Shortly after graduating I had some oppourtunies come my way and felt it was time to come up with a card. In designing it I wanted to fill three sets of criteria.
The cards had to be:
- different.
- on either 100% recycled or fiber based rag paper.
- relatively inexpensive. I gave myself a budget of $70 and swore I wouldn't go over $90.
Being most familiar with rag papers from albumen and cyanotype printing in photography, I started my search there. I ran through the gamut and then went onto see what recycled paper stock options were available locally. I settled on some rag paper, knowing it wasn't exactly what I wanted, but the closest I could find.
Taking a moment to pause and think, I started flipping through some artist sketch pads. I came to a series of pads En Tour makes here in Canada. The pads sport various sketches by Robert Bateman on the cover and are made from 100% recycled paper. The stock is composed of post-commercial waste and uses a more responsible whitening process than traditional chlorination. They are made in cooperation with the WWF, with a portion of all sales going to its conservation efforts as well. I realized that I'd found my solution. Different, cheap, with a lower impact; all criteria had been met.
My design was simple and direct. The cards gave my name and steered one towards my website. I chose not to bombard people with information, but simply give them a source to find more. I tweaked my design to work better with the unconventional dimensions of the card and then contacted Kenny of Smoke Screen Printing in Edmonton. I unbound the pad and he printed my design onto each card, I rebound the pad and had my finished card.
I completed the project and had 100 truly unique business cards for $85.
