Design & Style Advice: Pantone Spring 2018 Colors and Your Business Cards

With a new season comes a new set of color trends from Pantone and that means new color ideas for your business cards. While not all of Pantone’s Spring 2018 colors are being primarily used in business cards, most of them have been appearing in the most recent designs. Shades of navy and pink are still the two most popular colors for Spring, but we have new colors making an impact on business card designs as well.

It is important to remember that as a CMYK printer, attempting to recreate a Pantone color will not always be as exact and accurate as sticking with Pantone. But, if you are careful, you can get fairly close to Pantone’s trending colors for Spring 2018. Let’s get started.

1. Cherry Red is an orange-y red brings its energy to spring as well. Although it is not used in business cards often, when used it brings a bold punch and demands your attention.

2. Little Boy Blue is a soft yet medium blue which gives a brightness to any business card design. A newer color for spring, this blue is used in many of our recent orders. While the brightness of the blue seems a bit casual, in smaller doses it can easily look professional for those in a more conservative line of work.

Standard Coated Paper with Blind Press Embossing

3. Sailor Blue is a deep navy color, works as a neutral for a classic and rich look. This navy coloring is probably one of the most popular business card colors we have seen, still coming in strong from Winter. A clear favorite of those with a corporate card styling, it looks professional, timeless and trustworthy.

Blind Press Embossing

4. Arcadia is a shade of green which resembles teal. This shade of green is becoming more popular  this season. A good up and coming color to incorporate into business card for a cooler, cleaner and more modern look.

Coated Stickers

5. Harbor Mist is soft gray creating a subtle elegant and confident business card. Another favorite among corporate style cards this light gray adds enough professionalism without looking too dark. It is a no nonsense color while remaining fresh.

Silky Matte with Glossy Gold Foiling

6. Lime Punch is a sharp neon yellow, and like most strong colors is not used often in business cards. But in certain designs, using this color in small details or as an accent or even as a small card, can give an youthful, energetic feel.

2×2 Square with Spot UV

7. Chili Oil is a brown with red tones. It offers a rich and off beat color to business cards. It looks earthy and natural. We have begun to see this color come up little by little in business cards. It is an excellent choice for those with an edgy, eccentric, and more funky design.

8. Almost Mauve is an excellent option for an off white or cream coloring. It’s light ivory with soft undertones of pink creates a business card suited for delicate and fresh business card designs. This is a truly soft coloring which sometimes requires specific lighting to really notice the pink undertones.

Sumo Nouveau with Pearl Foiling

9. Blooming Dahlia is a coral color with stronger pink undertones to keep it from being too bright. It is a fun color that brings cheer and energy to any business card. A color that is not normally used, it automatically stands out from other designs.

10. Spring Crocus is a spring-y and flamboyant shade of purple for those with a fresh business card. Not commonly used, it is a more casual color for those with less of a conservative line of work.

Standard Coated 14pt Matte with Hole Punch

11. Pink Lavender is true to it’s name and looks like a pink-y lavender. It looks like spring and freshness. An update to the pink shades from the past seasons, this color will add softness to any business card design.

If you wish to view Pantone’s article for the colors of Spring 2018, click here.

Design of the Month: March 2018

 

