Business Card Design: Tips, Tricks, and Trends – 2024 Guide
Nearly 10 billion business cards are printed annually in the USA. That’s not nothing. That’s a lot of customers receiving a lot of cards every day. Most of them throw out the card in the first week of getting it, but many do so after already using your service and saving your info.
If you are a designer and a client is skeptical about whether they should order a business card design with their branding kit, use the statistics below to help them decide.
- 68% of small business owners find business cards useful during face-to-face meetings.
- Business cards have a conversion rate of 12% and websites only 2.35%.
- 72% of customers judge a company by the quality of its business cards.
- 39% of people won’t do business with a company if it has a ‘cheap-looking’ business card.
- For 78% of people, colored cards are more memorable than simple white ones.
But what value do business cards have when this engagement and brand perception can be achieved with a digital contact card shared over a messaging app?
Do business cards matter in the digital world?
Let’s find out.
- Business cards are stress-free icebreakers. Hand over your business cards at the end of your meetings and part on a memorable note.
- It’s bad business etiquette not to carry a business card. People expect them. Don’t go into client meetings without carrying a few.
- Business cards legitimize your business, making it seem more ‘real’ to customers. Not having one can make people think you don’t care about your business.
- Business cards extend your networking beyond the meeting. It lets a potential client know you’re serious and encourage future contact.
- Business cards make you look prepared and professional improving your brand building and trustworthiness with potential new customers.
Help your clients leave a strong first impression on business contacts with a print-ready business card design.
Key elements of a business card
With clarity on their effective role in business success, let’s explore the features of a professional business card design.
- Shape: Business cards come in two standard shapes — horizontal and vertical. Horizontal (or landscape) is more common. Use vertical business cards to stand out from the crowd.
- Logo: Every business card must carry the business logo. On the front and back.
- Color: Design a business card with brand colors. Use variations to keep things interesting but never stray from the color philosophy of the brand.
- Typography: Stick with simple fonts. Pair a serif with sans serif when combining fonts in the card. But never do two serifs together. That’s a lot of ornate type for a compact space.
- Information: Contact information to add includes company name, person name, position, phone number, email address, and relevant social media handles.
Tips to design a business card that scores!
Best business card designs are a combination of form + function. They not only serve their purpose but look good doing that. How can you design a card like that? Find out below.
1. Stick to standard size specifications
Standard business card sizes ensure they are easy to stick into pockets and wallets and hard to lose. The standard size for a business card design in the U.S. market is 3.5 x 2 inches (landscape).
But when considering sizes, it’s necessary to consult shapes too. Which would be most natural to your brand: a classic horizontal, a more daring vertical, one with rounded corners, or something totally out of the norm like a square card or a mini card?
Depending on what your client is looking for, these decisions will vary. Traditional businesses may want to stick to standard specifications to ensure the focus is on the substance of the card and not its catchy aesthetics.
Clients in creative sectors might consider classic designs restrictive and may want to explore more options to reflect who they are.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Check-in with your clients to learn what they are looking for and how the shape and size of the business card can become a physical extension of their brand.
2. Keep the font size larger than 8pt
Font size recommendations for the standard business card design are below:
- 12pt fonts or larger for the company name and logo
- Nothing less than 8 pt for the rest of the text
But when you want to go beyond the basics and wow your clients, make your business card design pop with these handy font design tips:
- Take over one side of the card and plaster the client name (or brand name) in a large, bold, and sexy font.
- Add visual flair by using contrasting fonts that reflect a dynamic brand personality. Pair an extravagant serif with a demure sans serif or vice versa. Keep ‘em on their toes!
- Use broken fonts, disjointed fonts, geometric fonts, and more ‘out-there’ choices to keep things interesting in an otherwise simpler canvas.
Remember to root these visual details in purpose so everything you do on the limited space of a business card serves a clear goal for your client.
3. Design in CMYK color mode
Print designs are created in a specific color mode on design programs. This mode is called CMYK. Each letter represents a color: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (design lingo for ‘black’). Choosing the CMYK color environment is necessary for print because RGB (default for digital-only designs) reflects poorly on the final print.
RGB (red, green, and blue) color mode produces sharp colors on the screen but when transferred to the print without proper adjustments, the colors can lose their luster. Perfect color synchronization is necessary for flawless prints and can be aided by starting all print projects in the CMYK mode.
Remember that it is possible to switch to CMYK from RGB when you forget to set the right mode at the start, but it will be a complex process. We recommend switching immediately If you aren’t too far into the design yet. However, if the design is nearly half done, start the technical process to switch to the right color environment or consult with your printing specialists to help you choose the closest Pantone colors for the perfect print job.
4. Pixel resolution must be at 300 dpi
Modern business card designs use the standard pixel resolution of 300 dpi — dots per inch. The number of dots in an inch reflects the sharpness of the image. The more DPIs, the sharper and clearer the business card design.
