architect business cards
The architect business cards I have on my desk are meant to be used in a professional setting. They make me feel good about my profession and my clients, but they are designed for the architect. I see myself as an architect, not a business card-maker.
The business card is a very personal and personal thing. You can’t just print your business card, stick it on a wall and say “Hey, look at how cool I am!” If you’re going to use your business card for anything, you’re going to want to think about how you want people to use it. They almost need to be something that you can feel comfortable with.
Business cards are a personal thing. I don’t think you can change your profession to become a business card-maker. That’s like asking a musician to become a barista. If you want to be a business card-maker, you’ll need to find your thing.
If you are looking for an alternative to a business card, I would suggest the idea of a design or logo that you can use for reference. Not just for business, but any time you need to show your work publicly. Or at least, if you can get something done that way, go for it.
The point here is that if you can’t show someone something that you made, you can’t expect them to say, “Oh! I like that!” But if you can show, “I made the cards for your business!” then you can just show them the cards and say, “This is how I made them.” It’s a subtle but powerful effect.
I also think it is important to think of your cards as tools. Just look at the various kinds of business cards: the one you found in the back of a thrift store or the one you saw in a shop that sold old school vinyl records. The kinds of cards you can make, and the kinds of cards you can have printed, is a matter of preference.
This is a good lesson for new architects to get in the habit of thinking of themselves as business cards. You can think of them as a physical representation of the kind of person you want your architecture business to be. That’s a big part of the process of business growth.
That said, architects can make use of these cards in a number of ways. They can be used as a marketing tool (you can sell the cards directly to potential clients, or you can use them in your marketing materials), but they can also be good for internal communication. People who are not architects tend to have a tendency to think of themselves as specialists and they often tend to have the habit of compartmentalizing and compartmentalizing until they end up not communicating with other people.
There are plenty of business cards that can be used to keep clients up to speed on how architects work. As the business card world continues to evolve, architects are going to be getting more ways to communicate with their clients. For example, a card might say, “The architect will be in touch shortly”. Another card might say, “The architect is going to be in touch shortly”. It might also list the architect’s telephone number or e-mail address.
That’s a new one on me, but I think we all know by now that architects have been sending out business cards for a while now. So here are a few tips to get your clients’ attention…