1. Name: Tina Ross
2. Company Name: Soda Back
3. Website: www.sodaback.com
4. Business Contact Email: tina@sodaback.com
5. Please give us a brief history of your business and some of the services you provide.
   We specialize in graphic design and marketing for hospitality and beverage companies. These types of businesses are our primary focus as we have a background in event planning and bartending. We provide logo (brand identity), menu, business cards, event flyer design and more! This particularly wedding-invitation set was done for a bar consultant colleague and his fiance.
6. What was the goal of your design?
   The wedding invitations we did for Sarah and Aaron were meant to capture the spirit of their celebration in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The textures and colors pull directly from the buildings and flowers of the city. The map on the backside is an abstract representation of the location and energy of the wedding festivities.
7. Why did you choose the Standard Coated papers?
   They are a true matte finish with durability and great ink absorption. Colors are always very vivid and rich!
8. Our favorite part of your design is the map on the back of the Parade Card. How did you create that effect for the back of the card?
   The map was created from a rough sketch of a city map that was altered in proportions to include all the wedding festivities. The affects and textures were created using watercolor and paint brushes in Adobe Illustrator. The couple asked for special elements such as the bride and groom, plants and flowers and their two pups. These tiny details made the map feel truly customized and special.
9. We have never seen a black wedding never seen a black wedding invitation set, and yet it works beautifully. How did you decide on the color pattern, including Matte Gold Foil of the invitation and parade card?
   The couple wanted a richness and colorful celebratory mood to their wedding invitation set. Matte Gold Foil was an absolute must to give the invitation a little bit of polish. The colors come naturally from the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel cathedral and surrounding architecture of the city of San Miguel de Allende. The black seemed like a no-brainer that gave this invitation a rich contrast and helped make it feel more personal, more like them and less like other wedding invitations you see.
10. What made you choose MorningPrint?
    I’ve used Morning Print for the last 5-6 years. Their paper quality is the main reason that I love them, plus the ability for metallic foils and spot UV. They are absolutely my go to for an affordable and beautiful business card or flyer.
11. How was your experience with MorningPrint? Would you recommend us to others?
    My experience was great. I did have some difficulty uploading larger files to their website (the wedding map file) but was able to dropbox them to their team, and they added the files to my order.
    Yes, I would definitely recommend MorningPrint.

 

Small Business Spotlight: TeresaKatherine

Business Names
TeresaKatherine Designs
Boutique by TeresaKatherine

Websites
TeresaKatherine Designs: https://www.teresakatherine.com/
Boutique by TeresaKatherine: https://www.boutiquebyteresakatherine.com

Social Media
TeresaKatherine Designs: Facebook and Instagram
Boutique by TeresaKatherine: Facebook and Instagram

1. For those interested in getting into this line of work, what kind of advice or information do you think is important to know?
Set up all your business accounts properly in the beginning (business licenses, tax ids, solid contracts, etc) it may seem like a big investment upfront but will save a lot of headache in the future.
It’s important to have a clear idea of what you want to do and what type of client you want to attract.
When you’re focused, it’s easier to market your product or service. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room to grow and change in the future.

2. Do you prefer using more color or to keep it more monochrome in both of your businesses?
For TeresaKatherine Designs, I prefer to limit the color palette and keep it clean and simplified. My target audience includes scientists and engineers so shapes with sharp edges and clear, easy to read graphics are appealing to them.
For Boutique by TeresaKatherine, I keep my branding to black and white with pops of peach and mint to achieve the sleek, elegant look of many luxury brands. At the same time, I’m designing invitations and stationery for fun, lively events such as weddings and baby showers so I’m not afraid to use color in my work.

Photo Credit goes to: SC Stockshop

 

 

3. Regarding both of your businesses, how important would you say it is for a client to have done some research and have an idea of what they want?
Very important, while I can help guide and shape their ideas, we need to have a starting point because there is a wide range of styles for invitations, branding, and even presentations. If my clients have a basic idea of the goals they want to achieve and who they want to reach, I can develop a strategy to realize their goals.

4. What is something you want your clients to know about both of your businesses?
I approach design with a science and art background. Initially I was only interested in fine art such as painting and drawing while I was studying chemistry in college, but my whole life I’ve been interested in how and why things work and trying to find ways to make things more beautiful and effective. I came to graphic design as a means to use my artistic talents to help those of a more analytical mindset achieve clear and effective communication. Whether is branding an innovative product or clearly presenting
research data, the success of a product or idea is also dependent on how it is perceived and design plays a huge role in this.
Even with my stationery clients and products, I’m not simply trying to create something lovely for people to buy, I want to understand my client and portray their uniqueness. I tend to simplify my designs, especially my greeting cards, because I feel like the typical greeting card tries to put too many words in your mouth and complicates the message. I want people to feel like they can embellish a card with their own words, I’m just helping them get started.

