31 posts tagged “minicards”
After giving you the story behind Perch's MiniCards, we thought we should catch up with photographer, Simon Warren. Also featured on our MiniCards page, he's been taking advantage of the latest features and comparing them with the larger Business Cards he's been using (and loving) for a while. Here's what he had to say:
Simon Warren is one of the UK's top location photographers. He's been using MOO's Business Cards to showcase his outstanding graphic images: bold exteriors, sleek interiors, arresting construction shots and more.
Though happy with the size and scope of the Business Cards, he's recently been experimenting with MiniCards, with positive results.
A hardcore Business Card fan, Simon was initially worried by the slimmed-down dimensions of the MiniCards (about half the size of a full-size business card.)
"At first, I was concerned that the cards would be simply too small to showcase my photos effectively", he explains. "But actually, this can work very well. The cards show snippets of images – almost abstract – giving a hint of information, but (quite literally) not the full picture."
Rather than being a hindrance, this fits well with other design aspects of his brand. "My website works in exactly the same way – visitors are shown an interesting or intriguing section of an image, which they click to see in full. It’s a simple but effective way to get people involved and interacting with my work."
He also likes the impact the MiniCards can have when shown together. "Once you have a whole bunch of cards spread out on the table, the viewer is able to get a better impression of your work than a single image can provide, so that's how I like to show them. Then I let the viewer choose whichever one they want. The fact that they've been involved in the choice often helps them remember your work better than if you simply thrust a card into their hand.
"I often refer to my MOO Business Cards as my ‘mini-portfolio’. My MiniCards are now my mini-mini portfolio!" he laughs. "Sometimes when you're carrying a full set of business cards around in a holder, it can be a little clunky. At a very basic level, they're physically easier to carry around with you. As a photographer, you carry so much equipment with you - that's a big plus."
Simon's also pleased with his MiniCard holder. "It swings open sideways and then you push the cards out with your thumb. It's unusual and I think people like that.
"At networking events so many people are handing out conventional business cards in conventional holders. Sometimes that's what you want, but other times it's good to stand out a little. MiniCards can help you do just that."
Thanks for chatting with us Simon!
Find out more about Simon's work, or check out his portfolio.
As you know, we've updated the features on MiniCards. You can upload an image for the front and the back - and there are some other neat features too. On the MiniCards page, you'll find some images of real cards. Ones our customers have made - like these, from Perch:
We contacted Perch after seeing their cards at dConstruct, a conference in Brighton. We liked them so much, we wondered what they'd do with the new features we had planned for MiniCards. The cards above are the ones they made, and this is the story behind them.
Perch is a "really little" content management system. (Their words, not ours!) It's designed to be simple, straightforward, and easy to get running, so that even internet novices can edit content on a small website with no muss and no fuss. The really little CMS also has a really neat little price and, confesses Drew McLellan, Director and Senior Developer at edgeofmyseat, the company behind Perch, a slimmed-down marketing budget to match.
Despite this, Perch have been using their MiniCards to do mighty things. Things that might have carried a hefty price tag with another printer. Prior to launch, Perch produced a batch of MOO MiniCards with a special 20% discount code on the back – a time-tested, traditional way to promote a product, which gave people a reason to hold onto the card until the company went live.
After launch, they began to look at new ways to market themselves, by sponsoring conferences, and speaking about Perch at events. In order to test the effectiveness of such activities, they needed a way to track where their site visitors had heard about the product - and this is where the mighty MiniCard things started happening.
Rather than the general discount card they'd used previously, Perch ordered some new MiniCards, with unique discount codes on the front where the photo normally goes. They wrote some software to generate the codes, and output an XML file that they then "mail merged" into their images using the Data-Driven Graphics tool in Adobe Fireworks. This created 100 unique images for each batch of MiniCards, which they then uploaded as part of each order.
"The ability to have 100 unique cards in a run of 100 has been fantastic for us", says Drew. "Doing it any other way would have been a nightmare. Firstly it would have been difficult just to find someone able to do it, and you can bet it would have been expensive - probably too expensive to be worth doing! Now when someone uses a discount code, we can tell which event they picked up the card at by tracking the code back through our systems."
Perch also find MOO's short print runs to be very handy, because each batch they order is a small commitment both financially, and in terms of strategy. Fresh illustration work, a small tweak to the logo – all can be incorporated into the MiniCards next time a batch is produced. "The fact that we order 100 cards at a time means it's no hassle to make that sort of change", says Drew, "and it's great to order up some new cards knowing that the wastage from the old cards is really minimal. We've probably got about £5-worth of unused old design cards sitting around, which is nothing. If we were printing traditionally at volume then you're tied in and can't stay nimble."
"MOO's generally our first port of call when we need something printed", says Drew. "We've been really pleased with the quality and the ability to click a few things on a web page and have something physical that you've created turn up at your door is awesome."
