How to Create Memorable Business Cards
At a time when networking is extremely important, freelancers can’t afford to have a business card that isn’t eye-catching. My rule of thumb is if people aren’t complimenting you on your cards, then it’s time to make a change.
After collecting business cards over the years, I’ve seen some pretty interesting and creative designs along with some that just plain aren’t effective. Before going over some ways to ensure your cards don’t fall into the latter group, I think it’s important to ensure all of the proper information is accounted for. When designing cards for myself and my clients, I ensure the following information is included:
1. Your logo. Build brand recognition on every promotional piece you hand out.
2. Your name. Help people to remember who you are!
3. Phone number. If you don’t want people to reach you by your cell phone, don’t put it on your business card. Make sure the contact information on your card is where you can, and want, to be reached.
4. Email address. For many, this is the preferred way to communicate. It’s fast and convenient. Make sure your email address is working properly. Also, it’s much more credible-looking to have an email address that’s the same as your website domain. For example, since my website address is www.13thirtyone.com, it only makes sense that my email address be design@13thirtyone.com as well.
5. Mailing address. This helps customers and colleagues to remember where you are. It can help others to feel more comfortable when making referrals and to easily locate you in case of scheduled meeting.
6. Web address/blog address. Allow people to find you easily online. If you have a very informative blog, let people know they can use this as a resource. Especially for freelancers, websites are a great portfolio tool; help people find it! Printing your web/blog address on your materials also helps drive traffic to your site, thus increasing your search engine rankings.
7. What you do. If you choose not to include your service type in your logo or in your tagline, be sure it states clearly on your card what service/product it is you’re offering. If someone handed you their business card at a networking function with only a name, logo and contact info, you might be left trying to remember what service it was exactly that individual provided.
Optional pieces of information to add include your company tagline, fax number, hours of operation and your job title, along with anything else you feel is important to include.
Once I have all of the necessary info, I’m ready to start a business card design. Of course I’ll want to be sure to use colors and design details that reflect a client’s branding. However, there are other ways to make business cards more interesting as well, such as folds and shape.
Sharp Edges vs. Rounded Edges
Take into consideration the edges of your business card. A spa, for example, may make better use of a rounded card. It’s softer and feels more relaxed. A very serious law firm, as another example, who likes to keep things simple and conventional, may want a business card that’s a little more straight-forward, thus, the sharp edges may be more appropriate.
Double-Sided Card
If you’d like to make an impression with a pattern, extra design elements or even more information, the double-sided card might be a good choice. Same sized piece, just double the space.
Folded Card
Sometimes all of the needed information just can’t fit onto one business card. Why not give yourself some extra space by doubling the size? By creating a piece that folds in-half to the size of a business card, there’s a lot more room to be gained, thus giving prospects more information, an opportunity to interact with your business card, and creating something a little more unique.
Mini-Brochure Card
Why not turn your business card into a working brochure? By creating a design that will fold over into the shape of a business card, your promotional piece can do more for you than just offer contact information.
Accordion-Folded Card
For those who may need a lot of space, and whose budget allows, get creative with an accordion-style fold. This option offers loads of room for design and information. With this style though, it’s important to keep an eye on paper thickness as well. Something too heavy like a card-stock could create significant creases in your design and could be too thick for someone to put into their business card-holder.
There are lots of ways to get creative when working on a business card design. I’ve only discussed folds and corners. Other ways to make an impact include paper type (texture and color), the use of different materials (metal, plastic, cardboard, wood, etc,) and experimenting with die-cutting and funky shapes. It’s important to be sure, however, that the use of folds and materials falls in line with the clients’ (or your) branding image.
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Great article with loads of good information. Would love to add some of it to our website if you permit. We add content regularly mostly self-written and at times by members. Would be pleased to have you join us and share your views.
Like it
Useful post
The only thing I’d be careful about is keeping the important information on the front. A brochure may be great for adding additional info, but you always want the standard ‘business card info’ on the front so that if it’s in a rolodex/electronic contact manager/etc your contact info is easily accessible.
I’ve found my business card to be one of the most important aspects of my marketing effort.
As a sustainable designer, I wanted something that was eco-friendly, but I also design high-end work, so I didn’t want it to feel ‘granola.’
To that end, I designed something eminently minimalistic, but on 220 lb. post-consumer waste paper, with vegetable-oil ink copy letterpressed on to the card. The whole thing is nearly carbon neutral, and has amazing visual impact (because of its simplicity and thickness) and impressive tactile impact (because of the high-quality paper and again, the thickness) on my potential clients and collaborators.
A cheaper way to go, which is the direction I went with a client of mine who runs a massage therapy business, is to purchase moo cards, which are impressive because of their tiny size and high-quality paper (they are also pretty darn cheap: moo.com). These are not common in most industries, so if you’re looking to mix things up a nix, I highly recommend them.
