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Solutions May 2005
Case Study
Stamping
Design Sensibility on Membership
Cards
When
the Akron Teachers Credit Union
changed its name to the Towpath
Credit Union, it turned to Alliance
Plastics Company, Ferndale, Mich.,
to supply new membership cards
for its members in northeast Ohio.
Alliance Plastics Company offers
plastic cards and promotional
products to retailers, insurance
providers, hotels, libraries,
banks and labor/trade unions.
The
credit union’s former membership
card was a 30 mil CR80 (standard
credit card size) in black and
white with a signature panel on
the front. The card was functional,
but it wasn’t eye-catching.
When the credit union’s
operations manager ordered the
new cards, one of her prime requests
was for an attractive card. She
asked Alliance for suggestions.
“We
enjoyed the chance to act as consultants,”
says Keith Brown, sales and marketing
director for Alliance. “In
most cases, clients know what
they want or ad agencies provide
the artwork. In this case, she
said, ‘Make us an attractive
card.’” Towpath Credit
Union provided the new logo, and
Steve Fishman, art director at
Alliance Plastics Company, went
to work.
Fishman
designed approximately five versions
of the card, tweaking each one
until the operations manager was
satisfied. The first version was
a simple design featuring the
Towpath Credit Union’s logo,
its initials in green and brown.
The operations manager wanted
more color, so Fishman added a
tinted green background. Some
later renditions depicted borders.
One variation included a screened
spider web design in the background.
“The
customer had ideas on how she
wanted the card to look, and she
translated them back to our art
director,” Brown says. Ultimately,
the operations manager selected
a 30 mil PVC card with a green
gradient that bleeds. The start
tint is 50 percent. The credit
union’s logo appears in
the upper left corner, and the
card displays three 10 percent
tinted signature panels—for
the member’s name, account
number and signature. The other
side of the card, which has a
laminated plastic polish finish,
lists contact information for
the credit union’s three
branches.
Alliance
provided 10,000 cards to the Towpath
Credit Union, which will personalize
them as needed. Some companies
might see working back-and-forth
with the client, altering small
details on the card, as a hassle.
Alliance takes the opposite approach.
“We place an emphasis on
customer service and quality that’s
evident in this order,”
Brown says. “When you take
a consultative approach with customers
and you’re dedicated to
helping your customers, you come
away with the best possible product.”
—Susan
Keen Flynn
