30+ Unique Business Card Ideas For Design Inspirations
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Despite the fact that the world has gone digital, business cards are still a must-have for anybody looking to market their company.
Especially if you are in business, keeping business cards in hand is a given.
Remember the scene from “The Social Network” where Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jessie Eisenberg) is seen examining his new batch of business cards. Or the most famous scene from “American Psycho” where Christian Bale’s character Patrick produces his business card at the Pierce & Pierce conference room where he and others discuss the difference in their business cards.
Especially if you are in business, keeping business cards in hand is a must. But why do business cards matter? Consider the most recent time you met with a possible customer or business partner. What method did you use to introduce yourself to them? Were you or they at ease with adding phone numbers and emails to your phones? Or was it simpler to exchange business cards? Of course, the latter. Check out the guide for the perfect business card size.
A well-designed and professional business card helps you not just to make a personal connection but also when you hand them out, you build an excellent platform for your brand to be more recognized.
This is why we’ve compiled a selection of eye-catching business card examples to help you create your own and make a lasting impression. Check out the guide related to interactive business cards.
What do Business cards do?
A standard business card functions as a multi-tool that fulfills many of a professional’s basic needs, such as – advertising, brand recognition, call-to-action, and, most importantly, providing contact details.
And when designed right, these pocket-sized billboards can leave a lasting impression while creating life-long customers from passing strangers.
A Business card’s fundamental role, as we know, is to share information like your name, your business name, the address, the website, and social media links. But as a business owner, if you wish to get more than just sharing your information. If you want your prospect to remember you, then the same old run-of-the-mill business card design that has been going around isn’t going to help you. Check out top graphic designers to follow on Behance.
Instead, it would be best if you tried to improvise and add some imagery, branding, or graphic elements to create an out-of-the-box business card that will make an impression.
How to Create a Business Card Design
There are a few aspects that you need to take into consideration when you start creating your business card. After all, not all business cards are the same, nor do they contain the same kind of information.
1. Shape of the Business Card
Business cards have always been in a rectangular format. But there have been times when we have come across business cards in other shapes than a rectangle.
You can choose the shape of your business card design in accordance with the purpose, creative openness, and style. But, if you have already decided on using a traditional rectangular business card, you can skip ahead to the second step. If, however, you’d like to know the rest of your options, including unconventional ones, keep reading. Check out the guide, the essential elements of graphic design.
Since the advancement and affordability of printing techniques, there have been many opportunities to explore alternative shapes for a business cards. For example, the printing technique of die-cutting lets you cut out any shape you want while still printing in mass. Also, there are many business cards with different textures that let you feel the design. Find the guide related to the custom business cards.
Some popular business card shapes are square Business Card, oval Business Card, Triangle-shaped Business Card, etc. Some popular business card shapes are square Business Card, oval Business Card, Triangle-shaped Business Card, etc. Thus, depending on the approach of your business card, you can be playful or stand out. You can use any shape, such as animal mascots, outlines of products you sell, or a shape that’s wholly original.
2. Size of the Business Card
The next aspect of your business card designs is the size of the card. The size of a business card mostly depends on the standard card size of the country. Thus, even if you stand out, you know what others are doing to go against it.
The next aspect of your business card designs is the size of the card. The size of a business card mostly depends on the standard card size of the country. Thus, even if you stand out, you know what others are doing to go against it.
The standard business card sizes are,
- North American Standard: 3.5 × 2 inches
- Oceania Standard: 3.54 × 2.165 inches
- European Standard: 3.346 × 2.165 inches
Irrespective of the size, you should always consider these three factors when designing business card templates,
- Bleed area: the card’s outermost layer, which is likely to be removed.
- Trim line: the line along which cards are to be cut.
- Safety line: anything outside this line is liable to be cut incorrectly. Ensure that essential elements like text and logos do not cross this line.
3. Brand Logo & Graphics
Once you have the shape and size of the business card decided on, it is time to start plotting the visual and graphic element of your business card’s design. The first and foremost is the brand logo. Your brand’s logo should take center stage on your business card, even if other secondary graphics are present.
If your brand already has its logo and other design principles ready, you can directly input them into the design process.
Remember that you have two sides of the card at your disposal. Thus, it is best to strategize and dedicate one side of the business card exclusively for the brand logo and image, while the other side showcases the texts such as the contact information, name, and social links.
Also, if you want to have the logo present on both sides of the card, you can choose a smaller out-of-the-way logo on one of the corners.
This is just one creative way of the many. Thus feel free to experiment with the logo placement until you find the one that matches your taste.
Of all the options, minimalist business cards are a popular choice. Many business owners do not like too many elements on their business cards and wish to have the reader’s attention on the important information, thus following the minimalistic approach. The best example of these types of business card ideas is the ones with a black background. The black background combined with bold color text creates a memorable creative business card. Check out the guide about minimalist logo design ideas for your business.
On the other hand, many would like to have less white space on their business cards. Thus, if the negative space doesn’t suit you, you can fill them with additional graphics matching your brand’s color scheme. For example,
4. Colors
Colors play an important role in making or breaking your image in front of potential clients. Imagine meeting a potential customer, and you hand out a business card with bright pops of color everywhere, and it is not easy to read or understand anything on it.
