Tips for Designing an Unforgettable Business Card

The world is increasingly going paperless. There are few offices or other workplace environments that haven’t taken measures to reduce the amount of paper that they use in their day to day operations. As a result, the humble business card can feel like a relic from a previous age. However, business cards are still popular as a means of making sure that new acquaintances go away with your contact information.

By designing a business card that is memorable and attractive, you are greatly reducing the chances of the recipient simply taking the card and discarding it at the next available opportunity. If you don’t have a quality business card to give out to new business acquaintances then you could be sacrificing a huge number of potential interactions and opportunities.

Now that printing business cards is a much cheaper and simpler process than it used to be, even an entrepreneur who is only just starting their career can afford to have their business cards professionally printed. Similarly, small businesses are now taking advantage of the opportunities offered by bulk printing to provide their management with business cards.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to design your own business card then here are some of the most important design principles for creating a memorable card.

Work with Your Constraints

Only having a relatively small area to work on will force you to consider your design choices carefully so that you can ensure you use the space to its maximum potential. Being forced to work on a small canvas will mean that if you try and throw too many superfluous design ideas together you will end up with a business card that can’t serve its primary function!

Start with the Essentials

The primary function of your business card is to convey information about you and your business to recipients. It is easy to get sucked into the fun of exploring your artistic side and to lose sight of your main objective. When you are approaching the design of your business card, try and start with the information that you need to include and think about the most effective way of conveying it.

Experiment with Special Finishes

Different business card printing services will offer different possibilities for special finishes that they can add to the card. This is an excellent opportunity to theme your card, for example, if you are a music teacher then you could have the card finished with some musical notational symbols or something similar. The best business cards for attorneys at Rees Law Firm Family Law will be different than those for people working at a supermarket.

Don’t Fear Custom Shapes

Having your card printed on specially shaped card is a simple and effective way of making your card stand out from the rest, while also adding something to its design aesthetically. Sometimes having cards printed in a custom shape will be a little bit more expensive, but it is worth it for the easy design points you will score.

Designing an unforgettable business card doesn’t need to be difficult, you just need to think carefully. You want a business card that looks good but also serves its purpose. The challenge is in striking the balance between all these different considerations.

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.