Reasons to have a business card

Unlike what many people may think, the business cards are not only a mere detail. Besides of introduce yourself and promote your personal marketing, this elements can convey your professionalism, especially in situations where there is direct contact.

At this point, you might think: "personal marketing? What does that have to do? "Let me tell you that it has all to do! Imagine the following scenario.  You are participating in a meeting or professional event. Suddenly, you are talking to someone who is the CEO of a company that you wish to work, and in the moment that is supposed to give your contact .... You don’t have a business card with you! And so, in a few seconds, you ended up losing an opportunity that could have represented a professional evolution. So, it’s important that you always have with you some business cards in order to not let escape the opportunities that cross in your way.

“And these cards? how they should be? “It’s a question that you might think and it’s very relevant. It’s important to realize that the card aspect is as important as your personal image, because this element is going to communicate your first professional impression to the person who is receiving it. But often this first impression may not correspond to reality, if you don’t have an appropriate card. Examples of this are cards made on inkjet printing at home or cards with outdated data and / or erased.

The appearance of the card should be as "clean" as possible, with objective information such as company logo (if you work for some company), your name, occupation and contact details: phone, email and one page (if any).

Here is some examples of business cards:

1. Geometric pattern: For the projection of this card, I have used a simple layout in order to display the contact information in a clear and robust way. And to give an elegant touch, I  used a geometric pattern in the front and back of the card.

• Front of the card:

• Back of the card:

• Final result:

2. Modern card: For the projection of this card, I have used a simple layout consisting of straight lines and some graphics which indicates in a clear and robust way the different means of contact.

• Front of the card

• Back of the card:

• Final result:

I hope you enjoyed it, and don’t forget to always have business cards with you :)

Credits:

Text, photos and business cards design by Ana de Sousa

To purchase, please contact the following email: anadesousa.design@gmail.com

Vania and Jorge's Wedding

And to start the week, on this Monday I wanted to show you the result of one of my work in the area of wedding invitations: the invitation of Vania and Jorge.

The theme chosen by the couple for their event is Rustic chic. In terms of colors, although the couple hadn’t initially decided the palette of color to be use in their wedding, was one of the Vania’s wishes that the invitation includes pastel tones.

Based on what the couple wanted and having total freedom to develop my creativity, both in terms of colors (since I included pastel tones) and graphics, I began to build an inspiration board where I gathered several pictures of wildflowers. From that, I selected the palette that I used in the invitation. This inspiration board was also used in the post Guide for wedding invitations and decorating where I presented some tips for planning and developing the graphics and decorating part of a wedding.

For the graphic part of the invitation, and in order to match to the selected palette, I chose simple wildflowers, and to give a rustic appearance but at the same time chic, I included a texture on the flower in the invitation.

And voilà! Here is the result:

• Front:

• Backer:

• Final result:

I hope you liked it, and stay tuned because in the next few days I will post more of my work in this area.

Have a nice week!

Credits:

Text, photos and invitation design by Ana de Sousa

To purchase, please contact the following email: anadesousa.design@gmail.com

Sonia and Pedro’s Wedding

Today I’m going to show you one of my works in the area of wedding invitations: the wedding invitation of Sonia and Pedro.

Sonia and Pedro are a couple who are planning their wedding for the next year. Although there’s still some time, the couple decided to start the organization of their event with some antecedence due to their limited availability.

The theme chosen for the event is flowers, with the inclusion of the brown color as one of the colors to be used.

Taking into consideration the wishes of the couple and the theme chosen, I began to build an inspiration board from which was determinate the color palette to be used in the invitations (to know more about inspiration boards, click on the next post). Also, I considered the trends in terms of themes and colors for this year: bold colors, attributing to the flowers that I designed a chic and rustic touch, in order to convey through the invitations a little from the place where the ceremony will be held.

The result is the one that I show you below:

• Front 

• Backer

Once the bride wanted to include a message in the invitations, and with the purpose of not having a lot of information on the front of the card, I decided to create an alternative backer with the message.

