Why your customers should be at the top of your list this holiday season
The holidays are the busiest time of year. In the midst of the gratitude-giving, there’s one important group that can get overlooked: your customers. But don’t worry, there are some simple, yet effective ways to show your customers you care – here’s how.
Your fans are there for your company for the entire year–– and deserve to be recognized. The holiday season is the perfect time to let them know that you care. In fact, customers are 52% more likely to be loyal to your brand after a positive customer service experience.
We know the holidays are the busiest time of year: closing business deals, writing year-end reports, and ordering presents for everyone from your family to your mailman. In the midst of the gratitude-giving, there’s one important group that can get overlooked: your customers. But don’t worry, there are some simple, yet effective ways to show your customers you care – here’s how.
Stand out with a handwritten note
This might be obvious, but getting a handwritten note in the mail is special. It means that someone took the time to buy a card, write a note, remember your address, buy postage, and walk to the mailbox. It’s no small feat–– which means that sending one will make you stand out.
“The handwritten note has nearly a 100 percent open rate.”
Aside from putting yourself in an elite group of letter-writers, handwritten notes can also increase customer retention and satisfaction. As Matt White, director of sales for Bond, said in an interview with Loyalty360, “There’s a reason why, in an age where consumers are becoming as blind to newsletters and email offers as they are to banner ads, that the handwritten note has nearly a 100 percent open rate. People still want a meaningful connection with the world around them and handwritten notes enable companies to create that.”
Of course, a downside of handwritten notes is that you’re not likely to get a reply. It’s hard to know who opened your letter and ordered more of your product as a result. However, it’s the holidays–– a time of giving with the hope of nothing in return. What do you have to lose, except a few minutes and the cost of a stamp?
Build brand loyalty
The holidays are a prime time for reflection. You celebrate the success, ponder the struggles, and reminisce on customer engagement with your brand throughout the year.
Sending a yearly review to customers can remind them of your company’s value in their lives. Bonus points if you offer them a gift card or promo code for their brand loyalty. After all, they’re the people who support your business all year–– so reward them!
Product: the perfect present
Your year-end email is also a great time to preview the goodness you have in store for the upcoming year. Got different products in the pipeline? Shiny new features? Let your audience know! Afterwards, notice whoever shows interest by hitting “reply.” Spoiler alert: they will be a key customer to demo the product down the road.
Make resolutions
Lastly, an annual email is a great opportunity to survey your customers about their New Year’s resolutions for their business. By understanding the business goals of your audience more deeply, you can shift your offerings to better serve their needs. This will make your clientele happier down the line––and prevent you from creating a product that your customers don’t actually want. Everyone wins!
Want to take your holiday note game to the next level? MOO Business Services customers can now use gold and silver foil on their Postcards. Just reach out to your Account Manager to start ordering, or fill out the form below if you’re interested in MOO Business Services.
About MOO Business Services
At MOO, we’ve been helping people make their mark in the world with amazing quality print products for over a decade. And as our customers have grown, so has our service offering. That’s why for bigger businesses—with 10+ employees—we now offer MOO Business Services. It’s MOO + benefits. MOO Business Services combines dedicated account management with an easy online ordering platform and expert design services. It’s a complete package for businesses to give you more brand control and consistency—while saving you time, stress, and money in the process.
Fill out the form here and a friendly Account Manager will reach out to you.
Notebook lover? Head this way! We’ve got a design to suit your style.
We understand Notebooks are an essential for every awesome entrepreneur, so we’ve worked to make a range that’s super-fun, super-fancy and super-functional. So whether you’re journalling, organizing the notes to your next novel, doodling or designing, we’ve got you covered.
On the go? No problem!
Meet the MOO Softcover Journal. It’s your go-to Notebook for when your schedule’s busier than a hive of overworked bees. We understand life can be hectic at times – so whether you’re flying around from one meeting to the next, or jotting down ideas on the train, the light and flexible Softcover Journal travels with you wherever your thoughts go.
It’s slim and bendy enough to fit in overstuffed bags so you’ll never have to think twice about packing it. Plus, it comes in 6 fresh colors which are designed to match the Hardcover Notebook’s central pages – they really do make the perfect pair!
And, as if choosing your favorite color wasn’t hard enough, you’ve also got a choice between lined, dotted and blank. So, whether you like to write, draw or freestyle, you can choose a page format that matches the way you work.
