How to Create a Perfect Business Card

Though offices are fast becoming paperless with more and more business operations going online, the business card still holds an important place in the business marketing strategy.

Spend time on creating the perfect business card design and then hire a professional printer who can help you with the business card printing.

If a businessman or his employees do not have a business card that they can hand out to their prospective clients or business associates, they will surely miss out on a key marketing opportunity.

All business card designs are not effective. There are several poorly designed business cards that waste their opportunity to help the business stand out and make a mark for themselves.

The perfect business card helps to capture the receiver’s attention, ensure they notice the name and logo of the business and increase the recall value of the business.

An effective business card should include more than just the name and contact information. There are hundreds of ways to utilize the 3.5-inch by 2-inch space of the business card in terms of design and information. An attractive, we designed card helps capture the attention of prospective clients who would have otherwise tossed the card away.

How can I make my business card stand out? What makes an effective business card?

• Basic Information

Before applying the fundamentals of designing to the business card it is important to focus on the basic details required for an effective business card.

Ensure the basic contact information which would be helpful to the client or business associate to connect with you is present on the card. The basic elements of the contact information are:

• Name
• Position or Title in the company
• Email address
• Phone number (mobile and landline number if any)
• Company email address
• Address of the company

Include enough information which can generate interest in the minds of the recipients and make the business card memorable. Be selective about the information included on the card. Do not overload the card with extra information like all social media profiles, the slogan of business etc.

• Typography

Fonts: Ensure the fonts used are clear and legible. Funky fonts look attractive and can be fun, but most recipients read the business card in a single glance.

If the fonts are not clear and too complicated, there are chances the recipient may not be able to register the details in a glance and the basic purpose of the card is lost. Your company logo can add the design element to the business card, the text needs to be simple and straightforward.

Colour: It is important to stick to the pre-existing brand colour scheme while designing the business card. Use the colours associated with the brand, try to use the brand colour as the base colour of your card.

Choose text colours which can be highlighted on the background colour. Similar colours may look good together but maybe difficult to read, so it is advisable to use contrasting colours to ensure legibility.

• White Space

Many recipients have a habit to jot down a few words on the business cards to help them recollect in the future. Effective use of white space in the business card design allows the recipients to do this easily.

For the design perspective keeping the content on only one side and effective use of white space helps in drawing the attention of the reader to space which contains the contact details or logo.

• Visually striking graphics and images

Use attractive graphics or images in the business card design to grab the attention of the recipient and make your business card striking and memorable.

If you have a double-sided business card you can use side 1 for printing the contact details and the side 2 can have some beautiful design or graphics to make it look attractive

If you have a single-sided business card, then you can use the company’s logo on one corner and include an interesting image or quote or a custom illustration along with the basic contact information.

• Choice of material or card stock

It is very important to choose the right material and thickness of the card stock while designing a business card.

The quality of material used and the thickness represents the quality of your business. To ensure that the recipient has a positive image of your business, use good quality material and thick card stock while printing the business card.

• Printing

Unless you have access to commercial printers, business cards printing done in-house often come across as cheap or poor quality. The quality of the business card is reflected in what the recipients think of your business.

You may save on the costs by designing and printing cards on your own, however, the impact of handing out a homemade business card is not on par with the impact of handing out cards that are professionally printed.

Professional printers also offer special finishes which can help in creating a lasting impression. Below mentioned are few “special effects” which can benefit the business card design strategy.

• Embossing – embossing helps in creating three-dimensional prints, making certain areas “pop out.” The embossed prints can be useful in drawing attention to the specific aspects or words on your card.
• Letterpressing – Opposite of Embossing, rather than raising the paper, letterpressing pushes the paper down while printing. The result is similar to an engraving.
• Foil stamping –You can use foil stamps on images or parts of images on the card to highlight them.  It can also be used for accenting text.
• Spot UV coating – Many business cards use sleek varnish to create a smooth and shiny texture. Spot UV coating is similar except that it is applied only to certain parts of the card. You can apply a coating over the logo or graphics or important words.

Final Words:

A business card is more than just contact information, it represents your company and your brand. Your prospective clients and business associates may be receiving business cards from different people on a daily basis. To ensure your card stands out and creates a favourable image in the mind of the recipient it is very important to create an effective business card. Don’t try to save on costs while designing or printing your business card. Remember the business card is your representative.