💳 Printed Business Card (PBC)
"Bridging the physical and digital world, a business card not printed on paper, but FR-4"
The Problem
People still hand out business cards during conferences and events.
Why in the (technologically advanced) world, are people giving away their contact information printed in ink on a piece of paper and keeping a stack of other’s cards, despite the fact that one has easy access to all the necessary information with just a search on Linkedin?
A good business card is an object beyond giving contact information. It is also courtesy. And most importantly, It is the perfect opportunity for you to impress someone you think who worths the effort to connect to. If it is a great business card, the card you designed will end up taking a place or even stand out in a deck of competitive business cards.
The Solution
The ultimate business card in a PCB form, which bridges the physical and digital world and directs recipients to the creator’s personal website via NFC and QR code, while doubling as a card-sized phone stand, in a sleek size and fashion.
It's a board... It's a card...
It's Printed Business Card
The business card is made in a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) form, to essentially impress a recipient, someone very possibly works in tech, with my creativity, convey the message that I am proficient in designing PCBs, at the same time to provide an opportunity for the recipient to evaluate my artistry first-hand. Exploiting my experience of making PCB art, the logo and text have an exposed copper finish that brings the shine and clean aesthetic to the board itself.
Near Field Communication (NFC)
Of course, the primary purpose of a business card is to provide contact information. Instead of having letters on papers, the card is incorporated with an NFC chip in a tiny XQFN8 package (NT3H1101), which has energy harvesting capabilities, along with the precisely calculated antenna, to essentially provide a URL to the phone, which directs the user to my personal website, with a contactless tap, plus an onboard LED that lights up when contact is made.
Also a Phone Stand
Apart from electronics, the card itself is also a card made out of solid materials, where its rigidity can be further leveraged. Inspired by the snap n play model kit frame design, users can easily transform the card into a thin and light, nifty phone stand that can be kept in a wallet. Not only the physical form of the card stands out in a pile of boring business cards, but it also becomes a tool that provides value in life instead of merely storing someone else’s info that might not even be relevant to you. The card, and possibly the creator of this intriguing product, can be remembered ever since.
On the other side... is QR code and text
Just in case, an NFC device is not at the reach of the user’s hands, or a user only needs one simple piece of my essential information in a short glance, I got that covered. The QR code and the simple textual contents placed on the back of the card serve these kinds of secondary use cases with flexibility.
Eye Candies
