One of the earliest forms of marketing and advertising a brand is through business cards. If you haven’t got a card that you can hand out to prospective clients or collaborators, you’re missing out on a key marketing opportunity.

In the age of digitalization and paperless operations, business cards still hold great value. And that’s why you need to have a business card that stands out and speaks your brand’s value.

Of course, one can design their own business cards and get them delivered from online print services at a cost equivalent to their lunch. However, such business card designs lack emphasis and appear similar to any other regular card design.

Creating a well-designed business card is a great marketing opportunity and, so, we are going to share some helpful tips with you on how to maximize it.

Tips on how to design business cards creatively

Begin with a solid plan

Before you plunge into creating your design, align all the design assets you’d need in order to create your business card.

Remember that your business card needs to reflect your brand’s identity and value. And, so, there are two crucial design components you need to be finalized before you even begin thinking of business cards;

    - Logo

    - Brand color scheme

Whether you’re an individual freelancer, founder of a young startup, or part of an established enterprise, you need to ensure you have these components ready. Logo and color scheme plays a very vital role in influencing the layout of your business card and giving it a unique identity.

Stick to the basic design principles

It goes without saying (and yet we are saying it!) that you MUST adhere to the basic design principles of a paper-based design for your business cards as well. This means you should remember;

    - Laying out a grid

    - Establishing a hierarchy

    - Keeping all the elements neatly aligned

    - Choosing appropriate fonts and font sizes

    - Working with a consistent color palette

Knowing the basics of design elements is a separate discussion altogether. Good for you that we have already covered this discussion in a different segment. You can read that in our blog here.

Make the best of the space

Although the size of a business card has several variations, a generic dimension is somewhere around 3.5in to 2in (88mm to 58mm). This is to say that you get very limited space to provide information about yourself and your business on the card.

Therefore, you need to be smart with all information you want to print on the card. Try to include only the information which is unavoidable and absolutely necessary; such as:

    - Name

    - Contact number

    - Work profile

    - Email address

    - Company address

This information can be placed strategically on either side of the card, which will then leave you with enough space to work your graphics around it; including the logo of your brand.

For example, you can use one side of the card for printing your name and job title (work profile). This will, typically, be the front side of your business card. On the flip side, you can mention the contact details (phone and email) as well as the physical address of your company or business. The logo, of course, will be printed on both sides of the card.

How you use the space is completely up to you. So be smart about it.

Try out different shapes and sizes

     

As mentioned in the earlier tip, a business card has very limited space due to the typical size measures available. However, it is becoming a popular trend to step away from the traditional dimensions and create a custom-sized or shaped business card.

Pick a shape and size which allows you to play with your graphic designs and help create the required impact.

However, remember that you must not get overwhelmed with the dimensions.

Don’t go too big, unless you've got a particular reason for doing so. If you create something that people can’t fit in their wallet or business card holder, you risk irritating them or just having them throw it out. And keep in mind that non-standard sizes and shapes may be more expensive to print.

 

Use special features

The best thing you can do to create an outstanding business card is giving it a very out-of-the-box look. To create an impact with your business cards;

    - You can provide a unique finishing to your card; such as foil blocking, spot-UV and metallic inks.

    - You can use the die-cut process to cut out unique shapes for your card or even use it to cut holes in the card in the shape of letters and print information likewise.   

    - You can, also, try out different materials for printing your business cards; such as transparent plastics, metals, wood, and even a slate.

    - You can add a slogan (like a brand message), to describe what you do in a single sentence.

   - You can work around and experiment with typography. Elegant and appropriate typography is a crucial element of a good, memorable business card design.  

    - You can make them useful to ensure people hold onto them for long. Think about how your card can have a second function, ideally linked to your business or brand. Maybe it could be used as a bookmark, for example, especially if you’ve written a book or sell books or turn into a miniature armchair for your phone.

 

Cross-check your artwork

Right then! So, once you are done with all the design experiments, take some time out and go through your final artwork thoroughly. While, this tip may sound obvious and unnecessary, trust us when we say that it is equally important to double-check your work.

Even the most creative and unique business card design ideas will be worthless if there’s a typo in your email address or name that prevents people from finding you.

When you’ve finished your business card design, you’ll probably print hundreds or even thousands of copies, so take the extra time to go over everything carefully. Then step away, come back in a few hours, and check it all again with fresh eyes. Only then should you send it to the printers.

 

To conclude...

Business cards can be simple pieces of papers imprinted with your company information or could very well perform as great means to your brand’s marketing. It all boils down to how to design business cards effectively. If you really want to work on your business card design ideas then you can always take professional help from GraphicsZoo. We offer a range of business card design templates for you to choose from or can even create custom business card designs. Simply connect with us at support@graphicszoo.com