Thanks to Drew for taking the time to talk to us - and thanks to Anne-Marie for writing this up. Find out more about Perch and what it can do for you, or make some MiniCards of your own.
You've been asking for improvements on our first ever product and we’re excited to say they're finally here. MOO MiniCards now offer even more creative possibilities - and some of your most requested features.
There’s now the option to choose from a bigger range of fonts, colours and templates to personalise the ‘details side’ of your cards. We’ve also added the option to upload your own logo, or choose an icon from our brand new selection.
Want to upload an entire image for the details side of the card? No problem. Just like our larger Business Cards, you can now upload a full JPEG or PDF.
At the end of the process check your cards (text and images) on a brand new preview page – another chance to check your spellink spelling, and make sure you’re happy with your images.
And, last, but not least, all that goodness is packed into a very smart new MiniCard presentation case! Designed in-house by Paul, our product designer, it’s sturdy but recyclable card.
Enough already? Go take a look at the New and improved MiniCards for yourselves!
What do you get if you cross MiniCards with magnets? Moognets! We’re seeing more and more moognets out there, and one of our favourite moognet-makers is illustrator Luisa Vidal, aka Etsy seller Fashion Fuchsia.
Luisa sells her moognets as beautifully packaged themed sets. Bright yellow suns shine next to redheads in sunglasses. Blue boys and purple girls reach for each other’s hands from their respective MiniCards. Or the customer can go random and choose their own – fancy clashing a pink alien robot with a cat-boy in a brown dog costume?
As well as magnets, Luisa makes MiniCard bookmarks and uses Postcards to showcase her illustrations. We caught up with her to talk illustration, Etsy, moognets and more.
Hi Luisa! We love your work. Where do you get your inspiration?
I’ve always loved drawing – one of my earliest memories is of my Dad teaching me how to draw a cup of tea! And the inspiration for my subject matter comes from my two main hobbies: cinema and fashion. I love film: animation, sci-fi, fantasy, action – everything! I enjoy creating characters that are the protagonists of my own little movie-stories in my head. I like to imagine what life would be like for them: what they’d wear and who they’d be friends with. Then I put that into my drawings.
Do you produce your work by hand, on computer, or a combination of both?
It’s a combination. I draw my ideas on paper and then use the computer to finish or colour it. The initial freehand drawing on paper is very important to me – I appreciate it a lot in my creative process.
How long have you been selling on Etsy? Is it a good place for an illustrator to promote herself?
I’ve been selling on Etsy since March 2009. It’s easy to use and you can communicate with many people around the world. There’s a good community of illustrators on there. Managing an Etsy store does require time and patience, but it’s a lot of fun.
What made you decide to use MOO in your work?
I decided to create my own products because I often go to stores and can’t find what I’m after – little gifts with a special touch. I’ve always enjoyed using magnets to stick photographs, drawings, and notes to the fridge or filing cabinet or whatever. It’s such a sweet, personal thing to do. And I was looking at my MiniCards and realised that their measurements and finish make them perfect for making magnets from. I thought they’d make my designs look fun and colourful in people’s bedrooms, offices or kitchens.
How about the bookmarks?
Yes, I also make bookmarks with MiniCards. I like to think of my designs accompanying people as they go about their day-to-day lives. Reading a book is like starting a long journey with someone – the book becomes an inseparable companion. By day, by night, on the bus, the book’s there. I thought it would be fantastic for someone to have one of my bookmarks on the journey with them.
Is paper quality and print finish important to you?
Oh yes…. I admit I’m a bit of a perfectionist! I love good, thick paper and the finish on MOO products. I make all my things with great care, and I like to collaborate with people who take a similar pride in the things they produce. I’ve found a great place to print my designs in MOO.
Thanks for the interview Luisa!
Find out more about Luisa at www.fashionfucsia.blogspot.com or check out her work in her Etsy store
As any freelancer or small business person knows, the best kind of advertising is often word of mouth. There's nothing better than a satisfied client - excited about the completion of a job well done - sharing your contact details with a friend or colleague.
We've all done it - asked friends on and off line; 'Does anyone know any good photographers?' or 'Can anyone recommend a web designer? I need new website and not sure who I can trust'.
As a business person, a personal endorsement means you can hit the ground running. There's no need to do the hard sell (which is never much fun for either party) - you can talk through your best projects or portfolio, knowing the groundwork has already been laid.
But just because personal recommendations take place between people you've never met, doesn't mean there's nothing you can do to help the conversation along. In this current climate there's no point leaving things to chance, especially when it's so easy to get the conversation started.
