KENYA · GUIDE 0543 · EDITION 4.2
Business card design in Kenya: Operations and Quality Checks
Deliver the agreed result consistently
Prepare cards for a defined contact purpose, verifying names, roles, phone formats, email addresses, brand assets, print finish, and who authorizes each person's details before production.
The operating sequence for this offer is:
- Verify the clients exact name, contacts and role, then confirm card dimensions, printer requirements and included design options in the brief.
- Develop the layout using permitted assets, test readability at actual size and obtain a final spelling and contact-detail approval.
- Export the approved print file, check bleed and safe area against the printer instructions and record which party orders production.
Put acceptance into the job record
No clipped text or incorrect contact data in the approved print proof.
Ask each named person to proof their own contact details and test any scannable link from a physical sample before approving the full printing quantity requested.
Inspect at the point where a correction is still possible, then again at handover. Record rejected or incomplete output separately from accepted output. A completed task is not automatically an accepted task, and an invoice does not establish that the customer received the right result.
Measure real capacity
Time preparation, the main operation, transport, cleaning, approvals and correction as applicable. The slowest stage determines how much you can promise. Where two orders need the same person, space or equipment at the same time, resolve the conflict before confirming both deadlines. An additional enquiry should not erase a commitment already made.
| Operating checkpoint | Evidence for this business |
|---|---|
| Before starting | Prepare cards for a defined contact purpose, verifying names, roles, phone formats, email addresses, brand assets, print finish, and who authorizes each person's details before production. |
| During delivery | Develop the layout using permitted assets, test readability at actual size and obtain a final spelling and contact-detail approval. |
| At acceptance | Ask each named person to proof their own contact details and test any scannable link from a physical sample before approving the full printing quantity requested. |
| At the pilot review | Record personal-detail approvals, print specifications, sample readability, link tests, quantities per person, printer corrections, and final delivery checks against the signed production proof before client acceptance. |
Keep a correction and escalation rule
When inputs, access, specifications or customer instructions change, pause the affected work and confirm the effect on time and cost. Do not quietly lower the acceptance standard to avoid a delayed delivery. Keep rework caused by your error distinct from a customer-requested change of scope and agree the remedy clearly.
A card becomes wasted stock when an approved-looking proof contains a mistyped phone digit or a decorative finish makes the essential contact information difficult to read.
Retain the minimum records needed to investigate a complaint without disclosing unrelated personal information. Use measured delivery and actual acceptance as the basis for expanding capacity, rather than the maximum theoretical output of a tool or production line.
Operating control points for this exact offer
| Sequence | Work method | Release checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collect exact staff names, roles, business phone, address and final website URL in one approved table. | Call/read back the contact details; a correct design with a wrong digit fails acceptance. |
| 2 | Create front/back artboards at the agreed trim and apply the chosen printer's required bleed and safe area. | Important text and QR remain away from trim; each staff version uses the same layout. |
| 3 | Encode the approved stable URL, keep a readable fallback address and avoid decorative distortion. | Scan a printed sample with more than one phone where possible; test the final destination, not just recognition. |
| 4 | Export a contact sheet showing all three fronts and backs and compare names with the source table. | No employee receives another person's role or phone because a copied text frame was missed. |
| 5 | Name PDFs by employee/version and specify front/back order; reopen them outside the editor. | Printer can identify which two faces belong together without guessing from thumbnails. |
Do not substitute a tick for an observation: record the count, measurement, approved sample or evidence reference used at each checkpoint. Mark unresolved work as held and identify who can approve the recheck.
Diagnose a failure before repeating it
| Observed symptom to investigate | Check the cause | Proposed response |
|---|---|---|
| Back is upside down | Check printer's duplex orientation and proof sheet. | Correct the front/back setup with printer confirmation rather than rotating files arbitrarily. |
| QR scans on screen only | Inspect printed size, contrast and destination. | Enlarge or simplify the code and retest a full-size proof. |
| Staff name overflows | Compare longest name with the shared text area. | Adjust the system consistently; do not shrink one name to unreadable type. |
These are diagnostic prompts, not proof of the cause in a real incident. Separate suspect output, record any correction and repeat the relevant acceptance check. Link rejected units, rework time, replacement materials, customer credits and collection delays to the actual job result.