When you’re dealing with business cards you really should keep things simple.  Remember, you’re not writing a novel here, you’re just wanting the other person to CALL or EMAIL you, right?  You can explain anything you need to on the phone or via email rather than caking it all on your business card and making it look:

1. Cluttered
2. Overwhelming
3. Ugly – no nice way to say it!

Depending on what your company has set up already will depend on what you put on your card.  If you have a website then most definitely add the web address.  Your website should contain most of the information your business contacts will need to hire you for the service you’re soliciting.  In a nutshell you should include the following so you can be contacted:

• Name
• Website (adding a qr code can be quite handy here)
• Phone Number
• Email Address
• BRIEF blurb about your service offered

One of my biggest pet peeves is receiving a business card from someone that has tried to cram every little bit of information on the card that they possibly can.  I take one look at it and think, do I really want to read all of this?  I just want to call the guy….do I really need to know everything he can do all on one card?  I typically get a feeling of being overwhelmed by the card and lay it down – never to be picked up again.

Just remember – keep it simple.  Give them the contact info they need and let your website tell them everything they need to know.  If you don’t have a website – they probably just need to call you and you can fill them in on everything you can do for them.

This morning I completed an ad that will appear in the next issue of Niagara Baby, a canadian baby magazine.  The ad is for Lisa over at The Cloth Diaper Shop.  This is a full page ad and although I do quite a few ads per month, this one I especially like because it’s not cluttered.

Here’s a tip: you have just a couple of seconds to catch your reader’s eye.  Do you think they’re going to read the novel you write on your ad or be more apt to check out your website if they see a cute pic and a few key details about your business?  I know myself, when I’m flipping through a magazine the pictures catch my eye and if they have some services I might be interested in, I scan their QR code or type in their site on my iPhone for later viewing if I don’t have time at the moment to fully look at their site.  Have your novel on your website….not on your ad!

~ Stacey ~

Did you know we make welcome pages for your facebook page?  Well we do!

What is a Facebook welcome page?  It’s the page that your visitors land on before they LIKE your page.  You want to get them to LIKE your facebook page so you can have more followers.  More followers = more possible sales / exposure for your company.

You’ll have two main elements on your facebook page:

• The Profile Image (pictured below on the left)
• The Welcome Page (pictured below on the right)

Can you get to your wall without clicking the LIKE button?  Sure…even though some people design their welcome page to say something like “click LIKE if you want to view our page”.  You can still view it by clicking on the WALL tab over on the bottom left under their profile image.  It’s just a marketing tactic they use when they say you must like them first.

To see more of our client welcome pages click here: Social Media Graphics

A couple of long time clients of ours wrote a book called 1001 Things to LOVE About Military Life and came to us for informational website design and development.  After working with these ladies for the past few years I can honestly say they live and breathe military life and are without a doubt an amazing support group and wealth of knowledge for families that may just be entering into the military world as well as those that have been in the service for a while.  I would recommend this book to all who are currently serving our wonderful country and those that may be getting ready to enlist!

One of the authors, Tara Crooks, came to us a few years back to develop Army Wife Network along with several army characters representing their Household 6 troop.  This website is geared towards helping Army Wives through their daily lives.  They can network with other wives in similar situations and really have a great support group to help them through the ups and downs of military life.

Client link:  Love Military Life  • Purchase 1001 Things to LOVE About Military Life on Amazon

Project completed: October 29, 2011

Last week we designed a new logo for Diapers and Dandelions.  A company that is already established under another name.  With their name change came a new logo.  Here’s the final logo they selected.

Ever wonder how we get to the final version?  I’m not sure how other designers do this but what we do is get a few notes from you once you place your order for a logo design.  We’ll ask for your color preference, maybe a logo or two that you’ve seen and like, a style preference for your font and so on….  Once we get all of that information we submit a few ideas to you to narrow down to what you want for your company.  On this particular logo we submitted these samples.

The client liked the bottom right logo. the most and asked for a few more tweaks to make it just what they wanted.  Hopefully that helps on what to expect and how the process works for logo design orders.

The JAYF was in need of a little makeover for their football leagues’ website.  We took their website to the next level with a new design and access to their new features such as social media following.  This new website will allow the parents to stay informed of schedule changes quickly and gives this league a more professional appearance which will only help in the future when they begin to host tournaments and more.

Here’s what the website looked like before the redesign.

Client link:  JAYF Website

Project completed: October 2011

Did you know we design the prints for cloth diapers?  Oh yes!  We’ve designed many prints and cannot wait to see ALL of them finally hit the press.  Here’s one we did for Happy Heinys, one of the leading cloth diaper manufacturers.  These prints were design, printed and the diapers manufactured all in the USA!

Happy Heinys is one of our oldest clients.  They have been with us since 2003 and take care of all of their print media needs, product photography, websites and more!

Client Links: Happy Heinys Website • Like Happy Heinys on Facebook

You can find the Eco Distribution crew over at booth 535 at the ABC Kids Expo this weekend in Louisville, KY.  They’ll be sporting these tshirts while there.  We LOVE the Eco Distribution team!!! Stop by and see them this weekend.  They have eco-friendly cloth diapers, accessories and they’ve even added a couple of new product lines including the BecoPotty and BecoStep!

Project completed: September 2011

Client links: Eco Distribution Website  •  itti bitti us on Facebook

Another long time client from Canada, AMP Diapers contracted iCreativeMedia to design these 8.5×11 catalogs for their upcoming trade show for eco-friendly baby products.  They will be using these catalogs this weekend at the ABC Kids Expo in Louisville, KY.  Drop by their booth and visit Annie and the crew!

Project completed: September 2011

Client link:  AMP Diapers Website

Media Kit Design, Rack Card Design and Business Card Design for Monkey Doodlez. A fabulous Canadian client that has been working with iCreativeMedia for several years.  These designs can be seen in person at the ABC Kids Expo this weekend in Louisville, KY.

Project completed: September 2011