Featured Product: Business Cards

Our job at Shades of Design is to help you promote yourself or your business in a professional and sophisticated manner and the biggest way we are able to do that is through business cards. From simple to unique, we are able to do it all with our many design options, card stock types, and special finishes.

The first step to creating the perfect business card is to decide on the basic design of the card. Choices include vertical or horizontal orientation, single or double sided, square or rounded corners, and laser cut cards. Laser cut cards can include cards with a simple shape cut out of part of the card, or the card being cut into unique sizes or shapes.

Next, you can choose to have your business cards printed on one of our five different card stock options - classic, signature, extra thick, linen, and recycled.

Source

50 Classic business cards vs. 50 Extra Thick business cards

• Classic cards are printed on our traditional high quality card stock. These cards are perfect for people that are looking for a business card that is elegant yet simple.
• Signature cards are printed on slightly thicker card stock. This card stock is a little more durable and is the best choice for cards being designed with special finishes or laser cuts. 
• Extra Thick card stock is twice the thickness of our classic cards - they are as thick as a credit card! Cards printed on extra thick card stock are sure to make a lasting impression and are best for our most extreme and unique designs.
• Linen card stock is made from fine Italian papers. This unique card stock gives the card a natural woven texture.
• Recycled card stock is made from 100% post-consumer materials. These cards have an uncoated finish to distinguish them from the rest of the options.

Different colors and matte and glossy finishes are also available for all of the classic, signature, and extra thick card stocks.

In addition to choosing the right card stock, you can elevate your design with special finishes. Our special finishes include raised print, glossy spots, metallic finishes, and colored edges.

Source

Example of a Metallic Finish

• Raised print makes your words and logo literally stand up on your card. People will be able to feel the text and logo, which will set your card apart from others.
• Glossy spots doesn't make the design stand up as much as it makes it stand out. The gloss adds a sort of depth to the design by highlighting the most important parts.
• Metallic finishes on part or all of the card makes the card shimmer and shine, drawing all sorts of attention to your card. 
• Colored edges are a more subtle way to make your card pop. The entire edge around your card can be colored to add that extra little oomph to really set you apart.

Open House

Source

We are very excited to announce our first ever Shades of Design Open House! Our Madison, WI office location will be hosting the open house on Saturday, October 1, 2016 from 10am - 4pm.

Come meet our designers, see what we have to offer, and play around with your own design skills in our state-of-the-art design studio. Activities include a tour of our studio and printing facility, Photoshop and Illustrator demonstrations, a logo design contest, and many design workshops. 

We will have sample business cards, brochures, and stationary, prizes, and food available throughout the open house. Prizes include: a free logo design consultation, $100 credit towards your next purchase, 500 free business cards, a free poster, and many more.  

Come let us show you all that we have available to you, and how we can help you successfully market your business. We can't wait to see you at our Madison location on Saturday, October 1, 2016!

Testing

This is a practice post experimenting with scheduling.

Welcome to Our Blog

Source

Shades of Design makes it possible for large or small businesses and people to market themselves and their products in a modern, sophisticated, and professional manner. Our customers are able to design their own products, or get the help of our graphic design professionals to create the best possible marketing materials for their needs. Shades of Design supplies a large range of quality products, and the design tools necessary to create each item, so everything you or our staff creates is the eye catching material you want for your business.

The idea for Shades of Design came from a final project for Lindsey Hayden's promotional design class. Lindsey needed to come up with a fictional business and create all the promotional products for that business - a logo, business card, promotional poster, brochure, letterhead, and an envelope. As the semester and the project went on, Lindsey liked the idea of Shades of Design being a real business more and more. In 2008, after graduating from University of Wisconsin - Madison, Lindsey and another fellow graphic design student, Kayla Taylor, decided to make that idea a reality.  

The two worked on these projects in their apartment for two years until they finally were able to afford office space in downtown Madison, WI. Two years after that, in 2012, they were expanding to a bigger office with more and more people joining their design team. Four years later they opened their second design studio in Eau Claire, WI., and are in the process of acquiring a space in St. Paul, MN. What started out as a fake business for a class, turned into a company creating all kinds of marketing products for people and businesses all over the US. 

My First Post

I'm going to rock this class and my business is awesome.

Source