Unique Business Cards

In this economy, can an innovative or unique business card come across as frivolous and irresponsible? Is it possible to set yourself apart? It’s important that if you go the extra mile with your business card, that it fits into the context of your services. Below are some examples, clockwise from top left:offering freebies within the card, card mirroring the function you perform, long and skinny saves space and money, gilded edges remind us of luxury not lost, dental impressions cast a solid reminder, and reused cards can make sense for a second-hand store.

Business cards showcased on CreativeBits.org

What about cards that have a look and feel like another object? Will they stand out from the rest of get lost in the bottom of a purse/brief case? I recently had the pleasure of manually scanning over 300 business cards in order to collect names and business information. At the end of the process, I had a handful of cards that could not be scanned. Though they sat apart from the other 300 cards, and I do recall passing the interesting ones around the office, I cannot recall if their valuable contact information was included in the database or if they remain in a pile, unentered.

Business cards showcased on Reencoded.com

Tomorrow we’ll look at guidelines for creating a business card, including what not to do – even if it’s creative and edgy!

In case you’re not already in the mood, here’s one of my favourite movie scenes of all time, Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in 2000’s American Psycho introduces his new business card to his peers: