Tell-tale signs your brand isn’t working: #1 Wincy Face

Before he was Batman, Christian Bale played a blinder in the cult flick American Psycho as suited serial killer Patrick Bateman – and, man, did he nail wincy face. You may recall Bateman having a near nervous breakdown when he whipped out his shiny new business card, only to be bettered by a frenemy whose “raised lettering, pale nimbus white” offering is oh so superior. Cue, wincy face. While you hopefully have nothing else in common with the chainsaw-wielding maniac, you might have experienced a bad case of wincy face yourself. It’s that facial contortion you pull when you’re asked for your business card, and you hand it over, knowing it’s riddled with a severe case of logo leprosy, or that your cousin Daz knocked it up in five minutes using WordArt. You know, and by the look on your face, they know – it’s working for nobody.

Forgive yourself, you’re not the first. There’s no way we’re suggesting that you reach Bateman-levels of obsession about your business card (and put that chainsaw down), but you need to think about what it’s telling potential customers about you and your business. What is it about the card that’s triggering the wincy face reaction? Are the logo or visuals so shameful you’d like to make them walk five steps behind you? Do the colours look so drab they belong in Walter White’s wardrobe? Does the strapline sound worse than rutting foxes in a cul-de-sac at midnight?

When you were paying Daz in beer tokens for him to design “some old tosh” that was meant to be a placeholder until you’d made your first £100,000 you weren’t thinking straight. Understandably, you were looking at the contents of your empty bank account and making the only decision possible. But now you’re up and running – and there ain’t no-one who’s going to be impressed by five minutes-worth of Daz’s Sunday servings.

A lacklustre business card makes you look uninspiring and puts a ‘this lot are crap’ filter in front of your brilliant business. No wonder you’re pulling that wincy face. From the first time you meet a potential new customer, you’re in control of the impression you make – and your business card should back that up, not tear it down. So give your brand the boost it deserves, consider how a well-developed idea, executed by a skilled designer can make your business look and cancel that repeat order from Moo. We’re on a mission to banish wincy face, so you can relax those facial muscles and save them for delivering a ‘thanks for the order’ winning smile.