Nice.
Just trying to get to a design i want to go with when it comes to my card.
too many ideas, not enough decision making.
@Colin Wright moo is great but i seem to have issues uploading to them via mac.
not impressed
calvin-t.co.uk
The memorable business card reflects its owner’s personality.
Small fonts represent professionalism and conservative thinking while big, bold typography makes you look creative, innovative and open to new ideas.
Sans-serif fonts look modern but serifs are good for professions like translator and copywriter.
And finally… thanks for the great tips!
Nice article!
I currently designing my own business card, so this article will definitely help me.
I am going for the double sided round edge card since I am so impressed by these type of cards.
What do you think if I added my photo(with some graphics or editing like my gravatar) on one side of it? Will it be impressive?
Where can one find those folded business cards?
It’s difficult to describe what I do one on little card (I tried once – my first business cards were SO gaudy). I’ve often thought of adding a few bullet-points describing what I do – it’d be nice to have a little more real estate to play with to do that effectively.
@Nikhil: Do not put your photo on your business card. The only people who do that are real estate agents, and I’m not even sure why they do it. Just looks tacky.
Interesting comments.
@Laura: any good printer in your local market can cut rounded edges.
@MattT: photos are tacky, they also pretty much limit you to cards that come off a high-end digital machine instead of being printed in a press.
I went the opposite of some of the suggestions in this article. I took off all of the wasted info on my cards. I only have my logo, name, phone, email and website. No one really cared or used anything else. I found it more effective to use a better paper (McCoy Silk for mine) and one corner cut at 45 degrees. You can see them here: http://impress-design.com/Redesigned-Business-Cards
Thanks Matt T & Jack for your valuable comments..
I’m so horrible about handing out my own businrss cards after telling so many clients the importance of doing so
I think a business card needs to tell the customer not only who you are and what you do, but what makes you different from others in your industry. This is particularly important for freelancers since most freelancers don’t brand themselves with much more that their name.
Another option you might consider is the use of an unconventional size. I’ve seen successful business cards come in square formats such as 2″ x 2″, and several restaurants I know went with 3-1/2″ x 1″ horizontal. With good designs, they were very memorable. Good pointers here; thanks.
I suppose this carries through beyond just business cards though – as a freelancer who does 100% of my ‘marketing’ online, this post can be seen as simply a reminder that regardless of who you know right now, first impressions always count when you’re presenting yourself to a new potential client. This brings up the important point of consistency across print and online marketing pieces, but that’s another topic.
That said, while there are hundreds of blog articles about business cards, I think this is the first where I’ve seen someone devote attention to the simple matter of the format of the card. Great idea
Any chance we can see your own bizcard?
Great post with thoughtful comments. I’m redesigning mine at the moment, trying to place my brand front and center. With regard to size, I think most folks who retain cards from other people still like to keep them in a central file. Keep in mind that a larger size might make a card stand out, but will also make it inconvenient to store. I tend to toss cards that are too large to fit in with the others. I haven’t encountered any smaller-than-usual cards…might toss those, too, if they didn’t fit into my system.
@Jack McDaniel: Actually, I was asking about *folded* cards – not cards with rounded edges.
Does anyone know of any online printers that offer these types of cards? Seems like it’d be easy enough if you could get the printer to make the fold lines (creases) in the right spot…
“My rule of thumb is if people aren’t complimenting you on your cards, then it’s time to make a change.”
I disagree.
I know that compliments and awards are popular with graphic designers. It’s easy to be fooled into success when one receives them. But…awards and compliments are not what one does marketing for. Unless your primary aim is to receive compliments, I’d suggest a focus on testing variations of your card, with copy designed to elicit a specific useful response. Such as:
signing up to your mailing list
requesting/downloading an informative report to be of interest to your ideal prospects
subscribing to your blog
requesting more information, an appointment, etc.
Anything that encourages the right prospects to raise their hands so that you can continue to the next step of the relationship (whatever that may be).
Once you’ve got that achieved, if you still want to spend time on a super clever/creative design, by all means – have at it.
-jr
Seth Godin posted a relevant post today entitled “Return on Design” that seems relevant to the discussion:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/03/return-on-design.html
-jr
No, N-O, to the last three ideas.
Those are always ridiculous, I do at least applaud your -other- common sense reasonings for those looking to learn.
But honestly, a business card is for contact info, and the very basest of information, i.e. a tagline/short mission statement. If you cannot communicate your business succinctly, get out of that business, right now, find a different business in which you can.
If you want to provide a considerable amount of info? Make a brochure (trifold or otherwise). You want to present more? Have it on a web site – the URL of your web site is on the business cards. This isn’t rocket science, it’s good business methodology.
If people want to know more, they’ll ask, or they’ll check your web site. DON’T FORCE a bunch of extra info into a business card that was never designed for that purpose to begin with.
