What are the elements in business card design?

Business card design skills

As early as human history, plastic arts have been applied to "recording", not only for "recording", but also for "announcement effect"; China's Yungang Grottoes, Dunhuang murals, Egyptian pyramids and Greek and Roman temples are all relics of the rulers' display of power and status or the promotion of religious beliefs. In fact, there is no need for advertising in the barter era when trading behavior is underdeveloped. Because before the invention of writing, the original paintings were displayed in stone walls or caves. From the perspective of modern design concept, ancient cave paintings are simply "notices", "announcements" or "records", which are the most primitive print advertising design in the night market.

With words, pictures and written notices are gradually applied to convey opinions in daily life. China used calligraphy fonts to express shop tricks; In ancient Greece and Rome, the brand of ivy was often hung at the entrance of the hotel; This is the earliest universal advertising design. Until the middle ages, self-sufficient economic productivity led to the rise of commerce; The successive inventions of printing and papermaking have opened up the form and preliminary scale of modern advertising design. With the rapid change of modern capitalist structure, industrial industrialization and mechanical production have made the scope of commercial transactions wider and the circulation speed faster. Advertisements for industries or consumers are also expanding day by day, and graphic design applied to plastic arts is also developing in a diversified way. "Business card" design is one of them.

What I want to talk about here is the business card design that belongs to visual communication; Business cards are both "painting" and "design" visual media. In the past, the design of business cards was mostly simple and to the point, but now the business cards used are much more interesting than before. Changes in font expression, color block expression, pattern expression, color expression, decoration expression and even typesetting make business cards no longer a simple and lifeless piece of paper. It has become a medium for people to meet for the first time and deepen their impressions.

Explore the form of beauty

What is design? Generally speaking, it's like handing out business cards. On the one hand, let the other party know us, on the other hand, the business card should be beautiful and generous. Basically, practical and beautiful business cards are born of design; However, what is the motivation of design? Of course, it is for the needs, business needs and communication needs. This phenomenon is just like that human beings need light on the one hand and invented candles and electric lights on the other. So design can be explained by invention. If we look at design from the perspective of invention, designers are scientists, racking their brains, unless it is to create human civilization. Therefore, if we first establish such a complete and sound design concept, and then engage in commercial design, we will certainly be able to pass various commercial designs.

The concept of "beauty" is very abstract, especially for non-academic people, it often falls into a dilemma. However, we can be sure that when most people's choices are similar, it is that the design of "business card" itself has reached some form of "beauty". Since the Greek philosophers Aristotle, Kant, Hegel and others have made a famous study on the form of beauty, and with the help of modern psychological aesthetics scholars, they have put it into practice through various analyses and comments.

1. Rhythm: It is not easy to express rhythm with vivid words or graphic composition, but according to the analysis of modeling methods, it can be generally divided into repetition and gradual change. When these two methods and laws, or irregular phenomena are used alternately, they can develop into infinite graphics.

2. Symmetry: it can convey the psychological feelings of order, stability, static solemnity and majesty; For example, a shape that is equal to the left or right or up and down is called substantial symmetry; The left and right or up and down are not completely equal, but they can also produce a sense of symmetry visually, which is called sensory symmetry.

3. Contrast: Comparing two relative elements, such as straight line and curve, long and short, thick and thin, bright and dark, black and white, big and small, sharp and blunt, produces the phenomenon that the strong is stronger and the weak is weaker; And emphasize each other's characteristics to set off the beauty of contrast.

4. Balance: When two or more components are evenly distributed and reach a stable state, it is called balance. Normal balance has a sense of stability and stillness; Abnormal balance presents an unstable and dynamic feeling, but it is emotional and relatively changeable. General modeling, substantial color, light and shade, size, texture and other sensory balance.

5. Proportion: Among the proportions, the most talked about is the golden ratio; Greek art mostly uses 1: 1.6 18 to find the beauty of order change. Length ratio, diagonal ratio, dichotomy ratio and trisection ratio are all normal ratios.

6. Harmony: When two components exist at the same time, if the characteristics are too strong or too far apart, there will be a contrast phenomenon; If the two can reach an agreement and do not exclude each other, then they are in a harmonious state. For example, black and white are contrast, and the gray between black and white is a kind of harmony, so harmony can be explained by the golden mean.