So, here is the final result:

I hope you liked it and stay tuned to the following post :)

Credits:

Text, photos and invitation design by Ana de Sousa

To purchase, please contact the following email: anadesousa.design@gmail.com

Paper roses

Passionate about craft projects, I couldn’t stop myself from creating a category in my blog about this subject :)

I always considered the combination between design and craftwork as being something unique, because it’s through this combination that it’s possible to achieve the special touch that everyone is looking for in their events.

So is my intention to suggest simple projects in this new category but at the same time ensure a good result.

So, to start this section I bring a project that consists of creating paper roses. These roses can be used to decorate invitations, menus and other graphical elements, and also as a decorative element for your homes.

To make those roses, the following materials are needed:

• Glue
• Paperboard with the desired color
• Scissor

Cut the paperboard into squares. In the example, once I wanted small flowers, the squares have a side of 6cm. If you want bigger flowers, increase the size of the square.

Procedure

1. Transform each square into a spiral. Do not worry about the irregularities of the cut because it will not be noticed at the end.

2. Start by wrapping the outside of the spiral.  Make sure to roll the start of the flower tight.

3. Finally, glue the base and allow it to dry.

And voilà! We have our rose ready to use :)

I hope you liked it and stay tuned to the next project :)

Credits:

Text and photographies by Ana de Sousa

Thank you cards

I’m going to start this week talking about the thank you cards.

The thank you cards have only one purpose: help you to express your gratitude for someone who was present in your event or gave you a gift.

The text should emphasize your gratefulness and express how that present or act of gratitude makes you feel.

For preparing the note you should:

1. Choose an appropriate card;
2. Choose a pen with ink appropriated for the occasion;
3. Write a message expressing your gratefulness

As an example, here is some thank you cards designed for different purpose.

• Baby showers: The baby and the stork, Cute animals, Babies are from Paris

Birthday parties: Magical circus, Little princess, Seventies sweet sixteen

I hope this post can be an inspiration and stay tuned to the following ones.

Credits:

Photography by Minted

Thank you cards: Ana de Sousa for Minted

Vintage & Eroded Font

Before the weekend, here is the font that I have chosen to show you: Vintage & Eroded Font.

Projected by Aleph Corporation, this beautiful font is free for personal and commercial use and is ideal to give a special touch to invitations, signs, posters, etc.

I hope you liked it and stay tuned, because next week I will have interesting news and surprises for all who follows me through this blog.

Have a nice weekend;)

Credits:

Image: Ana de Sousa

Font: Vintage & Eroded Font.

Little Princess

Thinking about the princesses of the house, today I show you my design called Little Princess.

This design emphasizes the birthday number without forgetting the central theme of the party, which is the Princess.

It is available on Minted, and it’s possible to adapt it for girls up to 5 years.

Credits:

Photography by Minted.
Invitation: Ana de Sousa for Minted

Hong Kong baby shower

To start the week, I wanted to share with you a baby shower that was themed around my invitation Babies are from Paris. This event is a good example of how the selection of a theme can simplify the organization of any event, as I mentioned in the post Guide for wedding invitations and decoration.

Here is the image of my baby shower invitation Babies are from Paris, available in Minted.

Photography by Minted

Photography by Minted

Once the future mom is set in Hong Kong, the invitation was adapted in order to include buildings of that city.

Photography by Hong Kong Housewife

The color of the decoration was adapted to the colors of the invitation.

Photography by Hong Kong Housewife

And also was made some cookies and cake pops based in the stork design from the invitation.

Photography by Hong Kong Housewife

Photography by Hong Kong Housewife

Photography by Hong Kong Housewife

I hope you liked it and have a nice week!

Credits:

Photography: Minted and Hong Kong Housewife

Invitation: Ana de Sousa for Minted.

Cake pops: Sweet Lauren Cakes

Cookies:  Sugar MamaCookies SF

Brayden Family

As I promised in my post Guide for wedding invitation and decoration, the font that I’ve chosen to show you this week is: Brayden Family.

