Archive for 2013

Holiday Cards for Business or Not

Monday, December 9, 2013

Festivus for the Rest of Us Holiday Cards

Sending out holiday cards at the end of the year has been a private tradition since the first card was sent out in 1843. It began with a lovely, hand illustrated card; sure that card was soon printed thousands of times and sold for a shilling each, but the sentiment was there. Since then, the greeting card industry has flourished and greeting cards can now be found for every conceivable holiday. But, while it’s nice to receive a card, any card, there’s always a little something extra to be said for the non-commercialized, custom made card.

Custom Holiday Cards

Sending holiday cards out among family and friends has always been a popular tradition, but more and more, large corporations and small businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. And, why not? Kindness Sells. We’ve all been touched by the holiday or birthday card sent from our dentist, am I right? You’re not about to change dentists after that. Well, the same goes for the massive corporation that sells ergonomic office chairs. If they can get in the holiday spirit of giving and send out a little festive greeting to their customers, those customers just might stay loyal and order more chairs.

Now, replace the generic commercial card with a unique custom card that truly represents that company and, wham!, that will definitely make an impact. I mean, there’s nothing cuter and more heartwarming than a handmade card from the fingers of your marker or paint covered five-year-old, but as far as hand-designed corporate cards go, there are ways to give your customers the warm fuzzies.

Why it Works

According to research done by Hallmark, 75 percent of the 1.5 billion people who send cards do so because they know it makes the recipient feel good. It doesn’t take someone with an MBA to understand that when customers feel good, they’ll be more likely to spend more and stay loyal to a specific brand or company. Companies caught on to this trend early and have since stepped up their game to connect on a more human level with their customers. Even in the age of e-cards, text greetings and every other electronic way of communicating, old fashioned paper cards still rank as the go-to holiday greeting.

But, not all paper cards are created equal. You can easily spend a buck a card for a large quantity at Vista Prints, but what are the chances that someone’s going to be so moved by that card that they keep it forever? Or even bother to show it to their friends or colleagues? Spend $5 on a personalized, custom card though and that person now has a treasured keepsake. Little personal touches like shiny or matte paper, foil stamping, an image that represents your unique personality or that of your business – these are the things that stand out.

Businesses Just Wanna Have Friends

Company business cards got their foot in the door thanks to the not-so-humble salesman. Where everyone else used holiday cards to reach out to family and friends, clever salespeople have always known that the more you keep yourself in front of a customer, the more likely they’ll spend their money with you instead of the other guy. And each year, they were proven right. Sending cards, free calenders and other holiday nick-knacks that tell a story about their business has been a sales staple for nearly as long as there has been a sales department.

Companies as a whole began to catch on to this trend and, beginning rather unofficially around the late 1970s, company themed holiday cards became increasingly popular. Year upon year, businesses saw a spike in sales, higher customer retention or a mix based, in part, on having sent out a simple holiday greeting card at the end of the year.

Now corporate business cards have become a big business in their own right. Companies can now choose from traditional cards meant to convey a more somber view of the holidays all the way to modern, hip and even irreverent cards meant to celebrate the holidays without taking themselves—or the season—too seriously. But the most impactful holiday card is the one designed by the business owner himself. This has made many companies feel a bit more human to customers which, in turn, gives these businesses the same result that has always topped their own Christmas Wish List—more sales and happier customers.

Coral and Waves Letterpress and Foil

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Modern beach wedding invitations

Coral and Waves Letterpress Wedding Invitations

  • Customizable
  • 100% cotton paper
  • Matching pieces available
  • Minimum order quantity 50

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A Different Kind of Beach Theme Wedding, Coral and Waves

Our client came to us and wanted something a little different but her wedding invitation had to include waves, coral shapes and a monogram for her and her future husband. She loved the look and feel of letterpress and wanted texture and a touch of gold foil. With that in mind, we inserted a design pattern of waves into a quatrefoil border which raised the center panel giving this set the desired textured. Now that the main invitation design was complete all we had to do to pull it all together is add some design elements to the other cards including coral inks. You have to admit everything looks better when it is letterpressed.

Recently we decided to play around with the way that we display our invitation designs on the web and thought that stop motion would be a fun experiment. There’s sound to this video so if you’re in an office make sure your speakers are turned down as to not alert your coworkers that your searching for the perfect wedding invitations.

-Gold Foil and Aqua Letterpress Invitation
-Aqua Letterpress RSVP
-Coral Letterpress Rehearsal Dinner Card
-Coral Letterpress Rehearsal RSVP
-Coral Monogram Envelope Liner
-100% Cotton Envelopes

ENJOY THE STOP MOTION VIDEO CREATED IN OUR WASHINGTON, DC STUDIO! Comments Welcome!

Coral Theme and Ocean Waves Invitation from Heather Noss on Vimeo.

Gold Printing Bar Mitzvah Invitations

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Gold printing bar mitzvah invitations

Gold Printing Bar Mitzvah Invitations

  • Colors & text your choice
  • Customizable
  • 100% cotton paper
  • Matching pieces available
  • Minimum order quantity 50

Request a Quote Button

Gold Themed Invitations for an Elegant and Grand Event

Want to make your son’s Bar Mitzvah a truly luxurious event? Set the tone with gold printed Bar Mitzvah invitations, reply cards, event cards and mailers. Representing achievement, success and triumph, gold is the perfect color for such a momentous event. Gold is also associated with sophistication and when a young man approaches the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah, he is transforming into a respectable, mature and sophisticated man in the eyes of the religion and community.

The Gold Star of David

For this invitation package, we created elegant Star of David invitations foil stamped in gold lettering for the young man’s name and the Star of David at the top. We used gold paper for the events card and gold stamped mailers to fully capture the event’s luxury and elegance. Impressive, customized invitations like this are guaranteed to make a lasting impression and become keepsakes that can be cherished forever!

Customizable Invitations

Are you looking for the perfect invitation for your next event? Don’t waste time with generic, impersonal cards and mailers; get in touch with us today and we can turn your unique vision into a real, personal invitation that really shows off your personality and tastes. Choose from hundreds of fonts, layout designs, paper and foil colors, and typography options. Whether you’re looking for a traditional theme or a modern, avant-garde style, your invitations should be designed just the way you like. Let your extravagant side shine through glossy finishes and metallic lettering! Give us a call and we’ll help you create invitations that sparkle.