5. What kind of design tools do you need to keep your businesses running on a daily basis?
I use the Adobe Creative Cloud (mostly the big 3, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign) for digital work and most of my creations start as a sketch with pencil and paper. I think it’s important to flesh out ideas rapidly this way first before starting on the computer. I also bring a lot of watercolor into my designs so I always have those supplies around for when I want to add that element of texture.

6. Why did you decide to separate both businesses rather than keep them under one single design label offering different services?
I started out with the two business under one umbrella but it was confusing for me (and I’m sure my audiences) to market my products and services. I was simultaneously trying to reach a highly technical audience and appeal to the ‘modern host’ like event planners, brides and individuals looking for paper goods. Once I split the two brands, it’s been much easier to focus my messaging.

7. How important is digital marketing to your business?
Very important, I know my audience is on Pinterest and social media looking for inspiration for their projects or they are at their computer completing a paper and looking for resources. Some of the scientific magazines and journals may be useful for advertising but most people simply don’t have the time to read a magazine cover to cover on a regular basis.

8. What kind of custom work can you do for your clients in both of your businesses?
TeresaKatherine Designs: branding, website design, infographics, presentation design, conference materials.
Boutique by TeresaKatherine: invitations, stationery, monograms, watercolor art.

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TeresaKatherine Designs
9. Can you explain your process for working with the client? Which of those steps do you consider the most important?
Discussion, research, design, production, follow-up

10. What do you think is most important to know when branding or rebranding a business?
The goals/vision for the brand coupled with their audience or following. These 2 pieces have to work together.

Black Paper with Embossing and Hologram Foiling designed by TeresaKatherine Designs and printed by MorningPrint

 

 

11. Can you go into more specifics into your Total Branding service?
Often when businesses ask for a logo, they really need a brand created or updated. Your logo is one piece of your brand identity but how it is used and what colors and fonts used across all visuals are what make up a brand. I created this package service to incorporate all aspects of a brand and the touch points a customer will interact visually with a business. The logo may catch someone’s eye but the cohesiveness of a website and business cards, presentations, etc will signal whether or not a company has their identity defined. The better defined your identity, the better you can market to your target
audience and therefore close deals or attract customers.

12. What kind of work is considered as Event Collateral?
I define ‘events’ as professional conferences, business meetings, networking events or corporate dinners. The collaterals can range from programs to large format signage, place cards or even invitations.

13. How do you decide which vendors will be best to use for your client’s needs?
I worked at a local print and marketing agency during and after completing my design certificate and gained immense industry knowledge about the capabilities of various printing methods and turnaround times. When I choose a new vendor I consider what types of services they offer and usually request paper or product samples when available. After running a small or test job then I decide if this is a vendor I’d like to continue to work with. The quality, price, and turnaround are all important factors to
consider. Some clients prioritize speed over materials, which I take into consideration when generating timelines and making recommendations. Social media groups are also good references for print vendors.

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Boutique by TeresaKatherine

14. Do you have a design philosophy for your weddings and stationery business?
I still incorporate my ‘discussion, research, design, production’ philosophy but present it in a different way. I want to get to know my client and hear their story for the wedding/party/special event so I can find ways to incorporate special elements into their designs. The inspiration board is a visual representation of my research; since Pinterest is a huge platform for searching for wedding and party ideas, I present the inspiration board as a customized ‘Pinterest’ board for their event since it’s a familiar way to gather ideas. Once my client and I are on the same page for the ‘vision’ I start the design process and give them 2 options to consider.

15. How do you decide what kind of watercolor paintings to do?
They are usually personal choices that have meaning for the intended gift recipient (ie a watercolor of the Rotunda at The University of Virginia for a friend graduating from the Classics department). If the painting is not a specific gift, then I choose objects that I find interesting or challenging to paint.

16. How much of a processing time should your clients leave for their stationery needs before their event?
Outside of full wedding suite design, I recommend a minimum of 2 weeks for the design process and 1-2 weeks for production and delivery. The design process depends not only on me but also on the client providing the necessary information and feedback in a timely manner.

17. Specifically regarding weddings, which type of paper do you advise brides to portion most of their budget on: Save the Dates, Invitations, Menu Cards or Thank Yous?
If they want luxury, then I suggest to invest their budget in the invitation suite as this is the crux of their paper goods experience. The other pieces can still portray a quality, luxurious image without needing to incorporate letterpress, foil stamping, etc.

