Business card rework for tech consulting firm; stationary in Stationery Design

Held by sbell22

Summary

Status
won
Status Comment
Congratulations to the winner, etechstudios!
Entries
35
Prize
$150
Details

A closer look at this contest

Created:
Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:48:39 +0000
Ends:
Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:48:39 +0000
Modified:
Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:02:38 +0000
Last Feedback:
Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:17:50 +0000
Comments:
30
Designers:
5
Feedback:
100%
Brief Summary

Looking to create a more professional looking two-sided business card
layout. Please reference my website at ww w. be l l c. c o m
for the general corporate identity (see Banner, newsletter page).
Here is a draft business card design from an earlier, in-house attempt -
just to give you a starting point:

http://www.bellc.com/productivity_management

I have posted several other relevant files (descriptions and links in the "Description" below) which should give you a good running start at this contest, versus starting from scratch. I'm hoping that will allow a really slick entry to emerge, without it being too time consuming. I need to put this job into print at VistaPrint.com by Monday AM (Feb 18), so this is only a 3-day contest.

If the text fonts are too small, you can also visit my website's "Contact" page for the address information etc.

[some spaces added to keep the search engine spiders away, to the extent that's possible:)]

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Entries highest rated first

Showing 1 – 35 of 35

Showing 1 – 35 of 35

The following designers have withdrawn all of their submitted designs:

Discussion

  1. User
    kepitink
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:43:16 +0000
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    @contest holder

    I'm a little confused ..which one is the right typeface (font) for your logo?
    is the Bell Consulting or Bell Letter..or Bell Report? Also..do I have to include the globe just like in your existing namecard? since the picture's too small for the globe. Need to know asap since its short contest..thank you so much.

  2. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:05:32 +0000
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    thanks for your questions, kepitink. I just got home and will answer questions as long as I'm up tonight.

    1. Scratch "The Bell Report" (dropped that idea). It's still "The Bell Letter".
    I'm looking to get a vector graphic version of that, which just says "Bell's Blog" (in
    that Tiger font), if possible, too - but I don't know if it can be put on the back of the
    card in a way that "works" graphically. For sure, "The Bell Letter" in the Tiger Tet
    font goes on the back of the card. There is a big jpeg version of it on the /bell_letter/
    page, which you should be able to copy. If you can also make one for "Bell's Blog",
    and use it on the back of the card too, all the better but not absolutely a requirement.

    2. The name of the company is "Bell Consulting Group Inc.", and it's shown in the more
    square, sans-serif font, just like in the header of each page of our website, on the FRONT
    side of the card (the side my name's on).

    3. You don't HAVE to include the globe, but if you can work it in, that's cool; but again, it's
    not an absolute requirement. I will get a PSD of that globe posted online as soon as I can
    (hopefully tonight) and put a notice up here, once it's up.

    Thanks for your interest in the contest! And let me know if that answers your questions.

    -steve

  3. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:08:19 +0000
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    PS, just to clarify:

    Our company name is in the bold sans serif font - that's on the front of the card, along with my name and contact info.

    Our "Newsletter's" name is in the fancier, Tiger Tet script font, on the BACK of the card. So when I had the card to someone,
    I can say "there's signup info for my newsletter on the back of the card".

    Just wanted to make sure I clarified that point.

  4. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:00:01 +0000
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    I have posted links to the files I mentioned, in the revised contest description.
    Let me know if you need anything else, or have more questions!

    -steve

  5. User
    kepitink
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:18:49 +0000
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    thank you, Steve, ..that helps a lot..

  6. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:58:06 +0000
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    great! I am still up for at least an hour, in case any questions come up.

    -steve

  7. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:19:51 +0000
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    cc/fyi - for other potential contestants:

    Posted date:
    Fri Feb 15 2008 00:55
    Posted By: sbell22

    Interesting entry, and a nice design concept. But I'm thinking the black is a
    bit too artistic, or maybe striking for the silicon valley ceo/vc set.
    Most all business cards from peers are white. It's ok to be a bit innovative; but this design
    would be more appropriate for a PR firm, or a design firm in the city.

