We finally got around to getting new business cards made. Our old ones were woefully out of date and, besides, I’d run out. Here’s the new card:
The talented Nick Monahan did the design. It’s rather minimalist. I give full credit to Julie on this, as it was her idea. I like it a lot, though, and here’s why.
What is a business card? It’s a token. An artifact of a conversation (or, when I speak and leave a stack for people to pick up, a physical memento of the talk I gave). What do people need later on? A reminder of who I was (hence the photo), and a means to contact me. That’s all.
Everything else feels a little superfluous. We move around a lot, so our physical location often changes. Likewise, our focus and services have changed significantly in the past couple of years. That’s likely to happen again. Finally, we are different things to different people. Sometimes I’m a speaker. Sometimes I’m a blogger. Sometimes I’m a book author. And so on. It’s tricky to meaningfully encapsulate that on one card.
Hence, the less-is-more approach. I ensured that one side would be white, so that I could make a little show of manually writing my phone number on a card if somebody wanted it. It makes them feel special, and that can’t hurt.
What do you think?
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I like them. The photo is a nice touch; I sometimes draw a little sketch of the person on business cards (after they’ve left), cause I know I won’t be able to remember who they are without the visual cue.
Siobhan: Likewise, I often make a note or two on a business card about the person I’ve just met. One card currently on my desk reads “British, ManU fan”.
i’m always a huge fan of less is more. it stands out. kudos to you for not being afraid of that.
I have photographic memory so I almost never forget the face and thus for me, the photo is a double-reminder. But a good one, at that.
However,I tend to forget or confuse the eye color of the speaker/contact. And the card doesn’t help with that specific issue 😦
Good cards 🙂
That card is just asking to be doodled on. Moustache? Devil’s horns? Cartoon talk bubble with the caption “Indeed”?
I guess I won’t be getting one, then.
Unlike the other commenters here, I also sometimes forget non-facial details of people I meet, like… your last name. The city you’re from. What exactly you do.
Plus, I’d have to say that the lack of phone number is pretty important. I tend to treat business cards with no phone number as less professional than those that have something more permanent, like a phone number or an address.
So content-wise, I’m not a fan of the new cards. Design-wise, I think they’re really cool, and the addition of the image of you is really, really excellent.
TTFN
Travis
Darren, I like it. You’ve made good points on the value of business cards.
I’ve been designing business cards for well over a decade, and I would never endorse a photo on one.
But this, this works. It works really well, and it works for the reasons that you stated above. Looks great Darren.
I thought I read somewhere that having a picture on a card is somehow important for business .Not sure why.
Well, your new card looks really good.
I like the minimalist design but, probably a bit too minimalist to eliminate your second name (get an email alias Darren.Barefoot@capulet.com)?
Also not everybody will extrapolate the existence of a website from an email address so a URL wouldn’t go astray.
Otherwise I like it.
Like the cards. Very nice. Did Nick’s company do the printing too or just the design?
Aaron: Nick’s company handled the interfacing with the printer, too, which was a major blessing.
I like the overall design and “feel” of the business card, but like some of the others have mentioned here, I feel the content is a little too minimalist.
The inclusion of a photo is an interesting choice, but it is terribly odd that your name doesn’t appear on the card (other than your first name as part of the email address). I think something as simple as including a name and title can go a long way. Including a phone number (as well) is even better.
I agree with the posters who think your name should be on the card. And I think that you could include a tagline like one you have on your blog. It’s a good way to showcase your multiple talents. My email signature says- Alexis Kienlen- poet, fiction writer, journalist, editor.
I’d put that on my business card if I had one.
The blank side’s a nicely personal (and practical) idea. Excellent.
Plus, they allow you to give as little contact info as you wish, without any social awkwardness. 🙂
Nice card. Cards are tough these days because there is no standard. Even sizes are up the heezy. The image makes it personal in the land-of-thousands-of-business-cards. Karacters Design Group has a similar thing. It hasn’t been mentioned that there is a major tradeoff of information. Minimalist information (no phone number) is very closed. The photo is very open. Basically, the reason you get away with it is the photo. But peeps are still a little put out by the cagyness it seems. But like it enough even if they are. So that tightrope is well walked.
Finally, why do you always look so smug?
I love your blog…really. Did you already hear about water on mars? 🙂