Photo credit goes to: You See Photography

 

 

18. Can you go into more detail regarding your Monogram signs?
Working with a CNC machine sparked my imagination for all the types of materials I could make signage out of. Whether I digitize my own lettering or choose a font I love, the outline of the letterforms is cut out of plexi glass and sometimes adhered to panel that frames the letterform. For solid colors I’ll use spray paint to achieve a flat look; for the wood grain texture, I used a stiff bristled brush with acrylic and metallic paint. The 2 pieces are adhered using heavy duty double-sided tape.

19. How do you decide which vendors to recommend to your clients?
For printers, it’s based on materials/printing methods available, quality, and price. For event planners, photographers and florists, it’s pricing and personality as these people will work closely with my clients to bring their vision to life.

Postcards: Marketing and Invitations

MorningPrint’s postcards fulfill many purposes, depending on the final design. Postcards are used for both business necessities and personal reasons. These postcards come in a range of paper options, including matte, metallic, glossy, texture, thick and thin papers. Depending on the chosen paper, different finishing options are available, such as: embossing, raised ink, foiling, and spot uv. When asked, we can do a folding service for those who want to created a folded postcard. Another special option we can address is that a postcard can be made into a bigger size, however the client will need to be flexible on the type of paper that is used and on the sizing.

Our postcards come in two sizes, 4×6 and 5×7 cards for the following papers:
Standard Coated 14pt/matte
Standard Coated 14pt/glossy
Standard Coated 20 pt/matte
Aquarelle
Nouveau
Heavy Nouveau
Linen
Heavy Linen
Scotland
Heavy Silky Matte
Star Dream
Heavy Star Dream
Vintage Kraft
Opaque White Plastic

Small Business/Company Uses:
The most primary use for our postcards in regards to businesses, is for marketing material. Marketing material can range from anything such as announcements to professional holiday cards. For those businesses which deliver, these postcards are an excellent choice as a Thank You card inside the package. Those in the fashion industry use these postcards to have images of their clothing or styles. Artists use the postcards as an actual postcard with images of their artwork on it. Those in the food industry use images of food on their postcards. These cards are also a good option for corporations who use postcards for sending professional holiday cards and reminders to their clients. Online companies use these postcards to provide extra information for a purchased product.

Personal Uses:
These postcards are also appropriate for personal uses. Some examples include invitations (ranging from wedding invitations to party invitations), thank you cards and holiday cards. In our experience, 4×6 tend to be more popular for RSVP cards and some menu cards. 5×7 postcards tend to be used for either invitations or menu cards or holiday cards.

MorningPrint Products and Services

As a truly customizable printing company, MorningPrint offers a wide range of services and products. We understand it can be difficult to know which product works best for your design. In this article we offer a quick generalized overview of our various products to help guide you to whichever product works best for your design.

Paper Business Cards
Our paper business cards have the most choices of all the papers. Ranging in more than just thickness, we offer textured paper, metallic paper, matte paper and even black paper. We encourage everyone to read about our products before creating your design to choose the best paper for your design. For additional special effect we can add foiling, embossing, raised ink (also known as thermographic printing). Please check
the specific paper to know which finishing options are available.

Texture Papers range in thickness and amount and type of texture. Tant is the thinnest and most textured paper, while Heavy Aquarelle is the thickest paper with a watercolor texture. Read What You Need to Know: Texture Paper to learn more about Tant, Heavy Aquarelle and every textured paper in between.
Metallic Paper such as Heavy Star Dream and Keaykolour Metallic range not just in thickness and the type of shine each paper features. Keaykolour Metallic has two different colors to take into account, the off white paper and then the brilliant frosty
shine. To learn about each metallic paper, read What You Need to Know: Metallic Papers.
Matte Papers include the Nouveau and Heavy Nouveau: The Blank Slate and Sumo Nouveau: The Thickest Paper. The Nouveau family is all made with a creamy and luxorious white true matte paper. These papers are thought of as elegant and are universally liked.

