3 posts tagged “business cards”

I first made and designed my own business card back in high school. And I made not just one design but several. Now you might say, “Who would want a business card from a nobody, high school student?” Simple. My friends.

“I have a number to give out so I might as well do it in style,” I thought. So I conjured up my own business cards back in 1996 or so. Yes, I had no knowledge of other design programs back then and still Corel Draw was a bit new and troublesome for me. Anyhow, all I needed back then was MS Word and clip art images. I also only had the Paintbrush tool where I would make my own designs. I would later copy and paste these designs and lay them out in a blank Word document for printing. I was off to a good start with MS Word. I felt I could print anything.

So there, I have had sheets of my own business cards. Back then of course, my print outs weren’t exactly those of a professional 4 color business card printing company. They were actually a far cry, so there. But it really did give me a sense of freedom – as to who I could be, which facet of me should I reveal on my cards and so on. I kept playing on with different designs and I felt I could be anybody. The possibilities were absolutely liberating. It’s realizing big fantasies on such small 2 x 3 spaces. Isn’t that weird?!

There were stars, unicorns, rainbows and bears on one business card. On another, there were paintings of famous artists. On others, there were just these collections of crazy fonts. I printed pastel colors, dark colors, neutral ones, greys and so on.

I even bought all kinds of paper I could get my hands on. Simple bond papers are no good, except of course for text prints. I printed on board stock, on colored paper, on neon paper, paper with metallic finish, pearlized colors, paper with all sorts of texture, and so on. I think I even printed sticker business cards.

Consequently, I learned my ABCs on printing from such experience no matter how limited it may seem.

I knew better what to expect when printing on colored paper, on highly-textured paper or paper with uneven surface, and on paper with a smooth feel versus ones with a rough feel among others..

Nowadays, with the complexity of design software programs and with the confusing resolution, of dpi’s and ppi’s, and file formats, I sometimes wonder “Do we get to toy around with printing and design anymore?” I guess I better buy my Dummy guides soon.

Call me a decrepit geezer.

I have just watched the first season of Heroes after months of its release. I have got to say, it certainly did come as close as it can get to reality. Something about Heroes and the characters’ everyday life and activities make it so life-like and not quite at all.

What I am trying to say is that, at one point or another and not just in a nerd’s fantasy, we all have wondered what it is like to have superpowers. Through Heroes, we see it transferred unto the screen but in a more realistic fashion. If you have had the desire to stop time, wouldn’t you have done the same thing as Hiro Nakamura?

Somewhere along the way, you forget X-men and you still remember them with this show. What makes me say that? Well, like all stories, there are villains and there are plots of world domination or doom. That’s when you know it is along the coast of comic books heroes, other than the suspense and drama television series brings.

If I would produce a knock-off of Heroes, I would give the characters superpowers to do incredible things in the office. If this doesn’t say ordinary, everyday life, I don’t know what else is there.

One of the characters would have Xerox vision, reproducing business documents with one look. The phone operator would have the power of suggestion that will enable him or her to put callers on hold without any trouble. And of course, there’d be a super-villain who continues to cloak himself, stealing office supplies stealthily and bringing them home. One day the stapler, next the office chair.

Imagine too if these office superheroes had business cards. I wonder now what those business card designs would be and what would it say? Hmmm….this has got to be the hardest part.

Yeah, it wouldn’t be a top-rated show that’s for sure. But it still is a hilarious thought, even for a second.

I am getting way too ahead of myself. If I had superhuman powers, on one hand, I think I be like the other Heroes characters that were killed by Sylar. Moving and living our lives to the fullest. I don’t think I would be the type who would band up with the others and form some sort of Justice League.

Besides, in this day and age, life’s biggest threats aren’t in the form of one person. It is many things that continue to change our world, and maybe even us.

And with all the things that we have to wake up to everyday, aren’t the drudgeries of life already enough? This is what makes Heroes quite addicting to watch, especially the first season, for as humans we are already troubled by the seemingly small things that occupies our everyday lives. What more of the notions of power, responsibility and the seemingly inescapable fate to do something for the world?

Although it may seem like I am overly obsessed with this topic, I don’t know if I will be a part of Heroes following. Reason one, I am reading too much into it and it can be a bit frustrating to predict what’s going to happen.

But then again, who is Mr. Linderman?

If Britney Spears were to have a business card, what do you think it would look like? If Michael Jackson has one, would it say King of Pop? I can just imagine if Michael Jackson were to have one, there’s be just his feet, moonwalking across the business card in signature black pants, white socks, black shoes. You get the idea right?

I have stopped to ponder on these thoughts as I attempt to come up with a brilliant business card design. It should be something that is simple, yet captivating. It would be unique, trendy yet elegant. There are so many adjectives I can use to describe what I would want, but the problem is, I just can’t think of any.

Right now, I am too busy of dreaming up of dreams, of other people’s business cards. Imagine if all sorts of famous celebrities had a business card, what would it look like and what would have been written down on it?

Funny, this one just came to mind. What if today’s celebrities associate themselves with their most famous movie or television series? Wouldn’t it be quite hilarious if it said Teri Hatcher, Desperate Housewife?

Ah, my imagination is just running away with me. And we haven’t gotten to the material or the appearance of these business cards.

Maybe Paris Hilton would have perfumed her business cards with her own scent. Maybe Donald Trump would include a little tuft of hair on the business cards, showing everyone his famous hairdo. (You know. It’s the one similar in children’s book where a patch of material would imitate the texture of a cloud? Well why not the Donald’s hair with highlights, right?)

I tell you what, with these kinds of ideas, these surely won’t turn out like any old cheap business cards. I mean, if you can afford a foil stamping made out of 24karat gold, who wouldn’t do it right? There are various kinds of clients coming from the rich and famous. You can even go all out and add some diamonds in there to make your business cards truly and literally sparkle.

Hmmm…may be we can even put in a small chip in the business card so when Diana Ross hands out her business cards, it’ll automatically sound off with “It’s my turn…” or Celine Dion would belt out “My heart will go on and on….”

And oh, I can just imagine all the things you can do with your business cards. Glitters, sequins, scratch n’ sniff and all that to make them stand out. Imagine if you had George Clooney’s business card and it had scratch n’ sniff in it, would that just be a fanciful idea. Think of how musky his cologne might be. I bet it’ll be one business card you wouldn’t want to part with.