Your business card isn’t just some way to share your contact info. It represents you and your company, and it can be a great way to make a first impression. So how does a professional lighting designer make a big impact with his business card? With a design that’s completely dependent on light.
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In a time when business cards
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People complain about having to use antiquated business cards to pass along contact details, but they’re not going away anytime soon. So instead of complaining, the folks at TouchBase simply found a way to make business cards smarter. To access someone’s contact info, all you need to do is tap these business cards on your smartphone’s display.
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Even with perfect typography, a stunning design, or a novel shape, a business card is still an antiquated way to share your contact details. So the folks over at TechKeys—makers of custom keyboards—wanted to design a card that reflected their work and left a lasting impression—and what better way to do that than with a business card that doubles as a working keyboard.
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Though slowly becoming antiquated, the business card is still the easiest way to make a great first impression with a new contact. Your choice of design, fonts, even paper says a lot about you. So imagine the impression you’ll leave when you hand someone your contact details laser-etched onto a piece of beef jerky—you’ll soar up that corporate ladder.
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Here’s a brilliant way to drum up new business if you’re an optometrist. Myung Dong, an eye doctor in Jeju, South Korea, found the perfect way to convince the local elderly population that they could benefit from glasses or other vision treatments: a business card featuring a self-administered eye test.
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Ever wondered how those crazily clad cosplayers promote themselves to each other? Well according to Nikkei’s Trendy just like most professionals in Japan they use business cards, though perhaps not the most traditional kind.
Image via cosplay.exblog
Business card exchange in Japan (meishi koukan ) is the most important method of professional self-introduction in Japan. Forgetting or running out of cards in more formal settings can lead to embarrassment, as others are unable to judge your status in the group. This is why we always tell clients visiting Japan for business or networking to “bring plenty of cards!”, which in their mind usually translates into 20 when it should be 50+.
Image via uniearth.jp
However, when these cosplayers exchange business cards they are promoting their fantasy persona, a character from an alternative reality who they try to embody through fashion, make up and lifestyle. The cards feature their character name, photo, and contact address rather than company and job title.
Image via A-one
Of course cosplayers wont just have one costume that they don, or character role that they play, which could certainly lead to a lot of printing and perhaps confusion.
Offering to solve this dilemma is a cosplay business card service called Proof, owned by printing company Choei, which allows customers the chance to order multiple sets of business cards for each character at a low cost (100 cards at 2,625 Yen- US$26).
A major feature of these customised cosplay business cards is of course the unique character or costume photo, which when printed resembles the design of a trading card rather than a proper business card.
C-Studio was set up to offer cosplayers a special location in which to take these cosplay glamour shots; featuring several photo studios each with their own themed decor such as Gothic, Luxury Bar, ‘Cute-room’, Sci Fi etc.
Customers can also rent props for free to enhance their fantasy experience and add further mystery to their characters.
As it is often difficult to find the right location to take fantasy themed cosplay photos without attracting attention and being bothered by the public many cosplayers are willing to pay the steep 8,000 yen (US$80) per hour rental fee to use the studio.
The extent to which fans of manga, anime and cosplay indulge in these alternative reality and fantasy lifestyles seems to be continuing to go one step further. With these cosplay business cards, the false persona of these fantasy characters now has a real world presence and allows them to take on bigger personalities and responsibilities.
Even though business cards seemed like they would be one of the first things to get killed by some fancy techwiznology, they’ve managed to survive even though the use of dead paper is dying. Everybody has business cards—even the super rich and super famous. Here are a few business cards from people you definitely already know. More »
Catalogs might work well for Ikea, but as a way to advertise a modern upscale furniture store they’re a little low-brow. But a brilliantly designed business card that transforms into a miniature version of the furniture you sell? That’s pure genius. More »
Business cards are one of the few paper-specific items that managed to sneak by and still exist after the world started using computers, touch screens and well, any sort of technology. So I’ll always think of it as a scrappy throwback to simpler times. These Star Wars business cards by Mary Sue can be seen as a throwback to the best years of Star Wars. Hopefully they’ll come back. More »
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