IN THE STUDIO / BUSINESS CARD

Design by Kelley Shaffer / Printed by Thomas Printers

I'm a designer and spend the majority of my days creating graphic work. I'm fairly certain some people don't believe me, however, because my website has had a "coming soon" splash page for some time now (I'm the worst, I know). But, I promise you it's true. While I'm in the process of getting my website updated and full of new projects, I'm going to start a column here on JASPR called In The Studio where I occasionally share some of my work with you.

Nearly two years ago, I designed this business card for Peter Larson. He wanted his branding to feel effortless and was looking for a high-quality card with a minimalist design and subtle use of color.

I made the decision early in the process that letterpressing was the method of printing I'd use, so I conceptualized and executed the design with that in mind. I knew it would achieve the quality he was looking for, but still allow me to maintain simplicty and minimalism in his branding. I also chose to letterpress because it allowed me to print on a heavy stock (220# Crane Cotton Lettra - if you don't know what that means, let's just call it "super thick") and bring color into the design in an effective way by using a burnt orange hue for edge painting. I also utilized a blind letterpress impression for an understated lined texture on the card (see detail below).

I loved these cards; they were one of the first projects I took on as a freelance designer and were a project I was proud of. But, the time has come . . . Peter is ready for a rebrand. He wants to lose the "P," moving away from initials for branding, and on to something more graphic and abstract.

So, let the sketching begin. I'll share the new branding with you once it's complete.