Remember your basic design principles
You must ensure that your Design a Business Card typography is at a minimum size to allow for legibility. Also, keep your key copy no more than 5mm from the trim edge. Unless you’re using spot colours exclusively, work at 300dpi to get the best image reproduction.
Designers also like to use a grid when designing business cards. This helps ensure the right alignment and hierarchy of information.
You can be creative, but you must keep in mind the constraints
With business cards, you can be creative. It’s possible to make your business card stand out using colour and texture. However, it is important to remember that standard sizes are only for a purpose. Business cards should be easy to store in a pocket, wallet, or organiser. Cards that are different in size or format may get lost or thrown away more often.
There are several sizes available depending on where your location is in the world. A typical size for business cards would be 55x85mm. But you can find many sizes listed online – make sure to check with your printers. There are guidelines for what content you can include. A bold name or image can make a statement, but it doesn’t matter if people don’t know how to reach you. A business name, number, and email address are all important. You may also need to include a website, physical address, and social media handles depending upon which ones your business uses.
The size of your business card may limit you in some ways, but you can still be creative and present the information in a way that is creative. The information will be on the one side. You can leave the other side open for a more eye-catching design.
Be aware of these common mistakes when creating business cards. Your printer may require you to provide a bleed. This usually is 3mm. But, it could be as much as 5mm. So make sure to double-check. A straight border is best as it will reveal any misalignments in the trim.
Use a quality support
Because of the poor quality of the support, cheap business cards can be thrown away quickly. They easily lose their colour or crease and are quickly thrown in the garbage. Quality heavyweight card stock is much more durable and provides a more pleasant feeling in the hand. It creates a professional impression.
The most common business card is printed on card stock. This is the most affordable printing option. You can also print on other materials if you’re feeling more creative and can afford it. Keep in mind that your business card must be easily portable and can be stored in a briefcase or pocket. Your business cards can be printed by you. You can purchase letterpress kits from eBay for reasonable prices. This allows you to convert any stock card into your own business cards.
You can also add instant impact to your business card by using a special finish. Metallic inks, spot-UV, and foil blocking are all examples of special finishes. Although they may increase the cost of your print, they also offer the opportunity to make something more striking and memorable. Different printers offer different finishes. So ask around to learn what they can do. Even if you only have a four-colour printer, don’t hesitate to ask for help.
Make it tactile
If you have the right support and special finishes, it will allow you to create a more tactile business card by embossing, debossing text or other designs. You can make your card more attractive by using a die-cut technique to remove any elements from the card stock. This will leave a void. To alter the shape or size of your card, you can use a tool called a die (for example, to round the corners) or to cut out shapes from the centre.
Although dies are costly to create, printers are increasingly offering laser-cut options. These make it possible to create a custom-designed look with shorter print runs. Some of the most creative examples are available online, including this die-cut letterpress stationery. You can combine creasing and die-cutting to create architectural features for your card design. (Take a look below).
Your business card should be useful
Paper is everywhere. Some people collect every piece of paper they can find and build up a paper pile, while others recycle as soon as possible. You can give your business card another function to reduce the chance of it being recycled.
When designing a business cards with a function, it is important to consider the following: It should be relevant to your business as well as your clients. Your card shouldn’t be too different in size or shape from your usual business cards. However, there are many creative uses of business cards. We have seen them as phone holders, seed packets or bottle openers.
Although you may not want to duplicate an idea, it is possible to incorporate function and form into your business cards. This can ensure that potential clients retain your cards and make it easier for them to look at when they need it.
Double-check your business card design
Our final tip on how to design business cards applies to any print job you may do. However, it is so vital that we recommend it for business card design. Before you send the business card artwork to the print shop, or before you begin printing lots of copies on your own if you are printing them yourself, double- and three-check each detail.
Be sure to include all the information you need and make sure they are correct. In almost all cases, your name, position and telephone number are important. To ensure that your design is complete, we recommend having someone else look at it. (We’ve seen many examples of business cards which include Instagram icons and Facebook icons but do not mention a username). Make sure to check your spelling. There is nothing worse than returning your cards to find a typo in the name, email address or your name. It’s a wise saying: Check twice, print one.
Additional Resource:
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/effective-business-card-2951735
https://www.printvenue.com/c/business-card
https://www.costcobusinessprinting.com/business-cards
