Math Monday: Business Cards III

Craft & Design Education Science
Math Monday: Business Cards III

For the Museum of Mathematics
MathMonday

I wanted to follow up on the two prior installments on the making opportunities presented by business cards with a roundup of some of the more exotic things that one can do with them. Beyond this, if you think I’ve missed some particularly mathematically worthy or impressive business card constructions, please send me your suggestions at mondays@momath.org. Thanks!

To begin with, it’s possible to play with ways to dissect and fold a single business card, producing such amazing creations as the one below by Sam Buxton. (Note that this is made from a metal business card, as it is hard to get such precise creases in paper.)

w3789_work

Next, you can leave the land of straight folds by creasing along along circular arcs as well, expanding the scope of possibilities. For example, that technique is the secret behind “Orb,” another Jeanine Mosely business card creation, with full instructions here, and its more complex cousin, “Triacontahedral Orb.”

Screen Shot 2013-02-25 at 11.52.50 AM

Or, for a third alternative, you can keep the cards flat but still allow yourself some cutting to produce a wide variety of business card polyhedra, such as these devised by Harrison Ainsworth, also with full instructions:
tetracardahedron-7

Next time you come across a stack of out-of-date business cards, grab ’em and enjoy!

6 thoughts on “Math Monday: Business Cards III

  1. April | Ms Word Templates says:

    These are amazing creations! Now I have an idea on what to do on my old stacks of business cards. Thanks for the inspiration. :)

  2. Mentally hilarious (@lolmaus) says:

    So the template for the Triacontahedral Orb shown on the picture are not available?

    1. Glen Whitney says:

      Not so far as I know. You could try contacting Dr. Mosely — she is not difficult to find.

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Executive Director, Museum of Mathematics

View more articles by Glen Whitney

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK