Business Identity

The brief was to create a business card, compliment slip and letterhead for Abraham Lincoln, as if he was still alive today. I wanted to go all out and produce something quirky and interactive, much like some of the business cards I had researched, one in particular that I though was a fantastic idea was a card advertising a karate school (below). It looks like a brick and is easily broken in the middle, so you can ‘karate chop’ it.

Something like this, however, just isn’t viable when trying to promote a man who ended slavery, united a nation at war, and basically fixed the United States. I toyed with things like superglue, plasters, first aid boxs. Visual metaphors for the work he did whilst president, but in the end I thought a prestigious, quality set of stationary was a much more considered approach to the brief.

The set uses purely gloss varnish effects on plain paper/card, to portray his iconic image and also quotes from selected speeches given by the former president. Research suggested that the vast majority of people would recognise Abraham Lincoln from his image, and so including his name on the card was unecessary. The gloss varnish gives a prestigious feel with out being over powering. It is clear and effective, traits that reflect the presidents career.