what's with the dots? and why are you highlighting punctuation in your phone number. the proportions all around are way off. The picture (you?) is to big, if you insist on using it at all... so is the address on back.

I like the concept of the bracket going from the photo to pertinent info, but you need to bring it into line.

If you do use the photo, then clean up the stray lines on your chin and near your hair. it doesn't fit with the cleanliness of the cards.

but still... why are you using a photo anyways?

Thought it was a nice way to give an image of myself other than just pasting a photo on there.

I personally think it's a nice start.

Things I would change:

Clean up the vector image - as was mentioned, lose the odd lines around the chin... and I'd make it more smooth. The current vector photo is pretty jaggy while the rest of your card consists of nice smooth elements.

I would set up those dots in the corners so there is equal spacing between all of them, and I would make them so they're the same size, respectively both on the front and the back (front dots appear to be smaller than back dots).

There's something that's bugging me about the orange periods between the phone digits... I'd either make the entire text of the phone digits grey, including the periods, or, maybe play around and make the periods into bullets so they're centered vertically with the digits instead of resting at the bottom.

My eyes are trying to seek some sort of consistency with the design elements between the front and back of the card... and while I like the large dots on the back, they don't mix well with the bracket on the front of the card. I realize if you hold this card in your hand, you're not going to see the two sides at the same time, but I think my eyes would be seeking more consistency in design elements from the front to the back of the card. Only consistencies are the colors and the corner dots (well, the corner dots are kind of consistent - they'll be really consistent if you make them the same size both front and back).

I'd play around with the bracket concept some more, perhaps try removing the large dots on the back and replace them with something else...

But all that said (and it was a lot) I still think you're off to a really strong start. You have very good use of white space, which I really like. And I like the font choice.

Woops - one other thing... why the "www" in front of your email address? Is that really your email address? (first I've seen an email address like that).

Samantha, I think this is a fresh, interesting card. The different-sized dots don't bother me at all, nor does using a spot color for the periods in your phone numbers. I'm not wild about the idea of using a photo -- we've talked about this with other designers -- but at least posterizing it gives it a creative edge that takes it away from looking like a real estate agent's card. If you do use it, absolutely clean up the chin and lower lip. Those weedy things are creepy.

Ask your printer about the teeny-weeny dots near the corners, and the thin rules so near the edge. This will be a die-cut card. That, plus being double-sided and with all the tight registration, might be either much more expensive than you want, or the result will be disappointing.

So...howze business in Wheeling?

Mara

Thanks Mara,

I will work on those. Wheeling is a pretty small town. We don't have much graphic design business at all. I was working for a friend of mine for a while helping him launch his business with design, but now I'm currently unemployed, so now I've got to get another job (probably retail...blah!). I'm only a junior in college, so I've got a little while before I graduate. I visit Pittsburgh often and visit their design studios to make contacts and such, but I definitely know I can't work around here, I'll probably have to move into the city or elsewhere.

Thanks for asking.

=)

to say the balance is "way off" is a far fetched statement. this feels clean and new. While the dots are in fact different, they are nicely done. the only ones i'd change is the three little ones in the corner on the front and back should be about the same size. And the only other change is the black typography for the website. It seems slightly heavy in comparison to the rest of the card, especially with part of it in orange. Maybe replace the black for the grey color your already using.

As for the picture, i again agree with Mara, it's something we've discussed with past people on here. I agree, the styling of it makes a huge difference, but i bet you could easily remove it and fix up the front with just the typography for something interesting.

all in all, i like this, it's off to a good start and just needs minor tweaks here and there. keep up the good work, and p.s. the idea of sticking your head in to design firms to make contacts is a great one!
____________________________________________
Architectural Technician - Multimedia Designer
www.ArchMedia.us

few random thoughts.

so... what's the difference between "T" and "H" for numbers? one is telephone and one his home? if it's your business card, pick one number to be a business number and just put that there.

the point size on your contact info seems a little bigger than it needs to be. and your title a little small.

the dots might be a little interesting, but i'm curious, do they mean anything? i.e., why do you have three dots in the top left and bottom right corner of the back and front of the cards? do they relate to something in particular? and the big dots on the contact side... not sure they do much for me. if you do keep them, be careful to make sure the screened orange dots don't disappear. i almost didn't see them in the jpg file. i was trying to figure out the random placement of the gray ones and then noticed there were really pale orange ones there, too.

anyway, my point with that was trying to understand what made you decide to use the dots in the card design. they seem kind of random to me.

The reason why I used the dots on both sides of the card was to have them correlate so there is a connection between the front side of the card and the back. I wanted the viewer to see connection between both sides.

i can see that the dots on the front correlate with the dots on the back. but i think you missed my point. i was wondering why did you choose to use three dots in the first place?

I like the bracketed name and colour and font selects, but do not like the photo use, even though it's been stylized. I'd truly only use it if you're into cartooning or are an I.D. specialist.

"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
— Frank Zappa

Small suggestion...

buy a domain name and use it for your email address. It only costs a few bucks and looks a whole lot more professional than a yahoo email address.

You don't really even need to put up a site right away, just use the email for now.