New website for us, new business cards for them

Since we quietly launched our website redesign on April 19, we’ve been enjoying a steady stream of compliments regarding the new look. If you haven’t taken the time to click around a bit, we hope you do – there’s lots of good stuff to see and read here! The site was redesigned by our friends at Dragonfly Networks, and we were happy to return the favor by creating remarkable business cards for them. In addition to letterpress-printing their basic contact information in navy ink, we also ran the cards through the Heidelberg a second time to print a dragonfly wing with no ink. We love the juxtaposition of the structured block of text with the curvy, organic wing. The cards are printed on soft 100% cotton Lettra cover, which takes the deep letterpress impression so perfectly, and trimmed to an unusual size (1.625×3.5 inches, rather than the standard 2×3.5), which makes them stand out even more. We can’t say “thank-you” enough to Mark and Nick at Dragonfly Networks for giving our website a dramatic and much-needed face-lift. They built a custom WordPress theme for us, full of hand-coded bells and whistles like drop-down menus on the top navigation, and dynamic sidebar content. They translated our napkin sketches and off-hand suggestions into a real hum-dinger of a site. We’re still discovering and ironing out the occasional kink, but overall we’re pleased as punch!

More recently, we printed similar calling cards for a client who’s on the prowl for a new job. Jenn supplied the design, we just did the heavy lifting (i.e. printing). Normally the Lunalux blog features projects we designed in-house, because that’s what we most like to do. But these cards turned out so great, and fit so perfectly into this blog post, we couldn’t resist sharing. Like the wing on the Dragonly cards, Jenn’s initials are printed without any ink. And we used Lettra cover again. Click on the image to the right to view a larger picture of the cards, along with the photopolymer plates we used to print them. If you’re thinking about getting new business cards or calling cards, you can read more about our design and printing services by clicking here.

Design + Print: unique calling cards

When Mary first visited Lunalux, she had a shop card she’d picked up on a recent trip to France. She loved the classic styling and the blue paper, and asked us design calling cards inspired by her Parisian ephemera. The cards we created for her are letterpress-printed in intense black ink on duplexed cover stock (white on one side, pale blue on the other) – we love the subtle contrast of the paper colors, and the drama of the black ink. We’ve used this fleur de lis motif on wedding stationery recently, and we think it’s equally well suited for classic personal stationery applications.
While Mary’s card has a very traditional feel to it, Yuko wanted something more modern and unusual. She asked us to incorporate her family crest into a simple, sleek composition. The finished card is letterpress-printed with silver ink on a soft black railroad board.

Design + Print: tiny calling cards

Remember when Kitty joined the Lunalux crew last August as an intern? She’s recently been promoted to part-time employee, as she’s such a help around the studio, with everything from creating window displays to packing orders for our wholesale accounts. She’s a joy to work with, and more indispensable each day. Her birthday is this weekend, so do stop in the shop on Saturday to wish her another great year!

We recently made some fun calling cards for Kitty. Because she’s fascinated with Tiny Things, we made the card Very Small – it measures just 1.5 by 2.5 inches. But it’s also printed on 220# 100% cotton Lettra cover, making it both one of the smallest and one of the thickest cards we’ve ever created. We bind-embossed a folksy floral image all over the card, and then imprinted her basic info in black ink. With the soft paper and dramatic texture created by the deep impression of the graphic, the card feels remarkable. So much so, I’m kinda jealous – it’s maybe even cooler than my own business card!

Design + Print: my first business card

Do you remember how proud you felt when you got your first real business cards? Your name and contact information printed all official – a sure sign of adulthood! That’s why I thought it was so cool when Cathy asked me to work with her to create business cards for her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend as college-graduation gifts. What a great way to congratulate someone on becoming a real live grown up!

Working long distance via e-mail, I developed designs that suited both graduates. Cathy wanted a fish on Rebecca’s card, and an elk on Justin’s. Both simple one-color designs are letterpress-printed on earth-friendly papers (Justin’s on a krafty recycled card, Rebecca’s on a tree-free cotton stock).

Looking for a memorable gift for the soon-to-be graduate in your life? Consider custom letterpress-printed paper goods! Notecards or stationery are a great accessory for someone headed off to college or grad school, so they can stay in touch with friends and family afar. Stationery and calling cards are also ideal for someone entering the job market, allowing the job-seeker to present themselves in a professional manner and write that ever-important follow-up after an interview. If you’d like more information, call Lunalux to schedule a consultation with Jenni!