Business Card

I honestly don't know if I like the color choices or not. They seem to be a bit hard on the eyes, especially the part at the bottom.

I like what you've done with your name, but you may want to stick with "Designer" or "Illustrator". From this card I cannot tell what it is you actually do.

p.s.
I may just be a stick in the mud, but I am not sure bringing up diarrhea on a business card is a great idea.

When using humour in design promoting yourself you have to be VERY careful and be very tactful, imo. Using toilet humour is not the way to go about it. You want to have a little more wit.

Design-wise the colours clash and don't make sense on the character. It's kind of hard to judge when you're using a placeholder. Why not just complete your business card and post it? No offense, I'm really trying to find something nice to say about this, but I can't.
This is a step backwards.

Graphic philosopher? Really?

I hate. It's childish.

No time to watch Teletubbies again.

I updated it with the vector I made of me. Switched the layout a little bit. A little better?

congratulations this is the best card I ever seen.

HIS ARMS!!!?

Seriously though, this is better, but I must ask, I believe your hotmail address was longer before, will it still fit in such a small space to create that stair-like element?

If not, it's cool, I'm not a fan of those strips on the bottom anyways. Why not just make one solid block?

Ok! I found the idea I was looking for before! Swingles Man from Leisure Suit Larry!
FF past the boobs and half naked polygonal chicks to 3:18 but before the sexist commentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Tr42PWs6Y

Imagine your face instead, not animated of course, and this speech bubble coming out proclaiming whatever it is you want to proclaim. I can see it now.

P.S. What's a Graphic Advertiser?

Wow qwertyyale you give some really good input I realized. Very helpful. Are you even a real designer? Anyway...moving on.

Leaky Penny - yeah my address was longer before. I'm gonna end up making a new email account that shorter so people can remember better, and so that it fits. I'm not very good at vectorizing images the way some people do which is why it looks so cartoony, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Just wanted to simplify it a bit. I was thinking of doing the solid block of color...it would probably unify it a little bit more and help rest your eye at the bottom.

I see we have an Orlando Thunder fan amongst us. I'm okay with the colors (even though I was a Barcelona Dragons fan myself). The cartoon passes muster (although the eyes are spinning and could be mesmerizing me). The joke? Hmmmm... not so good. Doubt anyone would want to hire a comedian when they're looking for a designer. That's a huge piece of white space real estate on the right there too. Also tight all the way around for a business card - trimming will have to be perfect on this. Don't bet the cards on it.

PS: Last time I saw Leisure Suit Larry he was in black in white!

I think you are over-working this card and trying to cram too much into it.

You've said that your focus is advertising - and good advertising is about clarity (and often simplicity or simplification) of message. Take that approach to your card.

You have said that you (and your professor) want your humor to come through. At present I'd say the card was quirky rather than humerous.

Finally, I'm not convinced by your quote, on the face it's humerous, but you are basically saying you can't work on demand - which perhaps isn't what prospective employers or clients are looking for.

I'm with Alex. I don't get the quote. It almost insults design and designers. Like saying it is something that happens random and by accident.

Think about the statement this card (and apparently your website) is making about you. First off, if you truly feel that design is an inconvenience to you, maybe you shouldn't be doing it. Furthermore, if I were to receive your business card, I would immediately discredit you because it looks like it was done on MS Paint. Keep it simple, this card would be 100's of times better if you removed the "doodle" of you or whoever that is. Don't give people a chance to judge you and your work on your card, get their attention so that they want to see more. I can honestly say that I don't want to see anything you do based on the card alone, and you could have some great work. Don't screw yourself with a bad design right from the start.

Think about the statement this card (and apparently your website) is making about you. First off, if you truly feel that design is an inconvenience to you, maybe you shouldn't be doing it. Furthermore, if I were to receive your business card, I would immediately discredit you because it looks like it was done on MS Paint. Keep it simple, this card would be 100's of times better if you removed the "doodle" of you or whoever that is. Don't give people a chance to judge you and your work on your card, get their attention so that they want to see more. I can honestly say that I don't want to see anything you do based on the card alone, and you could have some great work. Don't screw yourself with a bad design right from the start.

I don't mean to be rude but sometimes I just can't help myself. (Ask anyone here.) Your "professor" is starting to sound like the imaginary playmate of a deeply disturbed child. Now, don't get me wrong. That is pretty much the basis of all successful advertising all rolled into one dude, isn't it? So you're probably on the right track.