Black Paper is the richest black a design can achieve because it is naturally black. This type of paper only does foiling, no ink printing. To learn more about this specific type of black paper, read Black Paper: The Deepest Black.
Plastic Business Cards
Our plastic business cards are all made of PET plastic, which is an environmentally friendly material. As such, they are quite thin, and flexible. This thinness does not mean these plastics are flimsy. All our plastic business cards are waterproof and durable.

Clear Plastic is like looking through a glass, and every part of your design that has white ink will be clear. We recommend avoiding soft colors and thin fonts as this could create an issue with legibility. We do offer a clear plastic which can print white ink, it is called Clear+White Plastic. To learn more about these two plastics, read Clear Plastic Business Cards.
Opaque White Plastic has a thin layer of white ink to the entire card which is ideal for those with many small, white details. Meanwhile the Frosty Plastic is slightly thicker than the other plastic cards, and can only do foiling, no ink printing.

Silver Plastic Family includes several types of metallic plastic cards. The solid silver plastic card is as reflective as a mirror while other silver plastic cards have sparkling glitter throughout the cards. Read our What You Need to Know: Silver Plastics to learn more. The Gold Plastic Family involves solid gold as well as gold plastic cards with sparkling glitter, both solid and transparent. Read What You Need to Know: the Gold Plastic Family for more details.

Die Cuts

Die Cuts are the most customizable form of printing. We offer templates for over 50 shapes. Some of our standard shapes include circles, ovals, houses, and dog bones. However, if the client wishes to create their own custom shape, we can do this as well. These shapes are automatically printed on the Standard Coated 14pt Matte, but you can choose any type of paper you like for our Die Cuts. Doing so, will alter the price, but it is possible. If a paper that is compatible with Raised Ink is chosen, we are able to add this finishing option to your order as well. Finishing options offered with the Standard Coated 14pt Matte include foiling, embossing and spot uv. If you wish to learn more about our Die Cuts, please read Die Cuts: The Most Customizable Cards.

Stickers

Stickers come in several types of options, such as Uncoated, Coated, Silver, and Durable. These types of stickers come with individual characteristics. For example, Coated Stickers had a bright shine and some slight durability against any type of wear and tear. Uncoated stickers are made with matte paper, meaning no shine. We also offer a Strong Adhesive Sticker which includes an extra strong glue. These same types of stickers can be used in our standard, as well as custom shapes. All stickers are able to offer foiling. MorningPrint also offers metal stickers, in both gold and silver. A highly customizable sticker, pricing must be done through our printing team. Read our article, Stickers to learn more about all of these options.

Postcards

Made from the some of the same papers as our paper business cards and come in two sizes, 4×6 and 5×7. A folding line is possible on these postcards. Also, custom sizing can be possible, but you must speak with our printing team to check the possibility of your design as well as for a quote. Other finishing options such as foiling, embossing and raised ink are also possible depending on the chosen paper. Postcards can be used as invitations, holiday cards, and business supplies.

Wedding Stationery: Special Touches

Hello there,

It is Ava and I’m here to talk about how you can add special touches to your wedding stationery using the latest trends. Let’s get started.

1. Monograms are a big hit. You can use our Metal Stickers to create a personalized monogram to decorate all your wedding invitations. Metal Stickers come in two colors, gold and silver. Intricate, delicate designs really stand out on this material. With such a strong adhesion, they can be applied to just about anything such as menu cards, invitations, etc.

 

2. Custom shaped papers, called Die Cuts, are becoming a must have for people who want to showcase their individuality. They can be cut to any size or style and useful for your extra, but necessary information; such as accommodation, transportation etc. We published an article on Die Cuts last week. If you wish to read about die cuts in more detail, please follow this link- Die Cuts: The Most Customizable Cards.

 

3. Using plastic or leather for wedding stationery is another exciting wedding trend. We offer Opaque White Plastic Postcards, in both the 4×6 and 5×7 sizes. Our Opaque White Plastic is made of a PET material, meaning it is environmentally friendly. It is durable, being both waterproof and tear proof. Depending on your design, Opaque White Plastic can be modern, futuristic or fun.

