Business cards from a keyring?
I was sent an email last month from Ben Hamey of Squiz Cards — a new project specialising in unique mini cards (53 x 28mm with round corners). He said he’d offer some free sets to you guys, and I thought it looked like a nice idea, telling him I’d need to try the service first.
So I spent about five minutes creating a simple card showing my logo and two main web addresses. I uploaded a TIFF to the Squiz site, went through checkout, then entered the gift code Ben gave to waive the cost (usually £11.95 for 50 cards + keyring dispenser with first order).
It took exactly one month from the date of order to receipt of the card set. I’m sure the postal strike had something to do with the delay (should’ve arrived within two weeks).
I like the result, and even though the on-screen card preview looked pixellated, Ben assured me the print would turn out fine. That it did.
The dispenser is spring loaded, and cards go in the same way they come out. I nearly pulled off a nail attaching the silver keyring to the holder, but other than that, nicely packaged and presented. I managed to push 16 cards inside, and you could probably squeeze another one or two on top. I always carry two or three of my standard business cards around with me, but I’ll attach this to my set of car keys for a while, too.
I read the cards are waterproof, so dropped mine in a glass of water, and true enough after a quick dry it was good as new. Never again worry about dancing in the rain, or you could stuff a couple in your swimmers in case you meet a potential client at the pool.
My only grudge (and quite a biggie) is how there’s no option to remove the advertising from the reverse. I’d pay extra for that, or for the option to print your own design on two sides.
Update: 26 October 2009
I’ve just heard from Ben who tells me the option to remove the logo will be live within a couple of weeks.
20 sets of Squiz Cards to give away
Update: 02 November 2009
I’ve drawn the 20 winners and notified them via direct message on Twitter. Thanks very much to everyone who retweeted.
Fancy a set? I’ve got 20 free sets for Twitter users. All you need to do is post any tweet that includes both @DavidAirey and Squiz Cards e.g.
RT @DavidAirey 20 free sets of Squiz Cards: http://bit.ly/3OUyim
Next Monday (02 November) I’ll Twitter Search for anyone mentioning @DavidAirey with Squiz Cards (with or without spaces) picking 20 winners at random. You’ll receive your gift code via direct message (you’ll need to follow me so I can send the DM).
Visit Squiz Cards here.
Related posts
58 appreciated comments on “Business cards from a keyring?”
Anything to add?
All comments are moderated so you may experience a short delay before yours appears. Comments should be respectful of other voices in the discussion, and I reserve the right to edit or delete comments at my discretion.
Please use your real name. Keywords will be removed.
I like the idea but it makes absolutely no sense to have zero ability to remove the advertising on the back of the card. This would be one reason I would not buy them.
Looks great! But yes, should be an option for removing the advertising.
By the way, I tweeted already!
Agreed, product is great but ultimately worthless without an option to remove the advertisement. Hopefully they figure that out quick and add that option.
I was holding my breath for the “but”, they remind me of moo cards, which I’ve bought many times over. Especially great for the wait between a new logo and clevel business card idea.
The “but” eventually came! Some squiz logo behind my card. My Nigerian brethren will think that is some product I make and go to THEIR site! They must add an option to remove it, even for a fee. Must! Great clean design though David! ;)
I’ve seen this approach by others for twitter cards etc, and while the back advertising needs fixing, I think the dispenser makes the product. A smart Idea that I think others might copy. Squiz should fix the advertising quick before another service does and beats them out of market share this early on.
I just got an email saying the option to remove the logo will be live in a couple of weeks. Definitely needed, I agree.
Uh. Really? So what they aren’t providing a service or product, but instead providing advertising for themselves.
With LOTS of other companies out there, I think this is one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever seen. Who in the world would EVER want to hand somebody a business card, and then proceed to tell them that, “oh, sorry about that on the back. I couldn’t find a company out there that would let my cards be about me.. So I thought I’d advertise for them too..”
This is stupid. Sooooo stupid.
If they don’t remove that, they will fail! and I hope they do.