    Think of me handing this out at an upper management gathering, where the norm is passing
    white cards. You need to fit in a little as far as the b-card convention goes. It should be slick,
    can even have a graphic trick or two; but should also be a little understated, subdued.
    Not that it can't be just a tiny a bit on the "interesting" side; just not tooo artsie.

    The company name really should have "inc." at the end. Might force it to two lines.

    It wouldn't be the end of the world if it were left off; but on the other hand, it can be important for a
    small company to show that they are incorporated; because larger firms often prefer doing business with
    corporations.

    hth, and it'd be a great design for the head of a high-level design or PR firm.
    Maybe with a change in the color scheme, it'd work for me?

    -steve

  8. User
    kepitink
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:07:45 +0000
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    hello again, Steve.
    seems like your globe files has corrupted..I've tried several times..still the file cannot be opened although it was completed (735kb). Perhaps I'll leave the globe for my first entry tomorrow. thanks..

  9. User
    kepitink
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:09:14 +0000
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    hello..sorry for the incovenience. the file is now work..I can open it in photoshop. (finally..) it seems like my connection that went wrong.

  10. User
    madMUHHH
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:03:31 +0000
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    @Font: You always say that you use the font Tiger Let. Is this a mac font? I don't have that font so do you know where I could download and is it free?

  11. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:24:01 +0000
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    Thanks for your question.I will check that out on the font and if it is not free, I will but it,
    create the words I'm looking for, and post that as a jpeg.

    Give me a an hour or so, I'll update!

    -steve

  12. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:28:36 +0000
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    Thanks for all the entries overnight. I am awake now :) and have taken a first look. I'll let them
    settle in while I find that font and have a cup of coffee, then post feedback for each (within an hour or so).

    -steve

  13. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:45:32 +0000
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    I found the font - the designer at Kinko's had referred to it as "Tiger LET". Looks like that font was
    inspired by Japanese caligraphy:

    "Japanese calligraphy inspired English calligrapher John Viner to create this dramatic, informal typeface.
    This extensive font and the trend for casual display typography make it a fine selection for any application
    where a fresh, random effect is preferred."

    It looks like he thought it was one of the fonts that came with Mac 'Tiger' (OS/X). But i don't see it listed as a
    standard "LET" font on the Mac. I did find the exact font, at www.itcfonts.com, it's "Tiger Rag LET".
    They have it for $32, Mac Postscript or Truetype versions.

    I guess I should ask this sophisticated design crowd, is that a good price, the right place to buy it?
    And, is $32 a good deal? A designer had told me I can buy it for $16, but he didn't say where.

    I created a "sample" of the Bell Letter and Bell's Blog with it, looked great.

    I just want to use this font for the name of my letter, and if it'll fit, for "Bell's Blog".
    The company name I'm flexible on the font, but it should be more traditional sans serif,
    like in the header of my website.

    Thanks for any answers, I'll post the text online in the Rag LET font once I study any
    replies, and sort that out.

    -steve

  14. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:58:00 +0000
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    sharing feedback for entry by ella, #346219:
    ---
    ella, this is a good design! I like it. But it would need a couple of tweaks:

    - can you replace the ball with the wrap around, with either my globe (posted as psd),
    or something quite similar? I want to get the 'Industry Expertise' point across. Maybe
    make the words smaller? You don't have to use the rays, unless they work.

    On the back, I'm trying to think how the two names can be made to work; they need
    to be somehow arranged differently. I'd like to go ahead and add a third term, my new
    "Pulse of Tech" thread on the site. So use the Tiger Rag LET font for all three; and
    see if you can lay them out so that they look good on the back side; with the words
    "Analyzing... and investors" applying to all three.

    Are there some extra (blank) spaces on the first two address lines? by intention??

    I like the way you did the company name on two lines, slick!

    thanks, this design has promise!

    -steve

  15. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:07:26 +0000
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    NOTICE TO ALL CONTESTANTS

    I've now rated all five entries, and have provided feedback to each designer.
    There is one small adjustment that came out of it - I'll edit this into the
    project description:

    Let's try to use three terms on the back side - including my new "Pulse of Tech"
    column from the website; preferable in the Tiger Rag LET' font. The phrase
    "Analyzing trends.... and investors" will apply to all three terms:

    The Bell Le tt er
    Bell's B log
    Pulse of T ech

    This way, the back side of the card will serve as a sort of 'banner ad' for the
    three types of content on my website.

