Everybody can benefit from a good-looking business card, but this truth is more pertinent for artists than it is for anyone else. If you’re an artist, your marketing materials are an excellent opportunity to plant your aesthetic in the hands and minds of potential buyers, collectors, gallery or museum owners. Maximize this important medium with these four tips for designing your artistic business card.
As a creative type, you may be tempted to go wild with your business card, allowing artistic elements and dazzling accents like full color foil printing to dominate. This is great – to a point. It is, however, important to keep practicality in mind. Your audience must be able to quickly and easily locate and read your contact information, and you should place just about as much emphasis on these important details as you do on the artistic elements of your business card design.
You’re an artist, but that doesn’t mean you’re always comfortable in the spotlight. Still, you should consider adding a photograph of yourself to your business card or postcard. People like to connect a real person to his or her art, and that’s exactly what your photograph will do. The choice to include a photo will also make you more memorable when collectors or other contacts are sorting through a stack of business cards after a hectic art or networking event.
This may go without saying, but you should include a sample of your art or a representation of your work on your business card. If you are a graphic artist, a favorite painting makes an excellent accent. If you are a performing artist, an image of you in costume and action is a must. Again, this will serve to make the impression you create in potential buyers, donors, or venue owners much more lasting your name alone.
Okay, this may seem contradictory, because we encouraged you to include a photograph of yourself and a work sample on a tiny business card. But what we didn’t say is that you should probably do each of those things on separate sides of the card. A cluttered business card is unattractive, unprofessional, and shows poor planning and management. Keep your design clean to better showcase your work and yourself, and to thereby encourage follow-up from receivers.
As an artist, you may be excited about the creative opportunity offered by the design of your marketing materials. You can and will make your own artistic choices in designing your business cards, , and other promotional materials. But these general guidelines are a logical place to start. Happy printing!
About Jenny DixonJennifer has been apart of the EliteFlyers.com team for over 15 years. She brings a deep understanding of web marketing, thoughtful strategies, that she's able to design, manage, print, deliver multi-media campaigns to meet all client's goals. Her personal portfolio includes high-end design and printing of business cards, flyers, post cards for elite businesses and individuals from all over the world.