I think the dispenser and the waterproofness are both great points with this. However the logo on the back has to go if there’s any chance of this succeeding. At the moment their website says 2011 before you’ll be able to lose the logo, so I hope they mean what they say when they say that the logo-less option will be available in a couple of weeks. I’ve tweeted too.
This is a neat little contraption, love the idea. I tweeted, good luck to me.
These are absolutely fantastic and I’ll definitely be placing an order once the two sided option is available. I agree with others here, I wouldn’t buy a set with the squiz logo on the back. But the overall concept is outstanding!
I love the idea! Hopefully the back logo will be gone by the time I’m interested :)
Hi Julie, I just saw the 2011 date on the site, and I’m fairly sure it’ll be updated to reflect what I was told today. I think I’ll get some more once the Squiz logo is ditched.
Angie, Brandon, Tangie, glad you like.
These look so cool they almost make me want to take up sailing or surfing so that I have an excuse for buying them.
i love the card but i will not go with an a logo for another company, no matter how the card is cool, its blackmail….!!
Eh…Cool idea but kind of cheesy to carry around a big key chain. I’m sure after a while it would collect a bunch of pocket lint and junk. Like I said, cool idea…..
Cool stuff there David.. Sure I love to get one of these in my hands.
How thick are the cards? And is the gloss dull or high?
What a great idea! They look great too.
pretty cool cards there. look great.
Haha I was a bit skeptical at first but they actually look like quite a nifty idea! You can’t really complain at that price I guess, but it’s also nice to have some full-size well printed business cards.
Saying that, when I was freelancing I ordered about 400 cards and doubt I handed out more than 40-50 in 6 months, by which point I’d got bored of the design (typical designer!)
I suppose I don’t have to worry about business cards at the moment whilst in full-time employment but I’ll still take part in the little comp on Monday; they’d make a good present for a mate who’s just starting up his own business.
Not as thick as my standard business card, Chuck, but thick enough to hold their shape while still allowing plenty to be stored in the dispenser. I’m not sure what kind of gloss coating is used.
Nathan, I was a bit skeptical too, but I like the result enough to give a little promotion. And I know how you feel about changing your mind on current card designs. I’ve been saying for ages now that I’m changing my logo, but it’s not the priority, so it can wait.
nice..is that already patented?
I shall be having some of these and im pritty sure a few of my client would like me to order some of these! great idea.
Mali
These are really nifty. I know many online CHEAP biz card places that put their logo on the backs.
I’d really think about this, it is compact and a nice little dispenser. Now I need to get on Twitter to try and win this…I don’t Twit/Tweet/whatever at all, so I doubt mine would win.
Thanks in advance.
I absolutely love this. I’ll be waiting until they have the no Squiz logo option to get mine. Really nifty :)
What a great idea. Best get them quick before the novelty value wears off.
That is such a great idea!
I tweeted, good luck to me and everyone!
Thanks for this giveaway :)
I tweeted, so good luck to me and everyone else! With the giveaway it would be super-rad to be able to pay the extra spiff to get the logo removed on the back. We will do the advertising for them by word of mouth…and a million tweets.
Thanks!
That’s a neat little idea – and I too am glad too see they will have the option to remove their logo. Like someone else said above, it makes it look like that is the person’s site/product and people will probably visit thinking that. I think these would be good for less formal business cards, maybe more like social calling cards.
These look like so much fun! I’ve seen keyrings with mini albums containing tiny tiny pictures, but this is so cool!
Love the dispenser but I would so not get it if they didn’t have the option to remove their logo. I might even end up confusing my potential clients about which website to use.
Reminds me of the good ol’ Pez dispensers.
Interesting concept, seems pretty easy to carry around then a stack of regular cards.
What a handy idea! Looking forward to the option to print on both sides. Thanks for the heads-up!
Hmmm pretty cool actually. I’m sure the 20 free sets have gone now.
Is there an option to ‘design’ the reverse now the logo isn’t required there?
Also…why did you have to attach the ring to the holder, why doesn’t it just come attached?
I don’t know, Lauren. If the reverse was clean, I might try these as a primary calling card for potential clients. They’re quirky, but in a good way. Just needs my name and phone number on the reverse.
