Your business card is the physical representation of what you’re trying to have your business embody. Your business card needs to draw the kind of customers that you are looking to build your business around. But beyond that, it needs to also be professional and realistic for any business associations you have that might have it. Because of this you need to keep in mind balance with your cards.
If you’re not a natural designer, then there may be a lot of things you are trying to keep in mind as you make your card.
Tips on Creating the Best Business Cards
- Know Your Audience – If most of the people who will use your card are professional and uptight, then you want to keep your card simple and professional. If you are dealing with people who are super artistic and out there, you need to design your care to appeal to them. If you are doing business with leprechauns and fairies, make sure to include as much glitter on your card as is humanly possibly.
- Avoid the Obvious: If your card is your business name, phone number and your name in the middle of the card, you’ve done something wrong. That was fine 40 years ago, but now you need to show a little bit of style. Offset alignments and alternative sizes can be good twists as well. If you are at a convention and you hand someone a mini card or an oversized card, they are sure to remember it for the novelty.
- Don’t Overdo Your Logo – It’s best to make sure that your logo is visible but not too large. You don’t want it to be overly brash and showy. If that’s the case then there isn’t room for information and it comes off as all style and no substance.
- Take Advantage of Features – Nobody ever said a card was worse off when it was embossed. Whether you’re doing full colour cards, embossing them, adding sharp reflective lines, using a metallic finish or rounding the corners of your card, details will come through and help make you stand out.
- Don’t Skimp on the Paper – Generally whatever company you order from is going to have various different paper options with their cards. There will be a base budget cardstock which is the standard stock you’ve been seeing on cards for the last 40 years. There will be a mid-tier stock that is fairly strong and looks good. Finally there will be some kind of heavy duty stock that is made to beat up on other paper. Business cards lose a lot of their appeal when they start bending or getting folds in them. It’s important that your card is able to take a little punishment and still look great.
- Have Different Cards – There’s nothing wrong with having different business cards and styles. You can customize different ones for different groups. Additionally if you ever need to give someone else a second card for some reason, there’s an additional wow factor as they take in your newest design. It keeps your company fresh in their mind and hopefully their money fresh in your pockets.