Except when it comes to your business card. Have you ever seen the business cards of the most creative agencies on Mad Avenue? They could be bankers. The people who hire them are usually scared shitless about the money they're about to spend. They want to be comforted that they won't be handing it over to a bunch of kids who'll just go out and blow it on Wolverine and skateboards. Know what I mean?

Okay, now for my pure reaction to the card itself. It makes me imagine you'll know just what's wrong with my grandmother's Commodore 64. Was that what you were trying for? If not, back to the D.B.

And P.S. -- Clients don't want design coming at inconvenient times. They want it on deadline.

i have to say i'm not feeling this one, either. if your professor wants your humor to come out in the design and concept, be *creative* with how you do that. i don't think that means (or should mean) literally trying to tell a joke on the card.

sit down and think of a *concept* that shows humor. visual humor. look for inspiration elsewhere. this all looks kinda plopped on there. like "i have to do something with this text, let's put blue boxes behind it."

the best designs have good conceptual reasons behind all of the elements. not every design is a best design, but you should strive to do everything in your design for a reason. and the smaller the design and less elements there are, the more important it is that you are purposeful with how you use each element.

There is so much in this card that is so very wrong, I cannot help but wonder if you should stop consulting with this professor of yours and have a nice long chat with a guidance counselor about a possible change in career.

I could spend my time giving constructive criticism about your horrible choice of fonts, amateurish illustration, migraine inducting color scheme or the lack of any demonstrable skills in even the most basic elements of design your effort has shown.

Suggest you turn off computer, go outside, and see a great big world of opportunity waiting for you to grab it by the bollocks! Just so long as those bollocks do not include a career in design. Or anything to do with color. Certainly not typography. Possibly look into jobs "Lighthouse For The Blind" offers.

Yeah.

Why don't you go out either online or outside and find some business cards you really like and then make a list of why you like them. This will give you better direction in finding out what works. Also I would want you to go out and find some cards you really HATE and then make a list of what makes them not work. This will help you help yourself in figuring out correlations between elements, what works in general and what doesnt work in general.

Good luck!

Ok brand new concept....the other one just kept eating at me so I put it on my hard drive for future inspiration. Top is the front. Bottom is the back? I dunno but I was looking at business cards online and it occurred to me. I've never seen a business card that looks like a license plate. I think this is a lot bit more visually appealing than the other one.

Sorry but this card below is so far better (graphically too) and seem less stupid than your bc:

Why stupid? I don't know why baloons have connection with business (look slogan "Above the Crowd" is so dumb want to show the owner is rich and can buy two of them), and in your case the miniature car number plates and driver license style is a parody that satisfy only your fantasy but seems repugnant and bad joke for me and others that receive it. :x

Oh...my...God...

This really just shows you can mimic the design of a license plate and a driver's license. Doesn't really show anything fresh or creative.

clean and simple, that's where you should be heading.

Hey hey, shout out to NJ, I spent my high school years there!

Here's a good round up of creative cards (scroll half way through, but pay special attention to the minimalist cards)

Well... here's the thing. I don't understand the "humorous card" idea at all. To me, it's not a good idea to have a funny business card. Why your professor is pushing you in this direction is beyond me, quite frankly. But that said....

I like this one. If you're going to do silly - this is silly. People would remember this imo. Again - NOT recommending you go this route - exactly the opposite, I say do something professional looking. But I'd rather you hand me this one than the silly cartoon thing that looks like a 12 yr-old did it. At least this one has a touch of irony to it.

Your target audience is in New Jersey!? I take it all back. It's brilliant!

oh no! EMPTY comic bubble
your brain is empty dude

Well what do you think I should put in there? I thought that too...but something like a light bulb or a brain is too cliché

That speech bubble has come straight from the logo i uploaded the other day, all you need is a little asian chap talking into it!!!

the phone, mail icons are unnecessary and childish again

the spaces / grid / margins on second picture are bad calculated.

Yes! Thank you for giving up the humorous crap. This works so much better on so many levels. Couple of pointers...

The front is too tight to the edges - give it an 18 point safety margin between edge and art all the way around (or more if it looks better - it's not like you need the space). Then stack all the contact info flush right in the bottom corner. The icons are okay for me, except I'd change the website icon to a mouse or world or something to give the company name at the top exclusivity to the talk bubble (not repeating it, iow). The Y extending down is also okay with me because otherwise it would be just a straight type solution. You might also try moving the talk bubble up so it's coming out of the t's "mouth". Just try it and see if you like it.

Overall - 1000x better than a comedian's business card.

Definitely heading in a MUCH nicer direction. This is FAR more appealing than any of your others. The color scheme alone made me want to see more.