Both versions here.

So this is the first post of work I’ve done for someone other than myself.  And, DAMN, does it feel good to post some work!  About a year ago or so my girlfriend, and all-around classy gal, Erin launched her blog No Love More Sincere .  It’s a foodie blog. It showcases her adventures in cooking (and my eating), our date nights out to fancy-schmancy restaurants, and all sorts of stuff related to her genuine love of the culinary world.  From day 1 she had every intention to get her name out there in the foodie bloggin’ world.  And what better way to get people to check your site out than to hand them a business card, right? So I cranked one out for her.

Waitaminute…I’d be lying outta my teeth if I were to say I just “cranked”one out, like it was a latte or something.  No, it was a Process, with a capital ‘P’.  Nothing earth-shattering or anything.  But it definitely wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.  And it wasn’t difficult because I had designer-block or anything. No, it was difficult because I was breaking one of the very first, and arguably the most important, design rules I ever learned: Never do work for friends, family or loved ones.  This rule is, like, the first of the 10 Crack Commandments (do yourself a favor and go look them up).  It often gets overlooked, but there’s a reason its #1.  And this experience definitely reminded me of why it’s so important to follow the design rules I’ve been taught, both the academic ones and the lifestyle ones.  And it’s not to say that Erin was super difficult to work with. I mean, we had our moments, but it wasn’t like she behaved any different than any client would. The Nit-picking, the indecisiveness…all of it. But she’s not a super-difficult women so, therefore, she wasn’t a super-difficult client.  (Love you baby!)

No, what made this project so damned difficult was the pressure to make it absolutely perfect. I’m talkin’ about making something that’s exactly how she wanted it. And that totally appeased (?) her.  Sometimes you have a bit of wiggle room with clients about the final product.  But when the client is your ol’ lady and she’s the one  feeding your broke ass, you get it right. EXACTLY RIGHT. And eventually I did. But what’s more important than getting it exactly right was producing work that really made someone happy.  She loves them and whenever she gets the chance she crams one in someone’s hand. I gotta tell ya, it feels soooooo good to have a piece of your work in other people’s hands.  I’ve done a little bit of freelance work before. And to be honest, it sucked. Not the work itself. It was OK. The process and the outcome sucked. But this…this felt great. Still does, to be honest.  I honestly consider this project to be my very first successful design project.

Ok so I left a HUGE chunk of the project out of this post. It involved a ridiculous timetable for completion of the project, which I nailed (pats self on back), and an experience with the printer that was…special.  But everything worked out OK so I don’t feel to bad about leaving all that rubbish out.  I’m all about focusing on the positives these days so that’s what I’m doing here.  Below you can see both versions of the card individually.  I decided on two different colorways because I really liked the idea of a little variety in the product. Ideally, every single person that ever got one would get a different one, so to speak.

The Seafoam one here:

Seafoam-y goodness.

And the Salmon one here:

Soft, elegant, sincere salmon

The main design objective here was simplicity, clarity, and earnestness.  And in satisfying these particular needs I believe I created a really pretty design.  Cute, but not saccharin.  Simple, but not lacking.  Can you really ask for anything more?

Wait, don’t answer that…

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