7. Unity: There are many factors to achieve unity, such as color, shape, direction, lightness and texture. Have this function; Unity can be explained by "domination" and "subordination"; When many opposing elements coexist, there is a phenomenon of rejecting competition, which needs a main theme to integrate. With the theme, there is unity, the theme is dominant, and other parts are subordinate.

(1) How to design a business card?

The basic concept of design is to gather [components] in a field and interact with each other; This function conveys a message in the known background, which is conveyed through the visual adjustment and clever handling of components within the design scope. Basically, these elements are composed of fonts, logos and illustrations, plus the dominant effects of black, white and color.

Elements of business cards

Usually, when designing business cards, the form, color and pattern are all designed according to CI manual or stationery. The size and shape are often cut according to the size of the wallet; The content is decided by the customer. In order to make the design unconventional, we should give full play to creative and dynamic ideas and make the designed business cards different from ordinary traditional business cards. Although the expression of business card design varies according to industry, appeal angle or customer; The materials that make up the picture are generally certain, and these materials are important elements of business card design, which are called [components] of business card design.

1, which belongs to formative elements:

Illustrations (such as microscopic or decorative patterns)

Signs (signs formed by patterns or words)

Commodity name (standard font of commodity, also known as synthetic text or trademark text)

Decorative frames and shadows (beautify the layout and set off the theme)

2, belong to the elements of the text are:

Company name (including the company's full name in Chinese and English and business items)

Slogans (complete short sentences expressing corporate style)

Name (Chinese and English title, name)

Contact information (Chinese and English address, telephone, mobile phone, pager, fax number)

3. Other relevant elements:

Color (collocation of hue, lightness and chroma)

Arrangement (the overall arrangement of words and patterns)

These elements belong to the design of business cards, and each has a different mission and function. If these materials are scattered and act alone, they will not be able to give full play to their effects; Therefore, how to make these elements keep in touch and play a unified communication role is an important work of arrangement, which can be said to be the visual unified design of elements; But a single aesthetic feeling and arranged elements are meaningless arrangements. The real purpose of layout is to beautify the layout and give it functional visual layout.

(b) How to arrange these elements?

Sometimes, when you try to design a business card, if you don't apply some rules, you may encounter some design bottlenecks when integrating different elements. Generally speaking, in order to effectively arrange the elements on a business card, you must first pay attention to:

1, to improve the psychological contact effect between the other party and the made business card.

2. For artistic design elements of visual communication, graphic processing (graphic design) is given priority. When designing business cards, the problem of composition is the most important. There are ten representative forms of business card composition, such as vertical row, oblique row, concave and convex, cross, radial, graphic, S-shaped, contrast and dispersion. Characters of various shapes are introduced as follows:

1, upright modeling: it has a sense of stability, is a strong composition, and the line of sight will be from top to bottom.

2. Oblique shape: it is a strong and dynamic composition, and the line of sight will advance from top to bottom or from bottom to top due to the oblique angle.

3, horizontal: stable and steady composition, the line of sight will move left and right.

4. Cross: Vertical lines and horizontal lines are symmetrical, and they intersect, or orthogonal lines are inclined. No matter how the inclination of the intersection changes, the main eye point will focus on the intersection of the intersection.

5. Parallel shapes: vertical parallel, horizontal parallel, oblique parallel, etc. Any kind of arrangement will have the feeling of splitting the layout in two. Horizontal parallelism has a sense of stability than vertical parallelism, and oblique parallelism has a sense of dynamic experience.

6, radial: a variety of situations are unified in one eye point, and the visual effects are diverse and unified.

7, graphics: the line of sight will draw a circular rotation when writing, which can attract attention.

8.s-shape: Opposing conditions can be unified in a relative way.

9. Contrast shape: the kinetic energy composition of the balance force (components of shape and color).

10, decentralized form: although the focus is decentralized, the overall feeling still has a unified atmosphere and effect.

(3) How to change the layout

A good business card should be able to skillfully show the original function and exquisite design of the business card; The main purpose of business card design is to deepen people's impression, and at the same time to quickly associate with their own expertise and interests. Therefore, attractive business cards are often vivid and interesting.

Business cards are usually designed with envelope stationery. When designing, you should not only refer to other people's opinions, but also refer to other people's business cards; Because exquisite design can invisibly increase the trust of the other party, the content of business card design should be gradual. The following is an introduction to the business card design process:

1. Select the paper suitable for business cards.

2. Decide the size and shape of the business card design.

3. Establish the location of the design or company logo.

4. Follow the design of envelopes and stationery.

5. Make a series of supplementary designs.

6. Reserve space for names and titles.

7. These marks are the same color and font as envelopes and stationery.

8, put forward a variety of design styles.