Amanda, the draw for the 20 sets will be on Monday if that takes your fancy. As for why the ring doesn’t come attached to the holder, it’s probably because whoever is responsible for the packaging value their nails. See the photo I show of the open box? The silver ring came inside the little plastic bag.
This brings up an interesting thought I deal with every time I design a business card …. what is “standard size”? I typically direct clients to the credit card size or what I refer to as the European standard (not sure how accurate a statement that is). I hate the American 3.5×2″ as it’s not tall enough and very wide.
The idea of make it bigger and make it tiny has been around awhile. As a designer I do not buy into the notion that ‘unique’ is necessarily an advantage … but it can be. I do not believe a business card is an advertisement. Just in the same way a logo is not a pictogram version of a companies products or services. That said, I like the Squiz and its potential.
There is something to be said about designers inherent love for the core, basic, fundamental, beauty of a business card. The most simple layout project with the same basic ingredients can be infinitely interpreted.
wonderful idea!
Supersweet idea :P
I thought it was the first 20 who asked, if it’s a draw, yes please put me in it :)
Maybe they’ll take on board your nail comments for future production. I always use something like a butter knife to help winch open that sort of keyring.
Hi Stephen, I consider the ideal size of card to be one that’s big enough to present the necessary information, yet small enough to fit into the chosen holder (keeping cards pristine is important). There’s a lot to be said for a clean, credit card sized presentation, though, and you’ll get the nicest holders for the traditional size, too.
He He David.. I am salivating. This key ring card concept is way too cool.. And Yes, as an ardent fan, I shall tweet the stuff out.. Way way too cool…
This is absolutely brilliant. Convenient and just…simple. No clutter.
I was on board to order several of these for different reasons UNTIL THE WHAMMIE. Why would they even consider putting the logo on the back, talk about cutting your nose off despite your face. It is like a Designer putting their company name on a job for a client. Too bad b/c this little product would be truly great for so many reasons and designers would eat them up. I know I would use them even for my nightclubs as they could use them to give to patrons for discounts, vip passes, etc. Too bad, this is so close yet they really missed the mark by having their own logo on the other side.
I am totally getting one…its so much more affordable than I thought.
Thanks for sharing dude….
unfortunately, the no-ad option seems to still be unavailable. Hopefully, its there when I do send my order in a week or so.
Wow, I like this product!
I’ve drawn and notified the 20 winners. If you retweeted to enter and haven’t received a direct message on Twitter, sorry folks. But a big thanks nonetheless.
Thanks a lot David! I couldn’t believe I won these awesome cards!!
Hi David and thank you very much (again)!!
I’m one of the lucky winners of one of your gift-codes and I can’t wait to make a layout/design for them and order those 50 cards + keyring dispenser right away! :)
Thanks for a great start to my morning! I’ll get right on designing my free cards!
That is a neat idea. I could see someone remembering you and your card just from using the key chain in front of them. looks like a cool little idea that just might work.
They look really cool. Pitty I missed the promo though ;(
They look pretty handy, but in all honesty and sincerity I believe them to look over-distributed. When you hand a potential client or partner one of these will they think, “Geez, he has them in a key ring and everything. How many of these does he give out to people?”
Not to trash new or innovative ideas, but it’s missing something.
Dear Omar,
Care to explain why it is bad for someone to think you “over-distribute” your card?
Hey, I’m so glad you’ve got some nice clear pictures of how big they exactly are. I’ve got about 50 of these coming, from a freebie promo. Pretty happy with the freebies, although I, just like the others, am pretty annoyed with the logo on the back.
However, they’re bigger than I expected, by looking at your pics. I think I’ll be pretty happy with these. Thanks!
Does anyone know where i can get those dispensers manufactured, as i would like to put my own logo on.
Any companies/contacts will be most appreciated
Fantastic idea, it’s always such a pain carrying business cards around in my wallet and I always forget when I gave my last one out.
This would be a very convenient way to keep my cards, and the size is quirky too.
You can also get some nice mini cards printed at a great price from ‘Moo’ cards.