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 Examples of this are cards made on inkjet printing at home or cards with outdated data and / or erased.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