Designing this course requires the accumulation of experience; Although I don't have the ability to design, it is also a good design method to refer to the business cards designed by others and then change the layout. Here are a few examples of each partner. The same components, because of different designs, show different business card styles and impressions.

1, text design performance

As we all know, writing is one of the most important visual media in human daily life, and it has become the disseminator of academic culture. Font design is to make the spirit of writing become proficient and enhance the charm of writing. Therefore, when using words in the design industry, it is not only for conveying information, but also for "decoration" and "appreciation" to enhance the impression.

In recent years, due to the rapid development of advertising and the influence of design trends around the world, whether advertising companies or individuals are engaged in design work, in order to meet business needs or express personal design ideas, in addition to changes in printed fonts; It also produced many novel fonts with decorative and changing characteristics. [Hand-painted font] is a special font that is completely different from traditional fonts on the premise of emphasizing the lightness and creative interest of writing.

When designing business cards, the industry often affects the expression of character shaping; For example, soft pen fonts are suitable for use in teahouses. The theme sources of character design are: the company's full name in Chinese and English, Chinese and English initials, character symbols and so on. Glyphs include Vientiane, design glyphs, carved glyphs and traditional glyphs. Finally, we should pay attention to the coordination of fonts and words, create an atmosphere of layout, and shape famous brands into another new visual language.

2, illustration design performance

Illustrate the content of the scheme, the expression of the theme or the key points of the product in the form of picture books, with illustrations as the purpose, emphasizing the safety of the original, and having a complete and independent visual shaping, which is called illustration. In the modern society with frequent commercial advertisements, illustrations are applied to almost any printed matter with advertising nature, so the form, content and skills of illustrations have also become one of the focuses of advertising appeals. The choice of illustration can be divided into two categories: [real image] and [abstract]. Designers must consider universality or representativeness when creating, so that they can resort to mental analysis of data, choose elements to remove impurities, and make a combination of shapes and colors. Induce everyone's visual consumption, and have a * * * mood for illustration; Therefore, among the elements of business cards, illustration is an important material to form personality and attract vision. Most importantly, illustrations can directly express the company's structure or industry, thus conveying the understandable reading effect of advertising content.

3, color design performance

Color is a complex language, which has emotional expression, sometimes it makes people feel elated, and sometimes it makes people feel thrilling. In addition to visual effects, color also affects sensory organs. For example, yellow reminds people of acid, soft color is touch, and fragrant color is smell, which can prove how complex and diverse the influence of color on people's psychology and physiology is. Therefore, business card designers should first understand the corporate image of each company when they are engaged in the conventional combination of colors. Color is a combined medium, and the strength of color lies not in the size of area, but in the influence of regular configuration; The hue of color comes from the characteristics of color, and can also be obtained according to the size and position relationship of hue.

Modern people have no color taboo, but TINT, who turns to pursue individuality, can successfully master the application of business card color as long as it can combine the strong feelings felt by consumers. On the other hand, if the power of color to people is not fully utilized, or the color tone is wrong, then no matter how well the content is arranged, it will not attract everyone's attention to the content of business cards. Therefore, when choosing the color of primary color paper for business cards, we must think carefully with design creativity, otherwise the spread business cards may damage the image of individuals or enterprises.

4, decorative frame, sunshade design performance

Decorative frame and shading are the elements of graphic design; In the design of business cards, it is not an essential material, but mostly used for decorative purposes.

Business card design should first attract the attention of the other party, so that the other party can concentrate on understanding the content of the business card; Therefore, clear lines or shadows on business cards are sometimes defensive and sometimes aggressive. Take decorative frame as an example, the role of decorative frame in arrangement is to control the other party's vision and achieve the purpose of understanding the content; However, if the shaping of the decorative frame is too strong, it will constantly stimulate the readers' eyes and divert their attention. Therefore, the decorative frame of the business card should have no resistance, and the soft lines are better; Then induce the line of sight to move to the internal theme.

Since the main purpose of decorative frame and bottom spinning is decoration, the principle of not affecting the text effect should be used in color application; Only by distinguishing the relationship between master and deputy can we get clear business card works, otherwise the text will be mixed with decorative frames and shading, which will have the opposite effect on reading.

