Life is not about being liked it’s about being effective.
The entire objective is to get people’s attention.” – Joel Bauer
This viral video is a classic! Joel Bauer discusses the best business card ever made, his naturally. It is funny in it’s macho absurdity, yet it totally works. I am sure that Mr. Bauer got way more speaking gigs after this video hit the intertubes.
From a design perspective, Bauer’s point about getting noticed is extremely important to remember. He said that he designed a card that is so cool that “…even if they don’t like you they won’t throw away your card.” His business card is way over the top, but it is effective. As designers we should take that lesson to heart, if you are trying to make a big splash, then sometimes it is worth it to go all out! If you can create a design that is so unique and cool, they won’t forget it. Just like Bauer, even if you don’t like Bauer or his video you won’t forget it.
Here is a good interview of Joel Bauer. It is pretty revealing, Bauer says that the person in the video is really more of a character than what he is like in real life. Which is good, I can’t imagine anyone living with someone like in first viral video.