    I'd also like to include the sentence, which is at the bottom of the card in
    the top-rated entry so far: "We help build... startups"

    Thanks! Let me know if you need any clarification.

    -steve

  16. User
    sbell22
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    Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:02:55 +0000
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    I've purchased the "Tiger Rag LET" font, made the three titles, and posted them as a pdf at this url:

    http://www.bellc.com/files/page_titles_-_tiger_rag_LET_font.pdf

    hth, for those contestants that don't have this font.

    -steve

  17. User
    sbell22
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    Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:44:38 +0000
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    sharing feedback on 5-star contest entry #346919:

    This is a very nice entry! Definitely in the running. Let's try a couple of minor adjustments out on it the two on the right:

    - go to a square-cornered card - this will be printed on white glossy stock with square corners (the rounded corners would be for plastic cards)

    - I would like to move the message "We help build... " onto the FRONT side of the card - basically swap the position of that, with the "Analyzing technology and business trends..." message on the back.

    - "Bell's Blog" shouldn't have "The". It's just "Bell's Blog". You have "The Bell Letter" right.

    - change/correct the web address (on the back) to www.bellc.com and work in "sign up for monthly content update email"

    - if possible, I'd like to find a way to work in "Pulse of Tech" in the Tiger Rag LET
    font. Maybe it is much smaller, and it fits into the lower right corner on the back? a tiny url under it would say:
    www.bellc.com/news

    I'm going to give this one five stars - you've pulled into a leadership position! But there is another strong contender
    I'm expecting a revision from, too.

    thanks for your excellent entry!

    -steve

  18. User
    sbell22
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    Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:51:33 +0000
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    PS, need to also have the WEBSITE URL on the front side of the card, in all designs if possible. thanks!

    -steve

  19. User
    sbell22
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    Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:53:31 +0000
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    minor text change - applies to any entry: please change the word "startups"
    to the word "businesses"

    this is at the end of the sentence "we help build"

    thanks!

    -steve

  20. User
    sbell22
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    Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:52:20 +0000
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    fyi/re: feedback on entries: signing off for Friday; but I will check this thread first thing Saturday morning.

    -steve

  21. User
    etechstudios
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    Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:58:58 +0000
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    sir, i am not able to find out the tiger rag font, can u please send me a link where i can get it, so that i can redesign it and post.

  22. User
    etechstudios
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    Sat, 16 Feb 2008 09:00:20 +0000
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    yeah, i think the pdf will help me out, i will post the design soon.

  23. User
    sbell22
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    Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:02:35 +0000
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    sharing feedback for entry #347277:

    Nice entry! Here's my suggestions:

    On the back, along the top (against a slightly different shade of background color?) it should say: "Helping to build next-generation networking infrastructure, mobile computing, and telecommunications growth ventures".

    On the back, along the bottom, it should say: "Analyzing business developments and trends impacting Silicon Valley". And the url centered on the line below that.

    Correct email to: stevebell@ (same domain)

    hth, good luck!

    -steve

  24. User
    sbell22
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    Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:52:54 +0000
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    sharing feedback on entry #347814:

    I really like this one; but a few tweaks:

    -square corners on the card, vs. round

    -On the back side, really cool how you're featuring the content titles in the background.
    Let's pull the second sentence from the back.

    - I'm not crazy about the backlighting on the globe. Can you make that more subtle, or remove it?
    I think that requires a special photoshop module, to really make it look like rays/backlighting.

    - would it work, on the front side, to have say 3/16" tall strip of lighter background color along the bottom, which has three terms, seperated by bullets:

    Mobile Computing (bullet) Networking Infrastructure (bullet) Telecommunications

    thanks, strong entry!

    -steve

  25. User
    sbell22
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    Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:06:40 +0000
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    sharing feedback for entry #348167:

    Nice design! I like the design on the left, without the "globe". On the bottom of
    the front side, how about just three terms, separated by two bullets:
    Mobile Computing (bullet) Networking Infrastructure (bullet) Telecommunications

    On the back, please make the three "rag font" phrases the same size (smaller "Bell Letter");
    and get rid of the miniature text under each of the three - can do without that. I
    think they'd look better just centered on the back side, one above the other vertically.

