Kind of photography? Business card critique.

[picus]

Originally Posted by just4kickz

oh and to add to my critique... if you flipped the 335i in terms of position... i think it would look better if you were to choose that kinda route. the z4 does look better than the 335i because more contrast w/ the body color of car.

Gotchya.

Originally Posted by uhaulball

if u wanted to stick with the first one, u could make it a bimmer instead, and have the background black.

or if u wanted to use the z4, i think a blue or sparkling graphite would be a better color for the car

Hmmm, blue z4... might be a good idea.

Originally Posted by Neurorad

I know you said simple, but adding something to distinguish you from other detailers may work. From what I gather, you do exceptional work, much better than other detailers.

Maybe a very short slogan?

I have a slogan on my site, added it to one of the cards. Thoughts?

Originally Posted by Neil

Watch shadows on small text when printing, you might just end up with a blurry mess and make sure the printer is good if you do white on black printing because you may end up with creep on the text.

Good point. I nixed the shadows. They look good large, but small they just muddy it up.

Originally Posted by boyce'06 330i

I like the animated one because most of the high-end detailers, around here anyway, have a picture of a nice car on their business card... going that route may inadvertently blend you in rather than setting you apart.

Have you thought about hiring a local college kid (graphic arts/design) to design a custom card for you?

Also, don't understimate the power of color. You might take this opportunity to "own" a color, a color that could become instantly recognizable as GTA in Detail's color. You may never have the brand power of a Verizon (Red), IBM (Big Blue), Coke (Red), Pepsi (Blue and Red), Dell (Blue), H&R Block (Green), etc... but each of those is recognizable by their colors.

Just my $.02... Good luck!

That's why I always liked the animated one. FWIW, a local college kid did that for me. I've also always used the colors in that card (on my website, all my cards etc)... that's why I've stuck with it for so long. Choices, choices.

Two new revisions:

[img]http://****************/card1rev.jpg[/img]

[img]http://****************/card2rev.jpg[/img]

?

[picus]

Here's another with a little more going on. You can see more of the car here.

[img]http://****************/card5.jpg[/img]

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by picus

[img]http://****************/card2rev.jpg[/img]

Solves the issue with the white text on black background to some extent. I used the same grey as the horizontal bar for the "GTA In" part. Still workin' on it.

This is what i picked.

[Zeiss]

[IMG]http://****************/card5.jpg[/IMG]

Wow, that looks way better!

[Josh49]

[IMG]http://****************/card2rev.jpg[/IMG]

This one is perfect. Don't change it. At all.

Good to see a nicer high end car on there. During the whole decision thing whether or not I was going to polish, I looked up some local detailers. It seems there are two distinct detailers, A and B. A shows WRX's, Maxima's, SUV's, etc. B shows BMW's, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. If my car is nicer than any of the cars A has detailed on their site or business card, I don't think I'd go there. But when I go to website/business card B, and see high end cars, gleaming Ferrari 575's and 430's, Lambo's, you have a much better feeling that they know what they are doing. If you spend that much money on a car (F, P, L, BMW), you're not going to bring it to Joe Detailer A to get it done.. So since those people trust that detailer, it makes me feel much better about going to B..

I think that should make some sense, let me know if it doesn't. Long Story short, seeing the beautiful BMW in the background of the business card I think puts you more in B than A.. And then you have the website to back it up..

A note on the website re: this. In the gallery, push all of your higher end cars to page 1. Hell, put them in order from best to worst. Challenge Stradale should be on page 1!! You want people with the most exotic cars, and most money to go to your webpage and see that others in the same boat trust you, and the results are incredible..

Maserati, Aston Martin, 911 turbo, 550, stradale, 575, push them up in the gallery! First impression is everything, I don't know if a lot of first time lookers of your website would click through more than the first 1 or two galleries..

Just throwing some info out there for you. The pictures you have are incredible. I'm trying to finish this damn post so I can go of them... I can't believe you get to work on such incredible pieces of machinery..

[picus]

Haha thanks guys. I thought about doing that with the gallery. Maybe I will this spring, I have a lot of exotics lined up.

So it looks like the Z4M is the most popular. I kind of like the very last one, but like the simplicity of the Z4M one. I will clean it up some and go w/that I think.

[ksfrogman]

The black on black E92 card looks the best IMO.