Work with a professional graphic designer for unique dieline cuts (beyond the rounded corners even!) or other good effects, and ideally, those options still fit within the 3.5″x2″ parameters since so many holders cannot hold (properly) the totally unusual sizes.
But for the love of pete quit trying to shove 10 lbs of crap onto a 5 lb bag.
Best Regards and thoughtful business card design wishes,
David
Wow! I never thought that so much is involved into creating a business card! Thank you for sharing!
Ah, business cards… I’ve always liked them for some reason, even before I had a need to have them. It’s fun to collect interesting-looking ones.
I recommend a two-sided card with an eye-catching front, and the details on the back. Put your name, a short paragraph about you, and your contact information on the back, leaving the front to be an attention-grabbing “cover.” Look through some card galleries (like Envato’s own FaveUp) for inspiration if you need it.
Oh, and I’m currently running a 1,000 business card giveaway on my blog if anyone’s interested.
[...] How to Create Memorable Business Cards [...]
P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
Good tips. Thanks
I actually didn’t put my email address on my business card, my website has a contact form, I prefer that, I know it’s not the norm, but it works for me. Honestly, for my business (photography), I’d much prefer they call, which is why my number is on the card. I’m also a big fan of plain white backs, it’s space to use for writing notes, putting my email if someone really needs it, or even giving directions.
Very thoughtful post. A business card is more than a piece of paper bearing your contact info. It is a great print marketing tool. See it as your mini billboard. One should definitely maximize its opportunity and you are giving great steps on how to achieve this.
Very useful article and great source of inspiration. The only thing I might want to add though is that based on my experience, the design of our business card must take into consideration the habits of the ones we will hand it to.
Let me clarify mu thoughts, I was VERY big on double sided cards, with a solid mass on the back of the card because the contrast it gave etc. But I eventually became very careful when I was doing so because I noticed that a lot of business men liked to write down information on the back of the card so they can remember you better. For instance, they would write a quick summary of what we talked about, what service they might be interested in, or a note so they can remember of sending me an email etc.
Just keep that detail in mind and you will also improve the effectiveness of your cards!
Cheer!
I also get inspiration here: http://www.faveup.com/ , when I design business-cards. There are also a lot of great ways to present the designs..
I have made some cards by now, but when it comes to designing my own B-card I’m frozen stiff. I don’t know why… My logo gves me some problems, because it’s so demanding in it’s form. It’s sort of saying: put me in the center of the front – and let me be alone!
And that only gives me the backside of the card for my informations.. And I also would have likes to use one of the sides of the card for various showcases, so I’m stuck… I don’t know how to get further!
But thanks for the article, that forces me to rethink the whole process…
Well done article.
Personally, I love to use a nice rounded edge business card. Based on the responses I get when I hand them out, people agree with me.
-JP
@Laura: 4Over offers fold-over cards. Their quality is exceptional and pricing is the lowest I’ve found. Downside is you must be approved for an account. As long as you offer design services you’ll be approved. Turn-around times are great too.
As for my cards, I’m thinking of going with Letterpress cards via Smock. They are Eco-Friendly and print on bamboo paper, use wind energy, etc…
I second with the Letterpress look, just found these guys recently and they do some phenomenal work – I’m not affiliated with them in any way.
http://www.beastpieces.com/
For the last couple of years, I’ve been using a postcard as my business card. It’s gone over well, but I’ll also have to confess to something: I don’t always remember to bring it with me. Which points up the need for a smaller and more portable item. Like a…
…business card.
For good and more innovatie business-cards checkout: http://cardobserver.com/ .
A fantastic source of inspiration, thanks!
awesome idea for the mini brochure card, i was wondering if you guys could put the best business card print material , i have seen a thin transparent plastic and it looked really good =)
great advice. One must be different to stand out amongst the crowd.
I’d steer away from folded and mini-brochure cards. The novelty is fun, but the recipients will likely find them inconvenient. It’s one of those things that probably seem a lot cooler to the creator than to the intended recipient.
What about bookmarks? Few printers even talk about them. They are a useful addition to our books.
Really nice round-up!
Thanks for sharing!
Very helpful tips and techniques on how a business card should be made and look like. Thanks for sharing! =)
Awesome pointers, but I don’t think that mini-brochure and accordion-folded cards are that practical. I mean yes, you can create a brochure to advertise your work on it, but don’t make it small enough to the size of the business card, it’d be too small and then end up being useless and potential clients will just throw it away, since it’ll just clutter up their space. Double-sided business cards are definitely a way to go – most printing companies don’t charge that much extra for printing double sided ones these days.
Great article. It is an amazing source of information. Thanks a lot for sharing these useful tips.
That’s true that it has to be eye-catching but making a really good business card is quite costly too (Graphic designers’ fee, high-quality material costs.) Guess you’ll just have to make full use of it if you’re going to spend on it.