5, color block design performance

Generally speaking, [color block] is closely related to [surface] and [shape]; For example, when we draw a [square], this square has not yet formed the impression of a curved surface in our consciousness, but when we draw this square in black, the consciousness of the curved surface will gradually increase, so [painting] often has its significance in the formation of the consciousness of the curved surface; From here, we know that the consciousness of shape is based on the front, and the consciousness of surface is based on the back. There is also an equal consciousness trend between the two, that is to say, when you see the shape, you will produce the surface, and finally the color block will naturally exist.

Color blocks can be divided into geometric shapes and non-geometric shapes; Usually, a geometric city has a simple, concise and lively feeling, but if its combination is too complicated, it is easy to lose these characteristics; Non-geometric color blocks can be divided into organic and accidental shapes; Objects existing in nature are called organic forms; What happens by accident is called natural shape, also called accidental figure.

In the design of business cards, color is the main performance. [Golden ratio] is a commonly used design of equal ratio division. Golden proportion has the visual beauty of rational data proportion, which is stable, lively and balanced, and is the best point and proportion of visual design; When composing a page, as long as the mysterious principle is used, the visual effect can achieve a stable and beautiful picture. The gold ratio is 1: 1.6 18, 3:5, 5:8, 8: 13,121,55:89.

6, the design performance of printing processing

In order to make the effect of business card design better and pursue the best visual sense, there are often various printing methods. Now the processing methods commonly used in business card design are described as follows:

1, glazing: business cards can increase patience and beauty. Generally speaking, the common methods of business card glazing include coating ordinary resin (niss), coating plastic oil (PVA), laminating plastic film (PP or PVC), laminating matt plastic film, etc. The above methods can improve the fineness of printing.

2. Roll forming: that is, die forming. Business cards are cut into irregular shapes by steel die-cutting machine under pressure. Most of these business cards are different from the traditional size and have great variability.

3. Press out the convex and concave patterns on the paper to increase the tactile effect of its surface, and such business cards often have a visual sense of relief.

4, commonly known as punching. Perforation similar to loose-leaf picture books; There is an imperfect beauty.

5. In order to enhance the visual effect of the surface, characters or patterns are heated and pressed with hot stamping materials such as gold foil and silver foil to form special luster such as gold and silver; Although there are also gold and silver inks in lithography, the printing effect of the ink can not be as bright as that after bronzing, showing the sense of value of business cards.

Keep coming.

A small business card, seemingly simple, has to go through the following eight processes to reach your hands. In the meantime, you should participate in the preliminary work of making business cards, and you should choose the printing method, printing difficulty and printing paper of business cards; You also have to provide the specific content of the business card and design the general idea; Many times, manuscripts have to be proofread, especially demanding and complicated business cards, which are required by merchants. The post-processing of business cards is also complicated, which requires professional equipment and skilled operators. In the past, I had to go to the business card printing shop to print in person, and a box of business cards might have to go many times. Fortunately, with the internet, it is simple now. You can tap the keyboard while drinking coffee, and easily and comfortably find the best business card making scheme for you. If you are not satisfied with all the plans we offer, you can design your own business card according to your own ideas, and even proofreading can be omitted. Wouldn't that be soon? When you order a business card, you may want to know the making process. Let's introduce it to everyone.

First, determine the printing method.

If you want to print business cards, you must first determine your own printing method, because different printing methods will decide to use different business card carriers and also affect the printing price of business cards.

1. computer digital business card: the printing of business cards can be done by computer and color laser printer. Business card paper is 292× 197mm, and each paper can make ten business cards. Its characteristics are extremely high printing speed, typesetting and printing in one go, and the quality of business cards produced is good. A box of simple business cards can be completed within 30 minutes from receiving orders, typesetting and delivery. The high quality and timeliness of computer digital business cards make it the mainstream way to make business cards. 2. Offset printing of business cards: The printing of business cards needs the cooperation of computers, black and white laser printers, printers and business card offset presses. Business card paper is 90×55mm special paper for business cards, and only one business card can be printed on each paper. Its characteristic is that it can fully express all the creativity of business cards, and it is the traditional printing form of business cards at present. Disadvantages: slow printing speed, long delivery cycle, high price and low quality.

