When thinking about which direction you should go with your printed business card design there are a few things to take into consideration about your business card before you rush in and start laying the card out. One thing I see a lot is a lot of people get lost in the actual design of the business card before they have thought about what they need the card to function as. This is fine if all you need is a business card that looks great and a lot of the time a business card like this will function just fine but there are a lot of times where pretty alone isn’t functional and the aim is to get both, a great looking business card that also serves all the tasks you might need it to. Some functions to take into consideration that might or might not apply to your particular business card are:
1. What is the most important information you need people to be able to easily see on your business card. E.g your phone number, your email or your address. Work out what it is and make sure you work down from that element being in the forefront.
2. Will you want to be able to write on the card? Maybe to be able to jot down appointments for clients or any other details you might want individual clients to have that you can’t just print.
3. Are you paying for a double sided printed business card or single sided. If its double you have more freedom but maybe you want to save on money and just print one side. If so remember this from the start and try to limit the amount of information you place on that one side. Remember a cluttered design not only looks bad but makes your business card harder to decipher and this is an obstruction for your customer.
Now let’s get into the design side of the printed business card. I see so often someone goes and gets a business card printed that really doesn’t look anything like their standard branding or business colours, this only works against you. The business card you get printed needs to reflect all your other branding , e.g your website, your logo and your business colours, if your business doesn’t have a colour scheme then maybe it’s time to think about implementing one if your business suits that kind of regime.
The finish of your business card is also something to take into consideration, matte finishes also known as silk finishes give a sophisticated feel to your business card that suite some companies and don’t suit others. Gloss finish business cards just like matte or silk card suit only some companies and it’s up to you to work out where your company sits and what business card finish is best for you.
Finally the size of your business card, this is not as important as the other topics we have covered but none the less something to take into consideration all the same. The different dimensions of business cards are rather similar, this is due to the fact that they must fit into a wallet or purse so they can’t be too big or too small but you will find some business cards are slimmer than others and this is a nice dimension for a sophisticated card especially if you finish it in matte but once again this is something you need to work out for your company individually.
If you have an endless budget then you might want to consider some of the other options for printed business cards that really turn heads and serve to make people remember your company that bit more.
1. Metallic finish business cards- these are impressive and don’t cost that much more than regular business cards.
2. Die cut business cards – these look great and you can do some really creative things with the design when you have control of the shape.
3. Sticker business cards - I have seen this quite often and is another gimmick that works well and you know where ever they stick it, it will stay and double up as advertising.
4. Magnet business cards- small magnet business cards are great for businesses like plumbers etc where you want your ad on the client’s fridge.
5. CD-ROM business cards - If you have anything multimedia that you would like a client to take with them these are great and surprisingly not as expensive as one would think. Once again a great gimmick that also serves a great function.
Online Printed Business Cards
Online Printed Business Cards