These cute little packages were made by Cardiff based photographer Sarah Thomas. By dividing a pack of MiniCards into groups of ten, she was able to create ten unique 'recommend a friend' sets with photographs personal to each client. Adding simple, but (cost) effective packaging creates something really special - and worth talking about. It would be a hard heart that receives these cards and doesn't rush to share them with friends.
Sarah used a template for her cards, originally designed by children's photographer, Dawn M. Available for free, the template works with Photoshop, and can be downloaded here. There are several different variations, and it can easily be customised with your own colours and text.
In a very different style,Rayna, an Oregon based photographer, created these smart referral cards. Taking full advantage of the variable Postcard options, she created two cards per client, with a traditional postcard layout on the reverse. Recipients can post these to friends, and each card entitles the bearer to a free print, following a session with Sapphire Rain Photography. Super-smart, again you know these will be talked about and shared among friends.
On a completely different tack, we love the idea of this, from Brighton based web & social media agency, Nixon McInnes. At the end of each project, they send each client a pack of MiniCards featuring images of their newly launched site. On the reverse are the site's details, so they have not only a little gift, but an instant way to promote their new venture. Again, another way to get clients talking - and what better way to promote yourselves, create good feeling AND promote your work at the same time.
And what about you? Are you using referral cards? We'd love to see them and hear your stories.
"Finals!" "Portfolio reviews!" "End of Year Shows!" "Jobs!" "The World!"
If this is a snippet of what is going through your mind at the moment, we can sympathise. It wasn’t that long ago that we were busy, eager, just a little nervous, and heading for graduation ourselves.
For design, art and photography students, now is the time to pull a whole year’s work into one exhibition; impressing tutors, fellow students - and more importantly, VIPs that might have jobs (and a pay cheque) up their sleeves.
So how do you make the most out of your end of year show? What materials do you need to help make a good impression?
One of the first places you could start is with an invitation. Maybe you're having a group invitation, designed in tandem with your course - or perhaps you can work on a design of your own. If you have a list of people you know you'd like to invite, Postcards can be great for this. Available in small packs of 20, or larger packs of 60, you can put a different image on every one. Want a packaging company to see your show? Send them a shot of your packaging work. Want design agencies to come too? Send each agency a different example of your work that you know will appeal to them. One of the best things about using MOO is the chance of printing multiple images in one order, at a reasonable price.
These Postcards are a great example - they're invitations to a solo exhibition, created by Ladydesign. Each has a striking image and really makes the most of her strong portfolio.
Once people are at your show, of course they're going to love your work! But don't forget, they'll be seeing a lot of different artists, so giving them something smart to remember you by is the next thing to think about. Business Cards and MiniCards are perfect for this - they can feature your work on one side, and your details on the other. New contacts can take away their favourite piece of work in your folio, and have a good way of contacting you in the future.
We've shown this shot by the awesome PhotoCharlie before, but it's a colourful set up, easy to create, featuring MiniCards, and Postcards. As you can see, you can show a wide range of work, and each item is easy to unclip and take away:
Simple washing line and pegs are also eye-catching, interactive and effective - as you can see here, in this great shot by °Giulietta°
Or, when space is tight or more formal, a simple card dispenser on the wall is a handy addition, as demonstrated by rachelmoon:
When money is tight too, make use of the FREE Business Card holder you get when you buy MOO Business Cards! Our lovely ex-MOO-project manager, Iain, took this shot, when he spotted a case being used as part of a small art installation:
Another great idea we've seen to get people to interact with your work and take it away are these bookmarks, by fashion fucsia. Featuring beautiful illustrations and brightly coloured ribbon, they're quick to make and *really* appealing!
These are wonderful too - by redmeg8, they're different examples of work, joined in one corner. A take-away-folio!
Once the show is over, don't forget to keep a pack of Business Cards or MiniCards with you at all times. You never know when a chance to show and share your work might strike - as this great post (also full of tips!) demonstrates. As David Moore found out, with different examples of your work on every card, it really is like a mini portfolio for your pocket.
However you do it - GOOD LUCK!
You might also like to know, some of the very best art schools in the world (University of Arts London and Pratt, NY) have joined up with MOO to offer their students some extra good deals on these products, as they prepare for their shows.
If you attend an art or design school, or teach at, or are affiliated with one, and want to put together a special offer for all the students in the school, why not get in touch? We’d love to help.
And in the meantime, why not think about attending an end of year show near you? They’re a great way to network, find new talent, meet other creative types and possibly blag a little drink or canapé!
Here are a few that we've spotted;
London, UK: University of Arts London.
May 18th - July 10th
NY, USA: Pratt Institute
May 12th - May 15th
NY, USA: Parsons School for Design
May 15th - May 23rd
California, USA: Caliornia College of the Arts
Throughout May
Rhode Island, USA: Rhode Island School of Design
May 30th
Those who subscribe to the MOO Newsletter*, will have seen that last week we were talking about different things you can do with your cards, over and above the 'usual'.