4. Texture is another big trend for those who wish to use paper choices. Textured paper, such as Scotland can give the organic, woodland feel which is popular for Fall. Heavy Linen has a woven pattern and will always  look upscale or outdoorsy. according to the feel of your wedding. Aquarelle  has a watercolor paper texture, which gives it a natural romantic feel and will work well to set an outdoorsy ambiance.

Now, if you like the idea of the texture trend, but prefer a smooth paper stock, like Heavy Nouveau, we have an out of the box idea for you.  Add Embossing or Raised Ink to put a twist on the texture trend. Your guests will be able to see and feel the imprint of both these options on your stationery, giving you slight texture.

5. Foiling, especially Gold Foiling, is a classic and this style is still going strong. However, to the metallic color trend, other foiling colors such as Silver, Matte Silver and Bronze are rising in popularity as well. For those who have a different color scheme, but would still like to include foiling, MorningPrint also offers Pink, Blue, Red, Green, and Hologram. These last colors also fall in the category of another wedding trend, bold colors.

*Special Note: You can combine embossing and foiling to create a raised and metallic effect. Since both finishing options are pressed on, we can do both at the same time and guarantee a beautiful outcome*

6. Geometric designs, both modern and art deco are all the rage this season. Most use foiling to create their designs, and it looks beautiful. However, if you prefer a more subtle way to incorporate the geometric trend into your papers, we suggest considering Spot UV. Spot UV is a flat, reflective, transparent material that can be seen but not felt. Those interested in this special feature will need to order Standard Coated 14 pt Matte.

Spot UV detail

 

 

I hope that was helpful!
~Ava

Using Your DIY:POPS

Store them flat and pop them up for parties

DIY:POPS are easy, creative and functional decor pieces. They are perfect for family functions, parties, announcements and weddings. You can create any design you like on our downloadable templates. We used our downloadable templates (with green fold lines and red die cut lines visible) to create a few extra designs and show some different ways you can use our DIY:POPS.
For all production details, please consult our former blog post: Introducing DIY:POPS

SAVE THE DATES

Save the Dates are some of the most special cards you will send in your life. While they help introduce your guests to what your wedding will be like, their most important function is to tell your guests to SAVE THE DATE. That is why Diy:POPS are the perfect solution.
First, because they stand in their own platform, your guests can leave them on a desk or table as a reminder. Secondly, due to their size, they can easily be folded and saved as a souvenir after your wedding date.
They are easy to personalize too. You can fill the center of the card with an engagement photo, and send your guests a photo that essentially comes with it’s own frame. Or do what we did here and create a brand new design. Either way, your Save the Date will be the most memorable card your guests will receive.

MENU CARDS

Using our DIY:POPS for menu cards is one of our favorite concepts here at MorningPrint. Depending on your design and colors, they can be casual enough for a BBQ or special enough for a more formal event, such as a special dinner or a wedding. Due to their assembly process, they will be able to stand up straight on their own and contribute to the look of the table. During the meal, guests can easily unfold them to set them aside or keep them standing near them. If you are having a buffet, you can have menu cards explaining the food offered at each station.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & INVITATIONS

When it comes to big news, we all enjoy finding the best way to announce our joy. We think DIY:POPS would be a great idea for those wanting a unique card to mark their event. These POPS have a smaller size, making it easy to mail them out. They can be used for graduation announcements, baby announcements & showers, and your first house-warming party.

PLACE CARDS

Place cards are another practical use for our POPS. They are small enough to be placed for each individual, without crowding a table, yet they are not so small that they get lost with the rest of the decor. Following a similar idea, they can be used as table markers, for guests to locate where they are meant to be seated.

BONUS: Cupcake custom template, in the theme of: Birthday Parties

Birthday parties are another good occasion to include a POP. Send them as invitations to all your kid’s friends, or leave them out to add to your party decor. You can label the goody bags for the individual kids using our POPS, that way they each have a fun souvenir to remind them of a cool party.

We almost forgot to tell you, that while we offer downloadable templates to design off of, you can also customize your own template, pending approval from our printing team. One of our own design experts created this cupcake to show you an example of a custom template.