The Future of the Business Card

Here are the new business cards, Letterpress printed by the wonderful Leeming Brothers. The whole experience was the antithesis of getting one’s cards digitally printed online and culminated in Kit, from the printers, driving from Hampshire to London to deliver the cards personally because I needed them the following day.

When I started Falcon, I deliberated about the need for business cards. Are they really relevant in today’s world of BumpTM, Card Flick, SnapDat, Google Goggles and Cardcloud?

To be honest, I don’t really know yet. They’re not cheap or environmentally friendly (card so thick you could use it as a palette knife). They do feel nice though, when you run your fingers across those sensual slightly debossed letters and along those smooth yellow-painted edges. They also give you a talking point when you meet people and are more personal than the cool efficiency of a virtual exchange.

For that matter, how efficient is a “virtual exchange” anyway? Do you really want to be scrabbling about in the bottom of your bag, searching for the iPhone, punching in the security code, fiddling with the app that won’t open quickly enough as your potential contact saunters off into the ether, bored and irritated?

I may well look at supplementing my beloved cards with one of the Cloud-based solutions on offer as I am well aware of how tedious it is to input people’s data from their cards. Or I could just get someone else to do it for me.

So, that's all from Made Me Look. The blog is moving to Made Us Look, my company blog. Please come and check it out!

Wackaging

© Sophie Neilan 2011

Do you ever feel your packaging's getting a bit over-familiar?

Peruse any supermarket aisle in the UK and you will find a bewildering array of packs doing everything they can to be your best mate. Do I really need to be pals with a box of porridge? Has my social life become that stunted since having kids? Maybe.

Several years ago, Innocent  paved the way for hundreds of brands struggling to find their voice. Innocent did a brilliant job and continue to do so, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, a lot of other brands have decided to find their voice too or, more explicitly, not exactly their voice, more that of Innocent's rather less cool younger brother.

There's a whole blog devoted to what has been termed "Wackaging". All packaging geeks, horrified copy writers and wackaging wanabees, click here ...

Social Media or The Art of Discussion

I recently got involved in one of those Linked In discussions that ask a pertinent question and invite people to make themselves look (a) stupid (b) angry (c) like they’ve got nothing better to do or (d - the one we’re all striving towards) intelligent and pithy.

The question was:

“What do you think makes a good client?”

It’s an interesting question and, trying to attain (d) status, I wrote:

“A good client understands his (or her) business, has clear objectives, is not afraid to take (calculated) risks, is decisive and intelligent, has the leadership skills and authority to bring his team along with him, the humility to accept advice and the social skills to make working together a pleasure, not a chore.”

To which someone responded,

“Eh ... a manager or a client?”

Oh great! Now I’ve got myself involved in a debate. I’ve got a deadline! It’s past 7pm and I don’t have time for this.

My response (quickly, time is of the essence):

“I’d have thought a good client needs to be both”.

An answer came back immediately and I have to admit to having no idea what the person was talking about. How can I respond to something unintelligible? Why did I get involved anyway?

Much as I would have loved to have a go at responding, I know I would have catapulted myself straight into (a) and (b) status simultaneously and, to avoid this, have now stepped away from the discussion.

Lesson learned: social media takes time, commitment and patience. How do you select the right discussions to throw yourself wholeheartedly into? How do you fit it into your daily life? How do you manage to keep up your day job?

Do I need to buy an iPad, give up my job or employ someone to do it for me?

Herb Lubalin at the Cooper Union

I recently came across this wonderful Flickr set of images by Justin Thomas Kay, featuring work by the iconic American graphic designer, Herb Lubalin (creator of the font Avante Garde, amongst others).

It's really worth a look and is proof of how the general standard of design would be improved if more designers had to prove their skill without the use of a Mac.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

Last week was holiday time for us and off to Southwold in Suffolk we went!

The days of jetting off to exotic climes seem to have long since passed for me and I must admit I wasn't particularly enthralled by the prospect of a week experiencing what we laughingly call "British Summertime" at close quarters.

My memories of English seaside fun extend to week-ends as a child visiting my grand-parents in Brighton. I loved seeing my grand-parents. However, the beach was nothing but a chore: staggering across agonising pebbles to step into a witheringly cold sea. Inedible sticks of rock and sticky candy-floss were given as a panacea to the general dullness of it all, but they were awful too.

Dental suicide

Well, my worries could not have been more misplaced. We had a wonderful time! Southwold is WONDERFUL! Go there! NO. Don't. Don't tell anyone about it.

 

Sandy beaches, beach huts, a pier, a putting green, a boating lake, cream teas, wasps, butterflies, crabs, ladybirds en masse, OAP's, Boden catalogue families, resentful locals: they were all there and out in force.

Long live the Summer! I am a Born Again British Beachbum. Wish it would stop raining, though.

Oz and the Bear digging for pebbles

Biscuiteers

This came in the post today. It was a thank-you from my friend, Lucy, and it is utterly gorgeous!

Biscuits through the post

All the girls in our studio were ecstatic. The boys feigned disinterest, but I reckon they were just jealous.

I think it's a great idea, and so much tastier than flowers.

Another beautiful design by Bigfish, you can check Biscuiteers out here.

3 Wise Monkeys

I have never watched a parliamentary committee in action until today. Bizarre!

All I can say is that there seemed to be a lot of glancing down to the left from some parties.

Riveting stuff! The worm has turned!

© Sophie Neilan 2011