.

The typography and the layout of the text is not too hot. Your first big problem is size. On my screen your card is enlarged to probably a good 3/4 times the size that it will be printed but already the text that contains your web address and details is barely readable. When printed to scale, I wouldn't be surprised if instead of text it's just a cluster of pixels.

This is part of a problem a lot of graphic designers have that web designers don't.

I also would stand against using century gothic. Whilst CG is a lovely font, it really isn't fitting here with the geometric slanted lines of your design. The font clashes with these lines too badly. I also take issues with the use of upper/lower case. I'm not sure why, but having the name lowercase and then "photography" uppercase just isn't working for me.

You've also got padding issues - the text looks odd because your name is really close to the top of the black bar but far from the bottom. Regardless of the info text, I'd suggest having the same amount of vertical space.

So those are my main issues. I also don't really understand why there is a complete lack of your photography itself. It seems odd for a photographer not to utilize his work on his business card, it almost suggests you're not too proud of it, which you should be! So my suggestion is that whatever you do with this side, the reverse should purely be one of your photographs - something unique and beautiful which fits in well.

I hope this is all useful to you - and good luck!

I still like the black, however, I still feel the type may be a tad too dark. Two final thoughts to consider on this:

1. We're viewing these drafts on bright, backlit, LCD monitors/computer screens. You aren't going to have that light source with the printed version.
2. The on-screen graphics of these concepts are not at actual size; the thumbnail is about 5.25" x 3" and the enlarged view is about 8.5" x 5". Most biz cards are around 3.5" x 2", so you may want to print one out at that size. I have a feeling the word "PHOTOGRAPHY" is going to be especially difficult to make out if it's printed in that shade of gray.

Call me Paranoid Patty, by I wish I could show you some comparison examples of past client work where the color varied between the on-screen digital proofs and the final printed products. And printers rarely offer do-overs in situations like this, especially when premium treatments are used.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

I love the look of this card. And I especially love that you have made your name the most obvious and memorable element.

Personally, I'd probably go with this, and see how it works in the field, but ...if you want to fiddle with it some more, you could try experimenting with moving your name to a different region of the card, rendering it differently to make it even more obvious, thereby freeing up a little space in that bard to expand the size of the fonts for the rest of the info.

A qualifying remark: I think biz cards mostly serve to help people in the moment of first meeting to NOT stumble by forgetting a name. Secondly, they are artifacts that often collect dust on a desk until much later. Whatever you do, make it unique, interesting, and be sure it clarifies your unique value proposition.