Choose a Softcover Journal that suits your style
Looking for the perfect desk buddy?
Look no further than the Hardcover Notebook. With 7 swish color pairings and a covetable character, this Notebook is designed to help you balance work and life.
Our original Notebook mixes premium materials with practical design – it’s full of clever details to get you organized – from the lay-flat binding that gives you more space on the page to a smart little holder for your Business Cards. If you’re looking for something to perk you up in long meetings or you just want a new, super-cute desk buddy, we’ve got you covered!
And, just like our other Notebooks, this one’s made from beautiful Swedish Munken Kristall paper – it’s an absolute dream to write on. The pages are lined – perfect for scribbling a shopping list or organizing the notes to your next novel.
But wait – there’s more! The unlined centre section comes in a different color and is a heavier stock, giving you a sturdy base for all your doodles, sketches and big ideas. We’re in love!
Order your Hardcover Notebook and get organized
Whatever Notebook you choose, we’ve made sure the end result is a Notebook that’s made to be used. A place where all thoughts can make their home – from the practical to the downright genius.
Nothing beats the joy of receiving a hotly-anticipated package in the mail – especially when it’s wrapped beautifully and totally Instagram-worthy!
These 3 artists are sending their customer orders out in powered up packaging – and we’re in love! There’s Stickers galore, plus picture-perfect Postcards that act as gorgeous keepsakes – and that’s before you’ve even got past the wrapping. Get inspired and bag yourself some top tips for making your customers feel like kids on Christmas morning – at any time of year.
Laura Mitchell
Minneapolis based, Laura works full-time at a publishing house designing and art directing children’s books. Before getting into publishing, she worked in a contemporary art gallery and loved having the opportunity to work with artists from around the world. Laura now also works freelance as a designer and illustrator and has recently set up her own Etsy shop, selling her animal and abstract prints.
Laura’s hugely inspired by the other artists and illustrators she’s worked with in the past. As well as this, social media is also an excellent source of inspiration for Laura, with Instagram and Pinterest being her go-to: “I’m always impressed by the breadth of work out there. Just when you think you’ve seen every style of illustration, a new person pops up on your feed that’s so unique and refreshing!”
Laura has created Stickers and Business Cards using her own art – she wanted to create “branded materials” that she could include when packing up her prints, and thought they would be the “perfect platform” to showcase more of her art. Laura seals each of her illustrated prints with a Sticker: “I love how durable they are, they’re also the perfect size for including both a little illustration and my website address. All of my clients love them and comment on how the Stickers add the perfect touch to my packaging. Who doesn’t love a cute sticker?”
Create your own branded Stickers
Holly Young
Holly is an abstract artist living in Ontario, Canada. She’s always been a creative and artistic person – as a child, Holly loved drawing houses and re-decorating her bedroom. After graduating with a BFA from Brock University, Holly focused her studies on interior decorating. Now, Holly works from her home studio which allows her to paint at any time of the day, and also “refill her tea mug as often as needed.”
Holly has a passion for thrifting, mid-century design and vintage decor. She loves “exploring the city, flipping through the pages of a great design book or magazine and discovering new colour combinations.” Her paintings are inspired by her everyday surroundings and are often very spontaneous. Holly’s work is predominantly “characterized by texture and a sense of movement” – she’s fascinated by “aesthetics and exploring the visual interplay between form, space and color.”
Holly has designed Business Cards and Postcards – she wanted to create a “personalized keepsake” to accompany her customer orders: “adding a Postcard to every order is a really easy way for me to add a pop of colour to my packaging. I’m able to write a thank you note on one side and then the Postcard can be displayed or framed as the customer likes. The cards are great quality – very sturdy and thick and the color shows an accurate representation of the painting itself. I can’t wait to run out of cards so I can print more designs!”
Surprise your customers with personalized Postcards
Art by Megan
Megan is the artist and owner behind Art by Megan – she’s an abstract painter and illustrator from Brooklyn, NY. Megan studied art at college but was hesitant about starting a career as a full time artist right off the bat. After graduating, Megan decided to pursue another passion of hers – languages – and decided to dedicate her time and energy to teaching Spanish and art. As time passed, Megan’s painting ‘hobby’ became something she was doing every single day on the side and so, 2 years ago, Megan took the plunge and decided to go full-time with her art.
