print design - Old City Web Services

Business Cards: 5 Things You Should Know

October 26, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

1. Make a good first impression.

Your business card is often the first impression branding-wise that you give your potential customers. That’s why you need a card that is designed to reflect your business style and stand out from the rest of your competition. Imagine if your potential customer was to line up five or six business cards from you and your closest competitors–how would they separate yours from everyone else’s? If you have a unique, professional card, you’ll be establishing a solid foundation for future business.

2. Provide just the right amount of information.

A common mistake with business cards is to put up too little or too much information. The perfect amount of text will give the name of your business, a tagline or short (less than 20 words) sentence about what your business does, your name and title, a phone number and address, email address and your website. For all other details, you want to direct people to your website where you have more available space to sell your products and services.

3. Make sure your text is readable.

It’s tempting to use unique fonts to make your business card different from your competition. But beware of fonts that make it hard to read your text. Some fonts are easy to read when they are large, but illegible when they are small. Pick something that won’t be distracting or confusing, simple is always best when it comes to fonts.

4. Two-sided is the way to go.

Printing costs have come down in the last decade with the increase in technology. This has many advantages, including reduced costs for double-sided color printing. Two-sided business cards are becoming a major trend, with most people choosing to put their contact info and title on one side of the card, then using the other to highlight their website or company name. It’s an eye-catching and memorable design.

5. Don’t short yourself on good paper.

It’s important to print your cards on a stiff, thick card stock that will have a longer life than a cheap, thin paper. Most printers also offer UV coating to prevent ink rub off and make the card sturdier as well. Still, matte coating (a dull finish versus a shiny finish) makes a statement as well, just remember that without the coating a thicker paper is a must to give your card a proper backbone.

Christmas eCards: Save money, send thanks.

September 22, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that we have almost reached the start of another holiday season, but ready or not here it comes! Why not take advantage of St. Augustine’s September lull to get your business ready for the holiday season, starting with a Christmas card? You can choose from one of two styles for your custom designed greeting:

1. Traditional Paper Card.

Beautiful, memorable and noticeable, print cards often hang in your clients’ offices and homes throughout the holiday season. Make yours stand out from the rest with a custom design and message. Old City Web Services has years of experience creating the perfect designs, call today for pricing and information on developing a card for your business.

2. Cost Saving eCard.

Forget postage and envelopes, you can show your clients some appreciation without breaking the bank by using an eCard. This custom designed HTML can be sent out to your clients using one of the many online email marketing systems (like Constant Contact and Mail Chimp) or to a small list of important clients using your own email program.

What are you waiting for?

Christmas is going to be here before you know it! Get a jump on the season and contact us about creating your eCard today.

Turn over a new leaf with print design.

May 26, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Put your business’ best foot forward with folders, letterhead and more.

Imagine that you have just concluded your presentation to a potential client. The two of you shake hands, and the client walks out with a handful of marketing materials you have provided that recap the services and support offered by your company. Hours (or in some cases days) later, the client is back in his/her office contemplating whether to go with your company or your competitor. The client took only a few vague notes from your meeting, so the only thing to compare the two options at hand are the printed materials you’ve provided. At this moment, you have only one question…

What will your marketing materials say about you?

If you have a professionally crafted set of printed marketing tools, you can feel confident that your business will stand out amongst your competition. Not only will your custom created folders, inserts and stationery package carry forward your company’s brand, it will also show your potential and existing clients the level of quality and professionalism they can expect from your business.

Take for example, a recent client of Old City Web Services. The Looster Booster™ is a specially designed booster stool for kids to use during potty training that doesn’t get in the way of older kids and adults. The product’s creator and owner is a client of Old City Web Services who recently contacted us looking to “Wow!” potential distributors, retailers and promoters with a full stationery package. We created letterhead, envelopes, a 9″ x 12″ folder and a set of four shingle-cut inserts for her to use in marketing her product around the country. Take a look at what we put together (Click on the thumbnails to view the full images):

Call today for an estimate on creating custom marketing materials for your business

If you want to make sure that your marketing materials are conveying the right message to your clients, call or e-mail us to get an estimate on creating custom pieces for your business!