3. Special business cards: The printing of business cards needs the cooperation of computers, laser printers, printers and small screen printers. Business cards are made of media other than paper, the media size is 90×55mm, and only one business card can be printed. Its characteristics are: the general medium is thicker and harder than business card paper, which is suitable for high-grade and personalized business cards, and the grades of different media are different. Disadvantages: screen printing is complicated, business card media is very spare, business card customization cycle is long and expensive. Second, the choice of printing difficulty

When you choose the printing method of business cards, you must also choose the printing times of business cards, which is also the color of business cards to be printed. The color of business cards is also one of the important indicators to determine the price of business cards. At the same time, you have to choose whether the business card is printed on one side or on both sides. The increase of printing surface means the increase of printing times, as well as the increase of color and price.

1, color selection: business card colors can be divided into monochrome, bicolor, color and true color to determine different printing times. Because the three primary colors can form colors, the solid color pattern has no black, and the color picture without black is not full, so the color pattern we often say is composed of four colors, which is also called true color. Although some offset printing business cards have no pictures, they are also composed of three colors, which are also color business cards. There is no need to choose this method in computer digital business cards. 2. Single-sided and double-sided selection: the double-sided selection of business card printing paper is also the choice of printing times. The number of printed faces of business cards is directly related to the price.

Keep coming.

Third, the content of the business card.

When you want to print a business card, you must determine what you want to print on it. The main body of a business card is the information provided above, which is mainly composed of words, pictures (patterns) and company logo. Digital information is one of them, but it can't be the mainstream of a business card.

1. Information selection: Text information includes company name, name of business card holder, title and contact information. Some business cards also include business scope, multiple-choice words, company motto or auspicious words.

2.Logo selection: if company users have their own company logo, most of them need to print business cards. If your company is a large national enterprise, our database may contain your company's logo, you can choose from it; If you don't have your logo, you must send it to us by email or fax. If you agree with us to collect your logo, you don't need to send it the next time you print your business card.

3. Picture selection: You can also choose personal photos, pictures, shading, calligraphy works and simple maps to print on your business card to make your business card more personalized. If you use offset printing or laser printing, you don't have to consider the size of the picture; If screen printing is used, because the resolution of simple screen printing is low, it is recommended to use larger pictures.

Fourth, business card design.

If you want to print business cards, you have to find out your favorite business card template according to your personal hobbies. If you are not satisfied with the template, you can also design it yourself; If you don't want to work too hard, we can help you design, but you still have to provide your general requirements and bear the design cost.

1. Use templates: According to the different printing methods of business cards, we have placed a large number of representative excellent templates printed in the past in the business card center for you to choose when customizing business cards. Over time, we will delete some outdated templates and add some new ones. If you are our member and have printed your business card in our store, you also have the right to temporarily store your business card samples. The next time you print a business card, you just need to give your name and password. If you want to change it, you still have to customize it again.

2. Design by yourself: Designing your own business card is undoubtedly the best choice. Only you know your needs best. You can play it at will, and you can also save the trouble of proofreading again and shorten the delivery time of business cards.

Five, business card typesetting proofreading

1. Computer typesetting: Use professional business card typesetting software to typeset business cards. If the user proofreads by email, the printed business card will not be printed until the proofreading is confirmed. If the customer indicates that they want to proofread by fax, they can print a draft for proofreading until OK.

2. E-mail: the main way for us to reply to the confirmation email. If we receive the typesetting confirmation reply email, we can print the business card.

3. Fax: If the customer expresses the need for fax proofreading, you can print a draft first, and then print the business card after the customer signs the draft for confirmation.

Six, business card printing

At present, there are three kinds of business card printing, the simplest is laser printing, followed by offset printing, and screen printing is the most complicated. At present, laser printing and offset printing are widely used, but screen printing is relatively rare.

1. Laser printing: It is the most widely used printing method at present. Offset printing and screen printing are also inseparable from laser printing, and their simple plate making is also completed by laser printing. At present, laser printing is divided into black and color, and computer business cards of different grades can be made.

2. Offset printing: At present, it is the traditional way to print business cards. Its manufacturing process is much more complicated than computer business cards. First of all, the designed business card samples should be printed on transfer paper, or printed into film (color pictures with screen drawing). Then, the business card samples of transfer paper or film should be dried by a printer on the PS version of the business card printing board, and the dried PS version can be installed on the business card offset press before printing can begin.

3. Screen printing: Because it is not suitable for paper printing, it is rarely used for business card printing. Screen printing, like offset printing, also needs to print the designed business card samples on transfer paper or printed film, and then dry the business card samples or film from transfer paper on the screen printing plate with a special screen printing machine, and then put the screen printing plate on the screen printing machine for printing.