Megan’s work reflects an “an attitude of experimentation and a curiosity regarding the beauty created by the transparency and overlapping of ideas.” She’s inspired by waterscapes, sunsets, bright colors in nature, and the silhouettes created by extreme light or darkness. Megan loves collecting memories – whether it’s a beach scene, beautiful flowers in a tote bag on the subway, or a simple moment walking in nature – and turning them into paintings.
Megan has created Stickers to “liven up” her packaging, “adding a punch of color” to her craft paper and twine wrapping. As well as popping a Sticker onto each parcel, Megan loves to send a thank you Postcard to each customer. She’s also created Business Cards: “people freak out when they see my cards and always fight over which painting they want. Someone even asked me if the Business Cards were for sale once! I love that they’re conversation starters and they really help people with product and brand recognition too. It’s fun to surprise clients with something special and my Business Cards, Postcards and Stickers have done just that!”
Liven up your packaging with Stickers
If you’re at work, look around you – you’ll notice a range of personalities, backgrounds, and skills that make up your workplace, all contributing to the success of the business. Since that diversity plays such a crucial role in your work environment, you should take the time to build a unique and personal relationship with each team member.
This is where empathy – being able to understand and share the emotions of others – comes in. Empathy can impact your company culture on a deep level, so it should be a key component of everything from team leadership to customer relations. Here’s how empathy can boost your work culture – and even your customer relationships:
1) Leaders who learn
Empathy is an important characteristic for people in leadership positions. They should be skilled at understanding those around them, because a leader who helps others feel valued can create a culture of trust throughout the business. For example, in one study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, empathy displayed from a leader directly impacted job performance ratings in those they manage. In other words, an employee who feels like their leadership takes the time to understand their feelings will respect them more – and so will upper management.
Ways to help leaders become more empathetic include active-listening training, learning how to interpret the meaning behind others’ statements, and taking the time to feel compassion for others. As the report states, “As managers hone their empathy skills through listening, perspective taking, and compassion, they are improving their leadership effectiveness and increasing the chances of success in the job.” Who doesn’t want that?
“An employee who feels like their leadership takes the time to understand their feelings will respect them more – and so will upper management.”
2) Teams that value their members
Most people need to feel understood as individuals before they can fully commit themselves to a team. That’s why it’s important to cultivate empathy between team members. As the old saying goes, you can never understand someone until you walk in their shoes. For a team, this means understanding the perspective of everyone that you’re working with.
Classic team building exercises, which involve getting out of the office and spending time with each other, are a great way to foster empathy. By being in a different environment outside of the regular hustle, teammates can deeply listen to each other more easily. They might even learn about their coworkers’ lives outside of the office. Doing so will make everyone feel more relatable, which will create a closer team and a sense of unity towards achieving larger business goals. Turns out, there’s an “I” in team, after all!
3) Customer communication
This is a pretty simple point, but one that a lot of companies fail to emphasize: A culture of empathy doesn’t stop within your office walls. It should extend to customer relations, as well. Believe it or not, customers respond well to your product when you care enough to understand where they’re coming from.
Having a more empathetic approach to your customer interactions will help you solve customer service requests by listening before acting. Be sure to listen carefully and ask questions rather than assuming what comes next. As the Harvard Business Review says, “This can be harder than it sounds, because you have to let go of the notion that you know what’s best or have the right answer.” Empathy and understanding will help decipher the heart of your customer’s needs so you can address them in a more human way.
Knowing how to practice empathy will result in better business. And when your customers feel cared for, they’ll keep coming back.
How has empathy helped you in your workplace? Share your stories in the comments!
Looking for a recycled Business Card with a super-cool story? We’ve got your back. Our brand-new Cotton Business Cards are made with 100% cotton — offcuts from the t-shirt industry. And now, your business can order Cotton Business Cards from the MOO Business Services platform, so your brand can look good while it does good.
How did the paper come about? Well, we’re glad you asked. We spoke with our paper partners at Mohawk about the development of our tree-free Cotton Business Cards.
A new take on an old paper
Since working together to develop Luxe Paper, MOO and Mohawk began exploring new ways to make old papers. “We discovered that cotton fiber was widely available, which is something that has been used for centuries to make paper,” Mohawk’s Chris Harrold explains. And what better place to start looking for cotton rag fiber than the T-shirt industry. Not many manufacturers are using textile scraps to make paper, so Mohawk looked to older methods to produce the new paper. “MOO had the appetite to try T-shirt cotton as a new way to make beautiful, premium paper—with a story,” Harrold says. “That’s where the project was born.”
