In modern business, a custom business card is a crucial accessory for any professional. It serves multiple purposes, such as representing the owner, sharing company information, and promoting goods and services. It is a versatile tool that can effectively communicate essential information about a business person and their company. It is customary to divide business cards into several types:
- Personal business cards – contain information about the owner: first name, last name, and contacts.
- Corporate business cards – in addition to information about the person, as a rule, they contain additional contacts of the company in which the owner of the business card works.
- Advertising and presentation business cards are designed (correctly!) to advertise goods and services or to represent the company at various events: exhibitions, presentations, business forums, and so on.
What should be a perfect business card that will fulfill its task one hundred percent? Five rules should be followed when making a business card.
Rule one. One business card, one side
Yes, Yes, exactly. A sound business card should be one-sided. If you did not know, the second side is designed to make notes on it. Taking, for example, a business card of your new business partner, you can, after the meeting – in no case do this during the session – add additional information to the back side: for example, where did you meet this same Donald? When handing over your business card, you can provide additional information about yourself, such as a mobile phone number or home address.
Printing business cards in two languages - one in English, one in other language – is bad manners. If you must introduce yourself to a foreign partner, order a small edition of English-language business cards. Unilateral.
Two sides with information are possible only on promotional and presentation business cards. Some clients order corporate business cards with a list of company services on the back. However, in serious business circles, this is considered bad manners. If you want to introduce yourself and immediately talk about the company’s services, give two business cards: your personal and presentation business card.
Rule two. good paper
An important point is the paper on which your business card is printed. It should be tight, and it should be comfortable to write on it. Do you already know what the back of your business card is for?
Many people use embossed paper to make business cards. Try to write something on it first. It turns out not very well. Therefore, for personal and corporate business cards, choose paper on which you can quickly scribble a few words with a pencil, ballpoint pen, or pen if you have a Parker fountain in your pocket. Leave gloss and embossing for promotional business cards.
Rule three. Standard size
A standard business card has a classic rectangular shape and measures 90×50 or 85×55 millimeters. Such business cards perfectly fold into business holders, and folders for business cards fit into the pockets of a purse.
Custom size and shape are a great way to stand out among hundreds of identical cardboard rectangles, a good option for promotional business cards. But your potential partner can only sometimes put such a business card in a standard wallet or holder: it will constantly lie around, at best, among the papers on his desk and, someday, be sure to get lost.
If you want it, order it. However, it’s important to remember that cutting out custom shapes is expensive, as the printer has to order special equipment for your octagonal and triangular cut-out business cards. Accordingly, their cost will be much more costly.
Rule four. User-friendly design
A sound business card should read well and answer three main questions: what is your name, who are you, and how to contact you? The recipient should immediately see all the main elements: logo, first and last name, personal contacts, and company contacts. This is what one of the classic business card schemes looks like:
The block of corporate contacts on business cards is usually located below or next to the company logo—personal contacts – under your last name. A personal business card, in which there is no need to place information about the company, should as clearly answer the main questions we mentioned above: who are you, and how to contact you?
How much information should be on a business card? Some exceptionally non-standard citizens place very, no, even VERY much information on their business cards.
How not to overload? Yes, order different business cards for other occasions:
- business card of the plant director;
- business card of amateur photographer;
- business card of the real honorary member of the society of lovers of the letter
And distribute them when appropriate.
A promotional business card should respect your consumers’ sense of beauty. The most important thing on an advertising business card is information. The logo, phone numbers and address, and a list of services – this is where the second side of the business card is used at 100%. This is what should be seen first. A bright background is excellent and noticeable. But in this case, you need to select the font color to be readable against this background without effort.
Rule five. Readable font
Use simple sans-serif fonts and decorative elements – this is the most optimal and readable option as a last resort if corporate standards and serif fonts provide it, but with slightly larger letter spacing.
Forget handwritten and decorative writing. Yes, fonts with curlicues and artsy calligraphic elements are beautiful and original, but what’s their use, even if you can hardly make out what is written on the business card later? On a personal business card, it is allowed to write even in runes, but on a corporate business card, handwritten font is taboo. No, of course, the client or partner will read it. After. Maybe.
The name and surname must be printed large enough. This is equivalent to 10-12 points – the font size for most fonts. You can use bold. Below is usually a position written in 2 points less size. Use the same font size to type phone numbers and email addresses.
Be mindful of the contrast between font and background.
Summary
Of course, you can easily close our recommendations with one click and order a bright yellow triangular business card with a square hole in the middle. The information will be written in size 3 pink handwriting. Or make ornate thin inscriptions against the background of girls in bikinis, a carburetor, a palm tree, and five lilac lightning bolts. We will print it without problems. But if you want your business accessories to look decent and not cause bewilderment and laughter from your business partners, you should heed our advice.
If you want, we will develop a smart and useful business card design for any occasion. And, of course, we will print them in any required circulation. You can always find prices for producing business cards of any size, color, and circulation with the possibility of online ordering in the ” Business Cards ” section.