– Old City Web Services

Show your colors with banners and signs.

May 20, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

We go beyond the web.

For trade shows, company events and general displays, signs and banners give your business an extra pop to stand out from the competition. Old City Web Services offers more than just Internet-related services. We have a talented art department to create excellent sign and banner designs for your business. When we create banners and signs for our clients, we keep three important factors in mind:

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We recently completed this banner design for the Looster Booster

1. Color accuracy: You’ve probably been in that situation where you go to pick up something from a printer only to find that instead of using the same royal blue your company has always used, they have printed your logo in purple. At Old City Web Services, our designs are all created using Pantones, a color identification system for printers and designers. Every hue in the Pantone color book is identified with a specific number, ensuring that on the screen and in printed form, your logo colors will appear exactly as they are supposed to.

2. Quality imagery: All of our designs are done at a high level of resolution to ensure that images and other graphics will appear crisp and clear. From far away or from close up, your sign will look clean and professional without being pixelated or blurry.

3. Brand continuity: We offer web and print design under one roof so that you can keep your branding consistent from one medium to the next. We make sure that your fonts and images stay the same on your website, business cards, banners and more so that your clients will be able to recognize your company brand as soon as they see it—even if it’s from across the room.

Get started right now.

Call today 904-867-4112 or send an email to letusmarketyou@oldcity.com to get an estimate on creating a banner for your business.

– Old City Web Services

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Establish the look and feel of your company with an eye-catching logo design.

May 12, 2011 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Your business brand begins with a professionally designed logo. Whether you’re starting a new business or have an established company, it’s never too late to give your company a professional face.

For a limited time, Old City Web Services is offering 10% off the cost of logo development. Sign a contract for logo design between May 12th and May 31st and we will give you 10% ($100) off of the total cost of your logo development.

Back in February we went over the basics of what makes up a logo, but now it’s time to dig a little deeper and find out what separates a great logo from all the rest. To do that, we need to answer each of the following questions:

1. How does the name of your company fit with your logo?

Your company name is a major part of your logo—so how does it look? It is really long or really short? Does it accurately describe your business? You want customers to have an idea of what your business is just by reading your company name. At the same time, you don’t want the company name to be so long that it’s distracting. Striking a balance between the two is key.

2. Is your logo similar to that of your competition?

Old City Web Services designed this logo for the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.

The idea of a great logo is to stand out against your competition—so do your research and know what colors, icons and other elements are already being used by other businesses in your industry to make sure your logo will be unique and completely original.

3. Who is your company’s target market?

From business professionals and soccer moms to young students and retired seniors, you need to know who your logo should be designed for. Different colors and icons will resonate with different groups, so you want to be sure that your logo is appealing to the right audience for your business.

4. Is the name of your business readable within your company logo?

It’s tempting to get really creative with fonts and shapes for your company name, but above all else you want to be sure that no matter how big or small your logo appears that it’s easy to read your company name.

5. What colors do you want people to associate with your business?

Certain colors evoke specific feelings with people, for example warm tones like browns and deep reds convey a sense of comfort while orange and yellow tones are more about energy and liveliness. So while you may be inclined toward your favorite color, you should also think about how those colors set the tone for your business.

6. How simple is your logo?

At the end of the day, the best advice you can ever get in terms of logo design is to keep it as simple as possible. Simple logos are easy to remember, easy to reproduce (even in embroidery and different print styles) and easy to understand whether they are in full color or black and white.

Turn over a new leaf for your business with a professionally designed logo.

Old City Web Services has been creating custom logos to fit the needs of businesses both small and large for almost a decade. Take a look at our online logo portfolio to see samples of work we’ve done for companies such as Village Academy, Devil’s Elbow and Arizona Custom Knives.

When you’re ready to get started with a new logo for your company, give us a call. The process begins with a 50% deposit and signed contract. We provide every client with four logo ideas to choose from, all created by our experienced professional artists on staff.

Call today 904-867-4112 or send an email to letusmarketyou@oldcity.com.

– Old City Web Services[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]