“The touch of the paper has an immediate connection to the story behind it. A product like Cotton paper is invariably, without a doubt, a total conversation starter.”
Quality you can feel
For over a year, MOO and Mohawk explored old techniques of using cotton textile scraps from to make paper. “We found the right technique to process those scraps and turn them into something that would be useful on a paper machine,” Harrold recollects. “The objective was to find a sheet of paper that felt like beautiful cotton fiber, which is known for being the highest quality material for making paper.”
But the paper is not only premium, it is completely recycled. “We took the bits of the fabric that never made it into a t-shirt and turned it into a super-high quality paper,” MOO’s CEO Richard Moross explains. “It has a completely different tactile experience when you hold the paper.”
A conversation starter
The result? An undeniably unique texture. Says Harrold, “by touching the paper, you immediately know it’s something different—it doesn’t quite feel like a t-shirt, but there’s a connection to the material.” Made from 100% recycled T-shirt scraps, Cotton paper will help your brand make a memorable introduction that looks good while you do good. “The touch of the paper has an immediate connection to the story behind it. A product like Cotton paper is invariably, without a doubt, a total conversation starter.”
Want to try Cotton for your brand’s Business Cards? Reach out to your Account Manager, or fill out the form here and we’ll be in touch.
October 2022 update: This article references the way we used to make Cotton Business Cards. We now use a different process.
Artist, illustrator, author and painting teacher Emma Block is one of the first artists we collaborated with. 10 years later, we caught up with her to find out how her career’s grown – and why sometimes it’s best to step away from Instagram…
Emma’s natural talent with watercolors runs in the family – her bright, beautiful home studio is adorned with artworks from those closest to her – one by her husband, a Jazz musician, and another by her grandad – as well as her own delicate, lively paintings.
Emma’s relationship with MOO goes back right to the beginning of her career – she was one of the first artists we collaborated with, designing a set of MiniCards featuring her illustrations. Now, 10 years on, we met her at her London home to hear how she built her niche out to include illustration, books, live events and painting workshops.
You started your illustration career online – how did you find your audience?
I got into illustration when I was still at school. I’d just started 6th form – I’d been quite ill as a teenager and missed 3 years of high school so having a blog and being online was a really great way for me to talk to people. It was my only way to talk to people! It didn’t matter that I was ill, I could blog from my bedroom, and it was amazing to connect with people through my artwork from all around the world. It’s weird because people who read my blog 10 years ago still follow me, or will buy a print sometimes.
I started doing these regular challenges, like Illustration Friday, which was a weekly challenge at the time. There’d be a new theme each week – it really encouraged me to keep going.
How do you think illustration has changed since?
I found those challenges really good to give me a theme to interpret. I look back at my earlier work now and it really was more experimental. I think because I hadn’t found my style as much. I had some really great tutors when I was in school who encouraged me to keep blogging, told me to get Twitter and used to help me push the boundaries of what I was doing. I was printing onto fabric and making 3D models and that kind of thing too.
Today, illustration’s become a lot more visible as a discipline and a lot more people want to be an illustrator. There are a lot of opportunities for illustration that didn’t exist before. When you’ve just graduated you think about doing books, greeting cards, magazines, but now there’s actually so much you can do with live illustration and packaging, plus large-scale illustration like on windows and walls.
How did your workshops come about?
It’s been a new thing over the last few years. I don’t think I’d have had the confidence to do that at all when I started. But it’s been great – I love teaching. And I really enjoy live illustration. It’s funny, I like working from home because I love the peace and quiet but I’m really easily distracted. I tend to have music on in the background or a podcast, and if I think of something I’ll have to pause it, have a think, then come back and play it again. I’m that easily distracted!
But with something like a workshop or live illustration I think I just really go into the zone. Because it’s quite intense – you’re painting portraits of people as they stand in front of you, in about 10 minutes, and you’ve got people watching you, normally you’re working really frantically for 2 or 3 hours.
What kinds of things are you doing the live illustration for?
I get invited to do live illustration at things like press events, blogger events… promotional in-store events… I’ve just confirmed I’m going to be doing some live illustration in the children’s department in Harrods, which I think is going to be really cute. So yeah, it’s a variety of things. When people see it and they see how popular it is as well, they get it. And Instagram is huge. I get a lot of work through Instagram.
