Creating a Business Card

Business cards can be essential to a small business owner, where vast amounts of information about your company are not necessarily available online. Similarly, if you want to convey a message that isn’t clear from your corporate site – something that sets you apart from the guy in the next cubicle – then you’d also want to explore create business card options.

Yesterday we looked at some of the more over-the-top business card choices. Today, let’s consider some guidelines for making effective, reliable business cards. Here are some things to consider:

Paper: quality, is it the norm? edges, recycled, thicker, different materials (like we saw in yesterday’s post). My business card is dark gray with no white space. It’s nicely designed and represents our company’s climate, but neither I nor the person receiving it can write a personalized message on the card.

Ink: Depending on your budget, you can really impress simply by using a classier ink for the font. At the very least, make sure your ink can withstand liquid messes.

Company (or personal) Image: Your business card isn’t exactly the space you want to use to prove something. Consider the image you project and let your business card reflect that. You don’t want to pass your card to a client with whom you’ve just chatted for 30 minutes and have that person hold the card up to you, looking at it then at you, and wonder, “really?!”

Font and White Space: You’ve got many options on fonts, colours, whimsical designs, logos, raised lettering, die-cuts, debossing, etc… Consider not only the cost of these choices but also whether they perform a function. A die-cut business card for the sake of being awesome when you’re a lawyer or an accountant isn’t the most economical (or sane) practice. Then again, if you work in an executive position and you’d like to showcase your creative side, then perhaps a more whimsical design is in fact the best choice.

Information: Van you easily find your name and number on the card without searching? If not, consider what function you’re performing with either hidden information or too much going on. How many phone numbers do you need? Do you actually get faxed? Is the street address necessary? Consider whether these details add to the card or clutter it.

Double sided: should you print on both sides? I’m a fan of leaving one side at least partially blank. If your name or company name is the only thing on the front, while the back has your contact information, that should leave enough space for you or your client to write anything additional.

Good luck in your business card creations! And feel free to share more tips or success stories!