Behind the mysterious name, The Infinitive Factory, THE IF for short, stands a letterpress studio from Graz. Under the arched ceilings of a historic townhouse, THE IF crafts exquisite print products with that special something. As I had a look through the studio’s portfolio I couldn’t help but notice the huge amount of beautiful and extravagant business cards which inspired me to write a post about that exact topic.
Business cards are more than just contact details, they are often one of the first things a business partner gets to see of a company. That’s also the reason that no matter how digital their business is, entrepreneurs still love to have their printed paper business cards and even want to make them extra special with elaborate printing and finishing techniques. The business cards by THE IF are a perfect example of this trend and show how much attention to detail and effort can go into one tiny piece of paper.
When it comes to the paper choice, there is an emphasis on the thickness – empirical findings showed that the thicker a business card the more serious and important a person is perceived. Next to paper THE IF also uses unconventional materials such as grey board to give their customer’s business cards extra weight.
These extremely thick business cards also brought the renaissance of an old art called edge painting, which in the past was used mostly for Bibles and other precious books. The classic edge painting color is gold which makes for a very elegant finish. I personally also very much like vibrant colors such as orange or blue, which give the cards a more lively and fun touch.
Extra thickness can also be achieved by using different layers of paper. Indeed, the hottest trend at the moment are duplex or triplex business cards, also called sandwich cards. A duplex card consists of two most of the times differently colored papers which are first printed and then laminated together in order to form one card. A triplex card consists, as the name suggest, of three papers, forming an actual sandwich. The great thing is you can experiment with all different kinds of colors, chose for instance a pale shade for the outside layers and a vibrant color for the core or go for a classic black and white combination. THE IF masters this trend with ease and even used it for their own studio’s business cards.
If you are curious to find out more about THE IF and see some of their other beautiful project, check out their website and facebook page.
Photo courtesy THE IF