Tips For Better Business Card Design

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Your Business Card Is Not a Flyer

Throughout my carrier as a graphic designer, I have done many business card designs. Out of all the designs that I have done, I found that 90% of the clients want to overload the card with a list of services, their address and a boatload of other information. Lets not forget putting light colored text on a rainbow of light colored backgrounds. When creating a business card you don’t need a whole lot of pizzazz to stand out, in fact you need the opposite. Less Is Best.

The standard business card size is 2 x 3.5 inches; that’s not a lot of space to work with. In fact, you have even less space for content when you consider what printers call, the “safe zone”. The safe zone is the area within set margins that printers guarantee will not be cut off when the card is printed and cut. With such a small amount of space to work with, it is best to focus on including the most important information.

Your business card does not have to be plain and boring, but in order to keep it professional and properly reflect your brand and the industry that you are in, there are two key rules you should follow in terms of content and design: keep it simple and legible.

Content

When creating your business card, the main content that should be included is your logo and tagline, your name and contact information. That is it. Keep it simple. Your contact information should be a phone number, possibly an alternate number or fax, email address and you can include your social media name (which should be the same on all platforms for the sake of branding). You can include this information on one side of the card or dispersed between the front and backside.

The key is to provide general information; just enough for potential customers to contact you and know where to go for more information. Remember, your business card is not a flyer. You have a small amount of space to work with. The more content you have, the smaller your text will need to be to fit everything within the safe zone. The smaller the text, the harder it will be to read.

Design

When designing your business card, you want to keep your brand in mind. Use the colors that are associated with your brand, but make sure that there is visual contrast. This means using contrasting colors and text sizes to make certain elements stand out. Use light colored text on top of a dark background or dark on light to make the words more legible. Never use colors within the same hue for text and the background. For example light pink font and a red background will be hard to read. Having different weights and sizes of fonts for your text will draw the reader’s attention towards the information that is most important.

You can add all the bells and whistles you want, but if no one can read it what's the point?

For those who like to have images, patterns and design on a business card, I recommend using one side of the card specifically for the flashy elements. This side can include your design with your logo and/or slogan and website address. The other side can include the general information. Another option is to add some embellishments during the printing process such as glossy finish, texture, spot raised UV and metallic overlay.

Your business card does not have to be plain and boring, but if no one can read it, it serves no purpose. It is not a flyer, so it doesn’t need to be flashy and over the top. Remember, less it best. Keep it simple and keep it legible. You can still be creative, but stick to the guidelines and you’re business card can be eye-catching and professional.

Tips For Better Business Card Design

Your Business Card Is Not a Flyer

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