[Josh49]

The order of this galary is all wrong. I can pick the right order for you if you need..

I think you'll know what I'm talking about. As cool as a car that the Honda Pilot might be, I think your 575M deserves to be on the first page just a tad bit more..

[picus]

You're saying a Honda Pilot isn't your dream car?

[picus]

Originally Posted by ksfrogman

The black on black E92 card looks the best IMO.

Which one, the one with the black background or bricks? Thanks.

[Josh49]

Originally Posted by picus

Maybe I will this spring, I have a lot of exotics lined up.

Picus,

Do you need someone to pull the cars in and out of the garage for you? You seem busy and I think I could contribute well to your company. It would let you focus on detailing. I'm sending my resume..

Yours truly,
J49

[picus]

I'll manage. You just keep sending out chunks of metal.

[Neurorad]

Off topic, but just looked at your website, Picus.

Incredible, just absolutely incredible, detailing work!!!!!

How mobile are you? I'm guessing Nashville is outside of the GTA.

How do I find someone of your caliber locally? Is there some kind of associaton of detailers that perform extraordinary work?

[Josh49]

Originally Posted by picus

I'll manage. You just keep sending out chunks of metal.

Are you sure? We could add a "break-in" service so people buying new exotics don't have to ever deal with holding back. I'll take care of that period for them in a short time. You can do a delivery detail right after. They'll get their car looking brand new, and ready to tear up the road.* No problem Mon!!!



*If there's any left.

[picus]

Originally Posted by Neurorad

Off topic, but just looked at your website, Picus.

Incredible, just absolutely incredible, detailing work!!!!!

How mobile are you? I'm guessing Nashville is outside of the GTA.

How do I find someone of your caliber locally? Is there some kind of associaton of detailers that perform extraordinary work?

Thanks.

There is sort of an association... it's called Autopia.org, or detailcity.org. It's not exactly licensed, but if you're looking for good detailers locally those are good placed to start.

Originally Posted by Josh49

Are you sure? We could add a "break-in" service so people buying new exotics don't have to ever deal with holding back. I'll take care of that period for them in a short time. You can do a delivery detail right after. They'll get their car looking brand new, and ready to tear up the road.* No problem Mon!!!



*If there's any left.

Haha, I like the way you think - but the owners might not.

Oh, Josh - check the photo gallery.

[just4kickz]

i think when you provide the background setting of the car... it gets better... it fills up blank space... and the focus is still on the car

[ChadE]

Middle one FTW

[Josh49]

Originally Posted by picus

Thanks.

Oh, Josh - check the photo gallery.

Nice!!! Now I look in the first gallery or two like I think many customers would and I think damn, this guy is the real deal. Now I can see why the prices are what they are, and I know the quality of detail that will be attached. When looking at the first page or two, as a customer, I know exactly who I am dealing with now..

So if this improves the amount of exotics that come in can I get a small percentage?? You're the man picus, keep up the good work..

PS. Get that last Ferrari 550 up on page 2..

[uhaulball]

i disagree josh, no offense.

I feel the gallery should be arranged in chronological order. putting the hot cars first just makes the business seem more desperate. putting in chronological just seems more understated to me. to me it says, "we dont need to put our most flashy cars first cuz we're that good that all our jobs are meticulous"

just like how a bmw doesnt have to be overstated, cuz everyone knows its the best and is the benchmark. leave the loud designs for the japanese cars and "lesser" euro cars.

[picus]

Haha, I'll let you guys decide. It's very easy for me to re-order the gallery. FWIW, I only post up pics of cars I polish and nothing more than a year old so the gallery doesn't get too big. Maybe I should just put everything up.

[uhaulball]

Originally Posted by picus

Haha, I'll let you guys decide. It's very easy for me to re-order the gallery. FWIW, I only post up pics of cars I polish and nothing more than a year old so the gallery doesn't get too big. Maybe I should just put everything up.

well i mean ive seen ur site several times before. i love it, it looks professional, and more importantly, it looks like you do a good job. the way u order the pics does not make GTA seem amateur at all due to the fact that everything looks very legit. i was just saying in general.

[picus]

Ya, I understand, I appreciate the feedback. It's helpful to get multiple perspectives from guys like you and Josh because you're the kinds of guys (car enthusiasts with luxury brand cars) that generally view my site.