It is understandable that you want to use unique styles and bright colors to create your memorable business card. But, in your desire to create a perfect business card, you need to make sure that the card design and color are professional, readable, and visually pleasing.
Because what your business card actually says depends on how you design it.
5. Texts
What your business card says depends on what you put in it. For example, freelancers may not have a postal address and just have their contact info, or some companies may have more than one address and might have too much text on their business cards. Or maybe you would prefer to draw attention to your social media accounts. Or have QR codes to lead your clients directly to your website’s landing page.
The point is that different people benefit from different kinds of text or information on their business cards.
Thus, the next stage is to decide what information to put on your business card. We’ve compiled a short list of common choices below to help you decide which to include and exclude.
- Name – A given. Every card requires a name.
- Company name – Another given. A company name lets people identify you. For a personal brand, your name is your company’s name.
- Job title – Traditional cards include your job title. Additionally, it reminds the holder of who you are, what you do, and how you met.
- Phone number – In the digital age, not many opt for this form of communication, but there are still many who would prefer this method.
- Email – A staple of business cards, email has replaced faxes for non-urgent business communications, partially because it allows attachments.
- Website URL – By including your site URL, you invite visitors to your site.
- Social media – Almost every business is on social media. Thus it is better to include social media links.
- Address – It is a necessity that helps to draw customers to your office or store location.
- QR code – Not as popular as before, QR codes are still a useful shortcut if you have too much or too little data to present. It is also a fun way to bring in a quick response than other cards with lots of texts. Read about the advantages of using a QR code.
- Slogan – A slogan helps with brand identity and adds a little personality. They are entirely optional.
Note that business cards are about giving information but also retaining them. For example, your clients may already know your contact details, address, or website’s URL, but keep your business card handy in case they forget a part of the information. Keep these rules in your mind while creating graphic designs.
5. Typography
Once you have decided on the color, text, and design of your business card, you’re up for the last step of determining the typography. Typography is an essential factor in any form of communication, especially in business cards, where you need to make the text legible and have a limited amount of space.
Here we’ve broken up the typography into three categories,
Size
You want your text to be at least 8 pts to maintain readability. Also, you’d like to have your most important materials (i.e., name & brand name) stand out, thus spare enough space for the text. It would also be best to consider the negative spaces – you do not want to clutter your card, so keep your text small enough to have enough breathing room around each element.
Font Style
Fonts heavily influence your brand identity. Just keep in mind to choose a font that represents the personality of both you and your brand. A clean and modern sans-serif, a classic and timeless serif font, an elegant cursive script, or a customized font style matching your brand – you can choose however you want your font to be since there are hundreds of font options out on the market.
Color
Here’s where pre-existing brand color schemes come to use. Keeping your brand in mind, choose text colors that complement the card’s background color. Similar colors may look nice together, but they can be hard to read. Thus experiment with contrasts for legibility.
A rule of thumb for typography is to prioritize legibility above all. No matter how artistic your font is, if one can’t read what it says, it doesn’t matter. Explore the business color palette and choose your’s one.
6. Graphic Designer
If you want to have a memorable business card, it is a good idea to invest in the help of a professional creative agency that offers design services. You can get the service of a local designer or look for platforms like All Time Design for a designer who can understand your style and create a memorable card for you. First, however, make sure to look at their portfolio to see if they’re a good match for your brand.
And, once you’ve found the right person, communicate clearly. Give information on what your business is about, what you offer, and what style and vibe you are looking for. Only then can your designer turn your vision into reality.
7. Final Design Check
After you have all the elements in place and an accurate understanding of your final color and design choices, and special finishes with your designer’s help, it’s time to reevaluate your design to make sure everything works fine together.
Firstly, examine the visual flow – how do your eyes glide when looking at the card. What do your eyes notice first? And what do you see last?
A good visual flow should ideally start at the logo, then move towards the name and then to the secondary information, and finally finish on any secondary images if any. You can also alter an element’s size and location to optimize the visual flow.
Now is the best time to clear out any clutter and make a clean design. Since the fewer elements you have, the more impact they make.
Double-check for any misses – on the text legibility, color clash, or elements.
Check out the detailed guide about how to create a design portfolio.
Types of Business Card Design Ideas
Take a look at some of the memorable business cards ideas that are out in the market and have sold in thick card stock (A card stock is a paper that is thicker and more durable than normal writing and printing paper which is used for printing eye-catching business cards)
1. Minimalist Business Card Ideas
2. Artsy Business Card Ideas
3. Colorful Business card ideas
4. Simple Business card ideas
5. Unique Business card ideas
6. Transparent Business card ideas
7. Creative Business card ideas
8. Textured Business card Ideas
9. Holographic Business Card Ideas
10. Glow in the Dark
Business Card Templates
Here we have brought a few of our favorite business card templates for you. Feel free to download and recreate your versions of a good business card.
Final Thoughts
Your business card sets the tone for the rest of your interactions. Your business card is the first step toward showcasing your portfolio to a potential client. Be it a growing start-up or a fortune -500 company, or a freelancer; a well-designed business card has more chances of impressing a client. Thus, to maximize your efforts and win over potential clients while also promoting your brand, it is best to entail the assistance of a professional design agency. Sign Up or Book a Demo today to understand the importance of good design in any of your works.
