How to Choose a Business Card Design

May 20, 2009 by Rita Marshall 

Your business card design is 2×3 inches of written communication, graphic design and first impressions. Think carefully before you just throw some Avery pre-mades into the inkjet printer or spend hours coming up with something impractical that’ll blow everyone’s mind.

Business Card Design: Balancing Layout with Information

Layout plays an important part in simple, effective written communication. As I’ve said before, your reader’s eyeballs are your most precious resource — don’t abuse them or make them work any harder than they have to.

Don’t try to squeeze everything you’ve got on to one little business card!  An image is great, but stick to just one. Include only your relevant contact info that fits easily on to the card. If you need to include taglines, a quote or anything else, consider using the other side of the business card.

Remember Function when Choosing a Business Card Design

- Stick to the traditional when it comes to the size of the card. Too big or too small sizes are unwieldy and don’t fit into standard business card holders.

- If you’re thinking of using a material other than paper, think carefully. I may love your metal business card, but if the nice airport security lady asks me if I want to keep it, I’ll probably say no. If you go with plastic, you won’t be able to scribble messages on the back.

- Business cards don’t really double as promotional items. If you have your company info printed on a clothespin or chocolate bar, you need to have a normal business card as well. Otherwise I’ll eat your contact info or use it to hang my laundry. Either way, I won’t remember you after.

The Most Important Advice on Business Card Design

KNOW YOUR LIMITS. My Quark Xpress experience qualified me to dummy up my business card. It did not, however, qualify me to draw a logo. I found a great graphic designer who created the Longbow logo for me in several formats, and I’ve used them faithfully for my website, letterhead and business cards.

But maybe you’re a pretty good drawer. Do you deftly sketch plates of cookies for bake sale posters and entertain kids with your Bugs Bunny doodles? That’s nice. Do NOT draw your own business card logo. People may complain that business cards are turning into meaningless pieces of paper (see next week’s post), but it’s still a powerful visual indication of how professional your business is. For the love of God, do NOT use Microsoft Word Art or Clip Art!

Before Your Business Card Hits the Printers’

I highly recommend picking a professional’s brain when it comes to your final design, even if it’s just a friend or a student who’s good at design. Also run it by family and friends — can they easily locate your information? Does it make their eyeballs hurt? If you get a yes to the first question and a no to the second, you’ve got a winner!

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