Bret Easton Ellis’ cult thriller American Psycho features Patrick Bateman’s business card as an iconic symbol of his malignant narcissism, with all his co-workers competing against each other to outdo one another by showing theirs. In its business card scene, Patrick and his colleagues compete to outdo each other by offering theirs, competing to outshout one another as the film progresses.
His is printed on thick paper with a watermark and features an out-of-register font that’s not monospaced.
What is a business card?
A business card is a small piece of paper with contact details about an individual or organization. This typically includes their name, title, company, and phone number; additional information, such as websites or social media links, may also be included. Business cards are frequently shared during formal introductions such as job interviews or networking events; they effectively promote a company. They’re often reprinted for promotional events or given away freely as promotional giveaways.
American Psycho, a satire of 1980s Wall Street yuppies, is best known for its iconic business card scene depicting Patrick Bateman’s anger and anxiety. Director Mary Harron does an outstanding job capturing this intense yet highly revealing scene that shows many aspects of Patrick Bateman’s personality.
One of the critical aspects of designing a business card should be keeping it concise and informative. The text should be easily legible, with primary information, including your name and job title taking precedence over other details such as phone number and email addresses; nevertheless, any unnecessary or outdated data must not appear on it.
Remember that your business card serves as an advertisement for your company and should reflect this by being as professional as possible. Avoid offensive language and images that could potentially offend, and use quality paper for printing to help the card retain its shape and colors for longer.
As part of creating a business card, its design should also be carefully considered. An appealing business card design should create a positive image and portray your company positively; this may involve choosing between simple or adding visually engaging graphic elements to make an impactful statement about who your company is. A clear and easily readable font must also be utilized and kept large enough, so the text is visible. Sufficient readability is also crucial when designing one of these cards.
Typefaces
A Wall Street investment banker, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), presents his business card during a colleague meeting. It is off-white with embossed black letters. To their amazement, it bears the same typeface used for American Psycho’s opening credits – Copperplate Gothic was designed in 1903 by Frederic W. Goudy before later being adapted by Clarence C. Marder of American Type Founders Company to American typesetters. His colleagues are all surprised when his card bears the same typeface that appears throughout American Psycho. To their amazement, it takes an off-white tone embossed with black letters. They gasp with admiration because this typeface also appears on Patrick Bateman’s business cards when meeting his colleagues; everyone stares. This particular typeface also makes an impression first impression during meetings; all his colleagues gasp in admiration at this specific scene from the American Psycho cult movie with its opening credits set in Copperplate Gothic font used during the film by Clarence C Marder from American Type Founders Company to use in typesetters’ business cards. This gothic script was first designed in 1903 by Frederic W Goudy for American typesetters by Clarence C Marder of American Type Founders Company to adapt for American typesetters use in American typesetters’ business cards later used by Clarence C Marder of American Type Founders Company members’ business cards which came close.
David Van Patten pulls out his card. Like Patrick’s, it’s off-white with black letters embossed on it; however, its appearance is more modern due to its typeface and paper choice; David’s is printed on heavy textured uncoated stock with Bodoni typeface that makes reading the words easier; its monospaced letters all share equal thickness making reading the comments much more straightforward; however, the first letters of each word appear more prominent than usual and misaligning its edges with its card’s alignment.
Timothy Bryce presents his card next. It stands out from all others by being printed on high-quality glossy stock and using Helvetica, an increasingly popular sans-serif font that looks clean and professional. The text is well-spaced, while card alignment is correct; however, the overall composition could be improved.
Paul Allen’s card stands out amongst its peers in terms of design. Like David’s, it is misaligned, though its font and spacing are much superior to Patrick’s. Additionally, his name and phone number are both properly spaced; similarly, the “Mergers and Acquisitions” text could be shortened; furthermore, it appears too dark, making for an impressive business card design.
Paper
Business cards offer companies an invaluable opportunity to make an impression first impression, and selecting paper that accentuates its overall look is vital in creating this memorable impression. There are different types of paper available with their own set of characteristics – for instance, smooth stocks are easier for writing on, often being shinier than rough or porous varieties; thickness also affects feel as thicker papers tend to feel more substantial; some documents may feature unique textures that add tactile elements to business cards.
Coated and uncoated stock are both excellent choices for business card paper, providing an ideal contrast against the ink on printed business cards. Uncoated stocks come in different weights, from very thin and delicate to reasonably heavy and sturdy; additionally, textured or rough paper gives your cards a distinctive and unique appearance; more uneven surfaces provide more excellent contrast than smooth ones when printing ink onto them.
Bret Easton Ellis’ cult novel American Psycho, depicting Patrick Bateman and his colleagues competing to display their best business cards, perfectly illustrates the absurdity of their characters’ narcissism and hyper-masculinity. This iconic scene from American Psycho has since become one of cinema’s most enduring movie props – making an indelible mark upon cinema history.
Patrick Bateman’s card is first displayed. It is printed on off-white uncoated stock with black ink and features the company logo and his title: VICE PRESIDENT of Bateman Financial Solutions Inc. When other stockbrokers see his card, they gasp with admiration; when placed next to David Van Patten’s, however, they struggle to distinguish the two.
Both cards feature the same font, though Patrick’s features slightly smaller letters and tighter leading. His text was set in Copperplate Gothic by Frederic W. Goudy in 1903 – it features small flared serifs for which there was little need to provide spacing issues at that time. David has his card printed on eggshell with Bodoni and shares many of Patrick’s spacing issues, except he has more headspace at its top of center mainline and footer than at Patrick’s.
Printing
Bret Easton Ellis’ cult novel American Psycho is filled with intriguing characters like Patrick Bateman, the ruthless Wall Street investment banker portrayed by Mary Harron in her film adaptation as Patrick. His fascination with murder and ability to maintain an otherwise calm demeanor even while killing people makes for both frightening and fascinating characters, both traits well captured by Mary in their business card scene – an iconic scene in American Psycho.
Bateman then takes out his business cards and compares them with those in the room, noting how many have nearly identical black print on white paper with exact contact information – an example of how even minor details can play an essential part in building or breaking someone’s image or reputation. This shows us just how vitally important business cards can be!
All cards share similar basic information, such as name, title, and phone number. Each also bears the Pierce & Pierce logo and address on its front cover; yet each has distinct differences that distinguish it from others – Patrick’s card, for instance, features an old-style font while David and Timothy use modern fonts, respectively; Additionally, the positioning of each name differs slightly and spacing varies between cards.
Each card features its distinct texture on the front, making them even more striking than one another. Copperplate Gothic was chosen as its typeface as an old-style font with unique serifs to add character and distinction to its design.
The final difference lies in the color of his card. Whereas all three have a light, pale-nimbus white hue, Bateman’s card has darker and grayish tinting, befitting his more serious and contemplative nature.
American Psycho is an excellent movie to witness the importance of details in business cards, particularly their font. Patrick Bateman used an eye-catching monospaced font similar to Helvetica but with subtle serifs that add flair and personality.
