What Makes a Great Business Card?

Do you have an Ace up your sleeve when you hand out your business card? Or does it receive a cursory glance only to be put into a bottomless pocket?

Your business card is an integral part of your overall marketing plan, and for the size and cost, its probably one of the most powerful tools you have. After all, your business card – like your own appearance – is the first impression the prospective client is receiving about your business. You can spend hours on your makeup, hair or choosing the right tie, but if your business card is ho-hum, badly designed, or cheap looking, then people will think the same of YOU.

A good business card should spark a conversation, but what specifically makes it worthy of holding onto? What is your business card saying on your behalf?

The Basics

Minimise the content.
Before we even get into design, have a look at how much information you’ve put on your business card. Direct your prospective client to contact you the way you would prefer to be contacted. Listing every possible option can make you appear desperate to please.

Be clear about who you are.
This is actually the most common mistake for designers who get caught up in making their card look “cool”, and forget the content. Make sure that when you’re not there to explain your business, your business card can breifly jog a persons memory about who you are, and what you do.

Be Industry Appropriate
While velvet cards are the new trend at the moment, they’re probably not the best option for a mechanic. Look at different paper stocks, cornering, and designs to suit your market.

Something Extra

So now you’ve cut down on the content of your card, got specific with your pitch line, and chosen an appropriate paper stock. But when you toss your card into the competition bowl, it still blends in with everyone else. How can you make your card stand out in the crowd?

Colour
You don’t need to use the entire PMS chart on your card, but there some extra effects you can take advantage of that will allow you to stand out against all those plain white cards. Look at the colours in your logo and see if these can be used as a background colour, or add a light watermark. Why not go bold with some metallic effects.

Paper
Ask your printer to show you some different paper stocks, such as linen, recycled or even plastic. Also look at different paper weights. The standard business card is about 350gsm, but you will also see some lighter (especially if you’re looking at a fabric) or much heavier (for custom die cuts.)

Special Effects
The basic cheap business card has a glossy finish, but there is so much more available. Adding a velvet feel to your card can show a level of classiness, whereas adding some glossy sections over a matt finish can really make the important features of your card stand out. Did you know you can even add smell to your card? How perfect would a florist card be if it actually smelt like roses?

Die Cut
While I do strongly urge you to remember that your card should comfortably slip into a standard card folder, this shouldn’t stop you from playing with alternative corners or a little custom die cutting. Simply adding a single rounded corner and leaving the rest square is a very cost effective option, but as you can see in the image, you can let your imagination run wild too.

Alternative Uses
I’ve seen cards you eat, and others you plant, but really what you want is a business card that will be kept handy. One of the most common multi purpose business cards is the ruler, but if you think outside the box about what your clients want, see how this might be incorporated into a card. I simply love the idea of the plastic guitar pick card, but you might like to just double up your loyalty card.

Look at Samples

My final piece of advice is to pay attention to these features in other peoples cards, and also look at samples provided by your printer and designer. If you’re still totally unsure about what you can do to upgrade your business card into a conversation starter, then just ask me.

* Please note that not everything you read on the internet is accurate. While any stated statistics are accurate, the articles I write are based purely on my opinion from over 30 years in the marketing and advertising industry. 

 

This article contains my opinions, based on many years in the printing, marketing and advertising industry.

AndyK
Graphic Artist & Designer
AndyK Design