The stunning example above is the work of Studio On Fire, letterpress printers extraordinaire. You can read more about the project here. It’s encouraging to know that such studios still exist and thrive and that there are designers out there producing this level of work. I had hoped to use them a while back for some letterpress business cards, but alas budgets weren’t what they needed to be. Some day though…some day…

Ogling Studio on Fire’s work got me thinking about those business cards again and I realized that I’ve been seeing some really inspiring designs of late which is somehow comforting as it seems the business cards of our more recent history have become generally dull and uninspiring. Quite unlike some of the cards that came before.

Trade Cards

First made popular in the early 17th Century and used not only as a point of introduction but for advertising and maps as well.

Visiting Cards

More commonly known as Calling Cards, these date back as far as 15th century China, making their way to Europe by the 17th century. By the 19th century they started becoming a little more stark though they still might retain some reserved flourishes and the card cases were themselves often fairly ornate.

I don’t think we’re going to see the demise of the business card any time very soon which I’m glad of. There is something so fundamentally pleasing about holding a well designed card printed on quality stock. Smart touches such as UV spot varnishing or the tactile loveliness of letterpress register deeply with our core.