    On the front, please get rid of the http:// in the web address, the preface "Email:", and the
    "& Fax" (don't need that).

    This is a clean design, and I like the fact that the front side is on a white background -
    it is back in contention to win.

    -steve

  26. User
    sbell22
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    Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:12:22 +0000
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    To all contestants: let's drop the globe, I can see where that's just not working.
    It should make it easier to make the front side of the card look clean and sharp.

    Also, let's replace that sentence "Helping to build..." with the shorter version from
    my prior post (three items separated by two bullets):

    Mobile Computing (bullet) Networking Infrastructure (bullet) Telecommunications

    Don't need any mention of Fax#, or prefaces like email: or Web:

    thanks! I appreciate all the strong entries - wish I could have picked a winner sooner
    to save everyone the effort - will do so as soon as one really comes together; we're close!

    Don't forget, once i pick a winner there is a simple letterhead and 3x5 note to include - those won't be anywhere
    near as involved. Just "Bell Consulting Group Inc." and the address/contact info, so I
    can print it either in color or b&w, use for letters/mailings (8x11"), or notes (3x5").

    -steve

  27. User
    sbell22
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    Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:51:48 +0000
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    In the interest of fairness to all contestants - sharing this feedback on entry #348253:

    ---

    Wow - this is really sharp! I like the way you've handled both sides.

    The text on the front side, lower right corner does need fixing, though - but this should be
    easy. Put the following text on three lines; and bullet or highlighted
    so they stand out individually (if you use bullets, then these hyphens become bullets):

    -Mobile computing systems
    -Networking Infrastructure
    -Telecommunications

    also, remove the '& Fax' on the front side.

    I don't know if this would work (from a graphic design perspective),
    but it seems to me that the text on the back side, above and below
    "The Bell Letter" rag font phrase, should move down (and up) so
    it is closer to the words "The Bell Letter". That text is "talking to"
    or "informing" you (about) The Bell Letter. And Bell's Blog, Pulse
    of Tech. Anyway it could stay like it is, too - just thought i would
    ask whether that would work, and whether it'd be an overall improvement.

    VERY strong entry!

    I'm going to sleep for a while, but will post as soon as I getup, in roughly 5-6 hrs.

    thanks,

    -steve

  28. User
    sbell22
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    Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:27:35 +0000
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    Sharing feedback on THE WINNER, etech's #348277 (to be revised slightly)

    THANKS TO THE OTHER CONTESTANTS, really appreciate your efforts and you did come close to winning!

    ---

    this is a fantastic design! I am going to declare it the winner; but would like to ask you
    to make the following small text tweak on the front side:

    take out the "Helping build next-generation" line.
    take out the hyphens at the end of the three lines below it.
    insert this sentence, so there will be four lines there:
    "semiconductor SOC"

    this is a little bit more of a change - but I think those four
    terms would work better right under the company name, up at the
    top - two per line, separated by a single bullet. Want to try that?

    put that fourth line in order, to the lines go shortest to longest.

    On the back side, I like the lower version, where the text is closer to
    "The Bell Letter".

    Once we are ready to transmit, please take a look at the "bleed"/layout
    guideline that VistaPrint.com provides - it's a pdf document on their site
    ("business card layout guidelines").

    Want to take a shot at the stationary now, and post it in the contest forum?
    8 1/2 x 11", and 3"x5". The 3x5" would just have the company name at the top,
    and my name at the bottom. The 8x11" has all the standard info - fancier company
    name at the top (printable blue, or b&w), and contact info at the bottom. Won't
    ask you to get too fancy there.

    thanks, and congratulations for winning! You had some tough competition.

    Don't forget to setup to send me full layered versions of the PSD files, and the
    fonts.

    -steve

  29. User
    etechstudios
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    Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:57:09 +0000
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    i have made all the changes, pls tell me where to send you the final design jpg? i mean the email id..

  30. User
    kepitink
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    Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:15:06 +0000
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    Congratulations, etechstudios. Similar graphics background on front card..but you did tough on request. ;)