How to Design a Business Card: The Ultimate Guide
Rohan Roy
Jul 9, 2021
Creative
Business cards are important, and no matter how dependent we become on the digital mediums to find the people for services, business cards look way more professional than asking someone to google you.
Business cards are multi-functional, and the basic need of any business is met easily through them. They help you gain brand recognition, call to action, and of course, advertising. It also gives your users the information they need to contact you – phone number, address, email, and even the social media handles. They are easy to carry; they are pocket-sized billboards and give a lasting impression to create a brand presence.
Even though they are so functional and are an optimal investment, you can only enjoy these benefits if you make them perfect. You must design a business card well, and it should be a visual extension of your brand design. So, here we are sharing an ultimate guide to designing a business card. Let’s get started
What do you know about Business Cards?
Before you enter a war, it is always good to know your enemy. But we can take some notes from this quote to design a business card for your brand.
To start with, there are two important components of business card design:
Finished logo
Brand color scheme
If you haven’t figured this out yet, you must start on it right away. Logos and color schemes are crucial for designing a business card. They help you give that unique identity to your business card, and they will help you influence people. Know your brand Before you design, find out what you want to communicate with your business cards. What type of brand are you, what is the unique identity that makes you stand out from your competition, what is the voice of your brand? These few things would help you make your business card worthwhile.
Design your business card in 8 steps
You have your logo, brand color scheme and have a good idea of what you want to communicate to the people. Now it is time to design your business card.
Choose the shape
If you want to design a rectangular business card, you can proceed to the next step. But you have explored the amazing world of innovative business card designs and shapes; you would have to think outside the box. Web to print technology has evolved greatly. Today you can design and order your business cards easily with online websites. The printing technology allows you to cut out any shape you want to print in bulk.
You can round the corners of your business card or get more creative and build it in any shape and size you want. Special shapes make your card more attractive, but you have to be very intuitive as logistics are very important to keep into account.
Choose your size
You can design your business card in any size. It is not going to be very difficult as each country has its own standard. Even if you want to stand out in the market with a unique business card design, you should take size very much into account. It is essential that it fits in a wallet. Some of the country standards that you must know of are:
North America: 3.5 x 2 in. ( 88.9 × 50.8 mm)
Europe: 3.346 × 2.165 in. (85 × 55 mm)
Oceania: 3.54 × 2.165 in. (90 × 55 mm)
While designing a card, keep in mind the following three factors; it would help you design the card easily and also help you utilize the size of the card efficiently:
Bleed Area: The outermost part of the card that is going to be removed once cut.
Trim line: The target line for cutting cards
Safety line: Keep your content, text, or logos a little but inside the safety line just to be sure that it is inside the business card.
Add your logo and other graphics
Start by plotting the visual elements of your business card design. You would always want to put the logo first, as it is the brand identity. It should get as much attention as it can get. Next, decide if you want to use any secondary graphics.
While designing a business card, you have to think of both sides of your business card. It is very popular to keep the logo of the business on one side of the business card and the rest of the things such as contact details, services, etc., on the other side.
However, you can also put the logo on both sides; only you will have to change the size as per the content. This is just one idea; you can get as creative as you want with your business cards. If the empty space doesn’t fit, you can add more graphics to it. Also, don’t go overboard with it; keep it airy.
If you want to keep it minimal, use an interesting design and pique the interest of people and give a URL, they can visit to know what you do. It is not always essential to speak or read; keep the mystery flowing to make people come to your brand.
Add necessary text
The business card design depends on you; if you are a work-from-home freelancer, you don’t have to give them an address to come knocking on your door. But if you have an office address, it is always good to give your address. So, think about what information is very necessary to go on the business card; here is a list:
Name
Company Name
Job Title
Phone Number
Email
Website URL
Social Handles
Address
QR Code
Slogan
Remember you don’t have to put everything, go with the things which are absolutely necessary. Also, if you don’t maintain your social media account and website, don’t put it. People would be highly disappointed if they see a social media account with images or information updated two years ago.
Choose the typography
The next step in designing a business card is deciding about the typography. While deciding about the typography, pay close attention to size, font, and color.
The size would help with the readability of the text. You will at least want to keep it 8 pts. The things like brand name, service, etc., can be written in a bigger size.
The font would help you to influence your audience. Remember to choose a font that represents the personality of your brand.
Colors should blend well with the entire design of the business card. The text colors should go with the background card, and you can experiment with contrast.
Consider special finishes
You are almost done designing the business card. If you need something extra for your business card, you would be needed certain service expertise to add the extra elements. Embossing, letter pressing, foil stamping, and spot UV coating, you can try various things while designing your business card. It would give a different identity to your business card.
Pick a designer
Designing elements such as logos, or monograms, or mascot, etc., is not going to be easy as it needs technical expertise. You might need help from a designer. You can google a local freelancer or go on a platform such as 99desgins for hiring someone with experience.
While hiring a designer, you must look for someone experienced. Check out their portfolio and ask for their prices for their services. Once you have found the right person, you can communicate clearly what your business needs and hire someone that can do the job right.
Finalize your design
Now that all elements are placed in their accurate position, you just need to make the finishing touches and re-evaluate your design. Save the design, and see how people are reacting to it. Once you have gained a positive response from people, you can go with the printing services.
Wrapping Up
Hope you enjoyed this blog and are all set to design some amazing business cards. There are plenty of other ideas you can try out like scented inks, duplexing and triplexing, alternate material, foldable cards, transparent cards, and so much more. Keep on experimenting with the design until and unless you have found a perfect business card design. The best thing about the web to print solutions is that you can order the cards in small quantity, and you would know how it is looking after getting printed.
Avoid borders, and if you have a small budget for business cards, use fewer colors, preferably two. Don’t reduce the material quality or the quantity. Don’t put much information on the card, be very specific, use the content that is absolutely required on the card. Hire a skillful designer with proven experience if you face any difficulty with the elements.