How do you balance your literary work and workshops?
I find normally everything fits around illustration commission, which is at the heart of it. I like having lots of other things going on. I try not to do more than 4 workshops a month and I run my online shop and occasionally do live illustration. So I tend to just look at my calendar and see how much I can book in.
I find I need a balance of being at home in the studio to being out doing stuff. If I’m just here and don’t leave the studio all week, it’s not good but then if I’m out and doing events every single day I don’t get any proper drawing work done.
What inspires you?
I think it’s really good to see what else is going on in the art industry. Instagram can be a bit of a double-edged sword, especially if you’re a new illustrator, because you’ll just see so much beautiful work all at once, so it can be a little overwhelming. And you kind of think ‘I can’t do anything, everything’s been done!’ so I love the community and connecting with other illustrators, but for inspiration, for new work, it’s more about travel, going to museums and galleries, being out and about in London. That’s what inspires my work. With Instagram, it’ll be more about colors. A photo or an illustration that makes me think ‘ooh that’s a nice color theme, I’d like to try that sometime.’
What would your advice be for someone just starting out?
I would say to remember that the people you’re seeing on Instagram have been doing this for a really long time. I’ve been doing this for 10 years already, it’s just lots of practice, lots of drawing, lots of putting your work out there. It takes time to get the momentum, to find clients, and get the kind of work you want. But just stick at it – don’t be intimidated.
It’s funny, the people whose work I admired when I was just starting out, the people whose work I’d print out and put it in my sketchbooks as research are now my peers, which is really strange, but really nice.
You’ve also worked as an influencer with some brands – how did that come about?
I’ve worked with Polaroid and P&O on campaigns including illustration. P&O was really nice – they invited people to upload photos from their holidays over 2 weeks. Then they’d pick a winner and I would paint an illustration of their holiday photo to share on Instagram. It was a really lovely campaign to be a part of – a lovely use of social media and lovely to make the illustration such an integral part of it too.
I’ve also run workshops for brands – I recently ran one for Oasis at London Zoo, because they were doing a collaboration. On the day, the team from Oasis were running a bit late, so I got to hang out with the keepers and help feed the pygmy hippos.
You’ve got a beautiful home workspace – what are your best tips for people working from home?
I try to keep it tidy! My husband works from home as well – he’s a jazz musician – and he’s got another room full of guitars and banjos and things where he works that we can just shut the door on. I think you’ve got to know yourself and how you work. I know a lot of people who have a studio and it works for them, but I know what I’m like – I love chatting and I’m really easily distracted, so I’d just end up not getting any work done in a studio space.
I like peace and quiet and being in control of the space. For me it’s just knowing how I like to work. I schedule in breaks, pop out to the Post Office or to get a coffee. I work really flexible hours, because my husband works really odd hours. He’ll get home from work at midnight or 1am, so often we’ll spend mornings together, then I’ll work after lunch right up late into the evening.
I’m often teaching at weekends too or working at events, which means we’ll then try and take Mondays off. I’ve really learned the importance of scheduling in time off.
What do you use your MOO Business Cards for today?
I love MOO because it always solves the dilemma of when you meet people and you say you’re an illustrator, they immediately ask ‘what’s your work like?’ and I find it really difficult to describe. So if I say ‘oh it looks like this’, and get some business cards out, it’s much easier. It’s like having a mini portfolio.
What else have you got coming up – what’s next?
I’ve just finished writing a book – how to paint watercolors. That’s been a dream project. I had the idea for that last summer and I was thinking that there was a gap in the market for a really lovely modern, colorful watercolors book. And so I approached some publishers, and got a book deal at the beginning of the year. I’ve been working on that all summer – it’s been a total dream of a project. It’s coming out in August 2018.
Photos by Paul John Bayfield
When beautiful typography meets awesome Business Cards, it makes for the perfect pairing that’s totally worth shouting about!
Here, 3 of our wonderful customers share their fab designs, and the inspiration behind them. Keep your eyes peeled for awesome Luxe that ‘exudes quality’, Cotton that leaves people ‘wanting extras’, and Raised Spot Gloss that’s instantly ‘attention grabbing’. These designs will leave you wanting to create new cards – when you finally stop swooning, that is.
Wit And Co.