Of course you can use them as regular business cards (that's what they are, after all!) but we've spotted some people using both MOO MiniCards and Business Cards as a form of packaging for small, handmade items.
We mentioned these beautiful bobby pins, mounted on MiniCards, for sale by Nestdecorating:
And since then, we've spotted a few more examples...
These colourful buttons made by Polka Dot Cottage are hand-stitched to Business Cards...
and ready for the yarn shop
These ceramic clay magnets by Lauren Denny are also attached to Business Cards, and ready to sell at a Handm@de Fair
We've seen MiniCards used to great effect at craft fairs in the past, like the ones in this shot, used to mount earrings, made by Julie Bug Designs:
And even used as simple hang tags, like these, by Claudes Creations
So, the question is: what are you doing with *your* cards?
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* Not subscribed to the newsletter? Oh. Well, if you'd like to, you can sign up in the box at the bottom of the homepage. We usually send it out twice a month, and it has special offers, MOO news and creative ideas for yourself, or your small business.
We've had a very busy time of it here at MOO Towers recently. Some of the MOO Crew were at SXSWi, while others were working on the new MiniCard box - and additional packaging ideas to be revealed soon. The dev team are all hard at work preparing for the USA launch, and others have just hopped on a plane to Photoshop World, in Boston.
The Recruitment Crew are hard at work, reading CVs for our recent UK and USA job postings - and have asked me to mention that if you haven't got response to something you've sent us, please don't worry. They're reading everything very carefully, and hoping to respond as soon as they can.
The lovely folks in the warehouse are still sending out orders as fast as their little legs will carry them and we're still seeing beautiful Cards and Stickers flying out the door.
It's been a little while since we last held up that mirror to show you how great you are, so look! A little round up in pictures, from you, the MOO community:
supercoco9 has been decorating a mini-laptop with Stickers:
While Buster shows us what Stickers are really meant for, in this photo by absolutely small:
And Seattle Roll shows us just how cute MiniCards can be...
While Chameleon Designs goes for understated elegance, using photos of her own creations on Business Cards:
I received this fantastic MiniCard in the post, from the lovely Cole:
And finally, these beautiful invitations were created by Lady Design for her forthcoming exhibition, using Postcards:
If you're feeling creative and you've just received - or are about to receive - some MiniCards in the post, don't forget our mini-competition!
It's that time of year again - the time when lots of shops reduce the pricing on calendars left unsold after the Christmas rush. Not only that, but you didn't get one for Christmas, and all that's left are things like 'Road signs of Europe' or 'Hard-hats we've loved and lost', or something equally uninspiring.
The great people at PhotoJojo have just shared a much better idea, by one of their readers, Sandy Weisz. It's a perpetual wall calendar, made with your own photos!
Nice, isn't it? Also works as great motivation to get out there and start taking more photos - as you need at least one photo each, of the numbers 1 through 31, and a letter for each day of the week.
If you wanted square prints, like the ones above, you could print them with Notecards, but if you've got a smaller space available, then colourful photo Business Cards could be good. If you fancied mixing it up a bit through the year, you could go for MiniCards - as with 100 in a box, you'll have some spare OR you could make a weeny one with Stickers!
Check out PhotoJoJo's instructions on how to make your own.
Thanks to ex-MOO Iain for spotting this - he's gone, but not forgotten!
Well, we're a little late with the new year greetings, but... Happy new year anyway! We hope you had a fun festive season and that being back in the office is bearable. Thanks to those on Twitter who kept us company on Christmas Eve - there's nothing like a bit of solidarity to cheer up a mini-Christmas-MOO Crew!
For those too cold to get their brains working, or anyone still stuck in a post xmas fug, I thought I would share this idea for a nice little memory game, made with Business Cards. You don't have to make one right now, but it's so quick and easy you could save it for the next time you feel like making a creative gift.
Made by Lisa (MOO's VP of Marketing), for her niece and nephew, it's a set of 50 cards, featuring pairs of family photos. The backs are all the same, and the game is in remembering where specific cards are, as you try to match up the pairs.
As Lisa lives a long way from the lucky recipients, this is a great way to keep in touch . A nice reminder of what you look like, and a simple way to say 'Hey! I'm thinking of you!'
If you're feeling camera shy, you could still make a great personalised pack by mixing and matching MOO Designer images. Either add a personal message to the reverse using the MOO templates, or by uploading a special design, as Lisa has done here. Business Cards all come with a free holder, so the game looks even more professional and is ready for easy gift wrapping.
In other news, remember Kevin Lloyd, who made Stickers from saved Dopplr destinations? He's been tinkering with the MOO Api again, and now you can make 'Mooplr' MiniCards too!
Sounds like it's time to start planning a holiday...