Designed by Adam Fathony, the regular version of this font is free for personal and commercial use. Because of its style, it is ideal for logos, lettering, wedding invitation, posters, etc.

Have a great weekend and stay tuned to the next suggestions.

Credits:
Font: Brayden Family.

Image: Ana de Sousa

Guide for wedding invitation and decoration

After the definition of the date of your marriage, it is common that you ask  yourself the following questions: "I'm getting married! Where do I start? What should I do?"

It’s a fact that the organization of any event requires some preparation with order to ensuring a good result. And thinking on this, I’ve prepared a small 5 step guide in order to simplify the planning of the decoration and graphic part of the event ( save the date , invitations , menus, etc.).

1. Get inspired: It is not compulsory, but the easiest way to start organizing an event is choosing a theme. Once you have your theme chosen, you can start searching for images and objects. Then, you can build an image board to help you visualize and combine the ideas that you’ve found.

2. Choose a color palette: Define up to 5 colors and organize your event based on them. The image board is a precious resource that can assist you in your choose.

For example, in the following image I present the image board of an invitation that I did for a couple that is using the Rustic chic as theme . This image board consists of several images of wildflowers from which was generated one palette of colors to be used in the event and invitations.

Note: There are also tools like Adobe Kuler where you can find color palettes created by other users and can also help you to create your own palette.

3. Text and layout: In your graphic elements, go for less text and have more originality on the disposition of it. This will give a clean and modern look to your graphic elements. Remember: less is more!

4. Fonts: You can use more than one font to write the text of your graphic material. But don’t forget! Up to three different fonts.

Note: Every week I will select and publish a font, so stay tuned to my font section.

5. Be original: Add original elements such as textures, in order to give a different and special touch to both: the decoration and graphic material.

As an example, I show you the result of the invitation that I designed for the theme Rustic chic. I used the color palette from step 1 and the text was simplified to give a clean and chic aspect. And finally, it was added a texture in the flowers for a rustic feel.

* The invitation's text was modified in order to protect the original information

I hope you liked it and stay tuned for the next ideas!

Credits:
Text: Ana de Sousa

Images and Invitation: Ana de Sousa
Buy invitation: Contact anadesousa.design@gmail.com

Beautiful stationery

Despite the facilities and the increasing use of digital tools, there is nothing that can replace the "magic" of printed materials: the feel and smell of the paper, the hand written words and phrases, the calligraphy ....From a simple note to a diary!

Combined with good design, these materials are elements that can make small differences in our everyday life and can be an excellent idea for an original gift.

Thinking about it, here are some suggestions:

• At work, how about a set that combines a business card and stationery? Here is an example of a set that I design for Minted called Modern Art. In this design I tried to convey the information in a modern and different way.

Photography by Minted

Photography by Minted

• And at home, how about a notebook with photographs of our loved ones? Here is an example of a notebook that I design for Minted called Flower Girl. This almost certainly will glad your notes every day!

Image by Ana de Sousa

I hope you liked it. Have a great week and happy notes ;)

Credits:
Photography by Minted.
Business card: Ana de Sousa for Minted

Business stationery: Ana de Sousa for Minted

Lakesight

Before the weekend, I want to take the opportunity to introduce you another of my passions: fonts!

In this field, I wanted to show you a font with a personal use license that was listed last year among the top 100 free fonts by awwwards: o Lakesight.

As a hand-drawn font, the use of Lakesight is appropriated to highlight and beautify some parts of a text, title or label.

Have a nice weekend and have fun!

Credits:
Font: Lakesight.

Image: Ana de Sousa

Magical circus

And because the little ones also deserve it, here comes my new invitation for birthday parties.

Inspired in the theme Circus, this invitation announce the birthday of the king of the house in a very cheerful and fun way.

Now available on Minted.

Credits:
Photography by Minted.
Invitation: Ana de Sousa for Minted