Whitney Anderson is graphic designer from Milwaukee, WI, specializing in hand lettering and typography. Whitney set up Wit And Co. in 2016 as her design outlet – a place for her personal creations to live. Whitney has always loved paper goods and now designs her own greeting cards, art prints, note pads, enamel pins and bandanas. Her dream is to create things for others to enjoy just as much as she does. Whitney also works on commissioned illustration and lettering work for brands and businesses, as well as freelance design, branding, and packaging projects.
A lot of Whitney’s inspiration comes from antique stores – she loves looking at the typography and illustrations on old packaging, advertising and especially old matchbooks: “you’ll see some common themes in some of my pieces that relate to matches and matchbooks, I’ve just always been drawn to the way that they look and I have a huge collection of old matchbooks and matchboxes that inspire me.”
Whitney’s love of matchbooks can also be seen throughout her Business Card designs – she wanted to create something fun that people would want to keep, as well as showcasing her work and skills: “the illustration was inspired by a matchbook (of course) but instead of filling it with matches, I filled it with pencils – one of my tools of choice. The Luxe paper just exudes quality – I love the heaviness and the texture – it really gives off a great first impression! My cards include all the important info and I was able to print multiple designs on the front which is great as I couldn’t decide which one to go for – I couldn’t be more pleased with the result!
Give off a great first impression with Luxe
DesignerMike
Michael Lopez aka DesignerMike is a graphic designer and lettering artist based in Toronto. Mike helps people who are expanding their business by creating visual identity systems that are “distinct, stylish, and versatile enough to grow with them.” Mike also specializes in hand-lettering and art direction for brand marketing, ads, signage, packaging, labeling, apparel graphics, print publishing, and online content. Before becoming a designer, Mike worked at an international comic book publisher, learning advanced Photoshop and illustration techniques from some of the industry’s top digital colour artists and comic book illustrators.
Mike’s inspiration comes from everyday life: “whenever I go out anywhere, I always notice interesting styles and forms of signage, graphics and type.” Back in the studio, Mike likes to surround himself with “niche art and design reference books, good coffee, and some laid-back music.” Over the years, Mike has found that the best way to get inspired is to “keep on making things” and when he’s totally stuck for an idea, he goes back to “practicing foundation skills, like writing out the alphabet, trying to master a technique, or experimenting with different medias and styles.”
When designing his cards, Mike wanted to create something that was “easy-to-share” whilst also showcasing his “personal script style.” He knew that he wanted to feature an ampersand as it’s his “favorite ligature”, and represents his approach to design: “to appreciate and consider how different elements work both individually and together as a whole.” Mike printed his designs on Cotton – he wanted a “sturdy card with a natural texture” and “loved the fact the paper’s made from recycled shirts” adding that “people usually take one, look at it, rub it, flip it around, then ask if they can have two.”
Magenta&Green
After graduating with a degree in graphic design, Toronto-based Jo Drayton went on to work for a number of studios and agencies with digital and print clients – from website development to magazine publishers – Jo turned her hand to a little bit of everything. Over time, she naturally fell into a project and accounts manager role but craved more design time. Jo now runs her own consulting and design studio – Magenta&Green – allowing her to focus on her love of typography and print. Jo works with calligraphy, offset printing, murals, letterpress, enamel sign painting and packaging.
Piles of inspiration can be found on Jo’s office walls, in her bag and on her iPhone: “I tend to grab print things that speak to me, everything from bar coasters and packaging to art prints and restaurant menus. Thankfully, I’ve also started snapping quick photos of great things I see, so there is a little less clutter now.” When finding inspiration for a particular project, Jo starts by “sifting through the piles to find key pieces” – it can be anything, from anywhere – “a paper stock or a foil on something, signage I saw on a trip or pen I picked up at the art store.”
When Jo works in print, her first thought is always “how will it feel?” – “we’ve become so digitally focused – but it can mean that sometimes we forget that our work is there to be experienced.” Business Cards are a crucial part of Jo’s branding: “people still ask me for a card and there’s nothing better than being able to hand something over that represents you and what you do – then getting that little head bob of acknowledgement in return. As a designer, I want people to trust me with their brand, so my cards have to represent me. The Soft Touch finish gave me the right surface feel and the Raised Spot Gloss draws attention to my wordmark, making people rub their thumb over the stock, rotating it to hit the light. I’ve had clients who probably don’t need a card, but take one just to have it anyway (or hopefully pass it on).