There is some strange juju being wielded in the creation of many business cards today – we are way past name and number here. This week we let ‘er rip with Studio On Fire, marvel at some laser-cut artistry, and have a grand ol’ freakout over a multi-foil masterpiece for a hooch-peddler of some renown. (Previous Cool Cards of the Week can be found here.)
Studio On Fire Business Card Thingy
The work that pours out of the doors of letterpress company Studio On Fire is usually an intriguing blend of creativity, polish and madness. Their Paper Saw Blades piece, while not a business card necessarily, also happens to be not not-a-business-card, either. What it is is unputdownable, which is precisely what you want with a self-promotion piece.
John Lewis Experimental Business Cards
Over the years we’ve become great fans of b-type design, which somehow manages to craft a fair number of experimental business cards in between those for paying customers. Take these two intriguing pieces inspired by the facade of the upscale department store John Lewis in Leicester, England. Alessandro at b-type had this to say about the first:
“That card is made of 1/16” acrylic and is entirely laser cut. It simply involved engraving the card in mirrored fashion so that the smooth area can be read and the “rough area” is the back of the card. I wish I could say more about the process but it was the setup of the card in Illustrator that was the hard part, not so much the manufacturing.”
Retro Multi-Foil Business Card
There is an argument to be made that the Absolut brand has contributed far more to the art and design worlds than it has to the betterment of what is, in all fairness, one of your least exciting alternatives for the long-term salving of your conscience. The pinnacle of this might well be Jukebox Print’s business card for that brand which starts out with 30 pt. Onyx Black stock, and then goes wild from there. Here’s an extended CardObserver excerpt to give you a better appreciation for what they were able to achieve:
“Using an impressive 6 different colours of foil, these business cards offer more than the usual metallic effect of regular foil stamped designs. The use of holographic foils creates dimension and a colour changing reflection that fits with the retro theme. With their recent release of a limited edition Andy Warhol bottle design, these business cards are designed to be as abstract as they are unique to fit with the direction of the Absolut brand. The shape of the foil pattern also calls to mind the wavelike movement of liquid, tying back perfectly to their vodka products.”
Frankly, if there is a business card apex, the Absolut card may have reached it. It’s all down hill from here…
