I'd like to show you one of our favorite techniques for designing a business card that includes
a graphic. It's super-easy, it's super-versatile, and it's based on an idea we call the invisible
square.
It's as easy to do as this . . .
Start with a business card -- the standard U.S. business card is 3-1/2" by 2"-- and at
one end just draw a square.
It's obviously 2" by 2", and along this line, set your type.
You'll notice in this case we're just using a single typeface in a single size, differentiated
here only by weight. I've left a space because we want to put the company name across the
center of the card.
You can see here that we have a little bit of an issue, because this information does
not align with our company name, and so we're going to fudge the square.
This will kind of show you that this is not an exact science, but it's close. Now we'll
turn the card black,
and because there were no graphics for this little business, we went online and found
just a colorful piece of clip photography and set it in place,
and just like that, we had a great result quickly, easily . . . very handsome; you probably
wouldn't even notice that there's a square there.
This can run vertically as well -- simply put the square at the top of the card -- and
you'll use it for all kinds of things. We used the same one for an aquarium store,
Baja Tropicals. In this case, the name is set in a little bit more-expressive typeface,
and the photograph covers the entire background, but you can see the square is there. You'll
see it, but your readers aren't going to see this. We also have a card for an antique bookshop
--
exactly the same square, logotype centered in that square, a more-expressive typeface
that looks just like the logo type, but a beautiful result. That really is all it takes!
If you'd like to see more about the invisible square, you can look in Before & After issue
32. You can also look in the Before & After Master Collection DVD. You'll find this on
our web site at bamagazine.com/dvd.
[End]
. . . you'll see that; your reader's not going to see that. I already said that, didn't I?
[voice off camera] You did.
Darn!
. . . if you'd like to see more on the invisible squarpffft pfft pfft . . .
[voice off camera] Water.
. . . what's that? Yeah, water? [in parched voice] Water! Water!
. . . [whispers] ashuh . . .