While 300 dpi is a good rule of thumb, take the dots up a notch if you are looking for that oomph factor.
5. Outline the company name and tagline
Outlining text in design locks it as a vectorized image, so when it prints, it prints as a shape and not text. How does it help you as a designer?
- It prints the shape (text) exactly how you’ve created it even if the printer doesn’t have those fonts.
- It ‘fixes’ the text fields so it doesn’t change when other text fields (names/job titles) have to change for printing business cards for different people within the company.
How does text outlining help your client?
It protects the integrity of the design so when it prints for different people, all the protected fields remain intact and the design remains consistent.
6. Consider safety and bleed margins
Margins or borders around your business card help the print shop know where to cut the paper. Three kinds of margins exist to facilitate that decision.
These are:
Safety: This border contains all of your necessary text and design. If you don’t want any design details cut off, put them within this border.
Trim: This is the border next to the ‘safety’ border. As the name suggests, this is where your print person will cut the image.
Bleed: This is the outermost border on any print design. It extends 0.125 inches away from the trim line. Don’t leave this area empty or in a shaded border. Let your design ‘bleed’ to this line. The bleed area helps your print specialist conduct any cutting and trimming confidently.
Set up these margins when setting up your design dimensions. It will keep your design guided and contained.
7. Choose material, finish, and cut
The material on which your card is printed plays a major role in whether someone throws away your card or keeps it. Customers associate high-quality business cards with premium quality goods and services. If you use cheap paper stock, that’s the association your customers will make about your business too.
Material: The stuff your business card is printed on. It includes paper, plastic, wood, fabric, and more.
Finish: The final coatings to the print after the ink has dried. The intention is to make the print look more gorgeous or to add another layer of protection (sometimes both). Popular finishes include glossy, metallic, matte, embossing, and others.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Cut: The physical shape of your final card design. Traditional cuts are rectangular business cards that give you horizontal or vertical cards. It includes folded too. But you can make things more interesting with die cut where the shape of your card can be anything you want.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Remember that you want your business card to help you close deals and make you memorable. With some creativity to your business card, you can turn it from a simple networking apparatus to a successful brand asset that continues working for you long after the meeting has ended.
8. Send proper design files
Give unrestricted access to your client to their business card design by sending the final files properly. This means different versions of the files, including:
- The editable source file of the final design with no outlined text.
- A print-ready file with necessary fonts/text (such as company name, logo, and tagline) outlined properly.
- A web preview file with original images used in the design
- A file containing the front cover design of the business card
- A file containing the back cover design of the business card
- A print-ready file with the front cover design
- A print-ready file with the back cover design
- A file containing a link to buy commercial fonts if you’ve used any in the design.
Sending final files properly ensures that your client can get their business cards printed easily whenever they need, from any print shop they go to without relying on you.
3 Tricks to make them notice your card
A standard white card can lose its uniqueness with other white cards. Don’t let it happen. Use these tricks to make your business card stand out.
• An unconventional design detail
If there’s a detail in your business card design that’s different from the rest, it will stick out. Things like a spot of bright color in a black-and-white card. Or your photograph. Or a differently-shaped or cut card. Or large graphics. Or cards with a minimal color palette but containing rich shades and creative fonts.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
• Premium materials and finishes
An easy and hassle-free way for your business card to get more attention is to make it look attractive and rich. That’s where premium materials and finishes come in. Printing techniques like spot UV or foil printing or sustainable business cards made with fabric or seeds embedded in them are all unique ways to instantly make your card look and feel exclusive.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
• A personal note, discount offer, or customer testimonial
Don’t limit your business card to a piece of paper that contains your phone number. Use both sides of the card and add a personal touch to one. A personal note saying thanks, a QR code leading to your LinkedIn or product landing page, or even customer testimonials to show social proof!
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: onemob.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
You can also use the back of your business card to print unique discount codes or limited-time offers to encourage more people to keep your card and stay connected with you.
What’s trending in business card design
Keeping pace with the latest design trends helps you present your business as modern and updated. But when looking at trends, filter out what’s new with the new that works for you. There has to be an organic connection with following trends that serve a larger business goal.
With this point firmly in mind, let’s explore business card design trends that everyone’s been talking about.
• Handmade illustrations
While everyone’s on the handmade illustrations bandwagon, the trend is more naturally suited to creative services businesses. Graphic design, content marketing, UI/UX design, spa and beauty services, fabric work, and the like.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
These creative businesses can truly claim the sense of personalization associated with handmade stuff and therefore have a more authentic brand presence with these business cards.
• Retro color palettes
Brand color palettes reminiscent of a bygone era are more in than ever before. Deep reds and oranges, rich browns, and luxury greens are all over business cards and we are here for it!
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
The great thing about retro colors is they let your business card have a more commanding presence without a lot of design clutter. No need to stuff it with striking details or custom fonts. Just keep the color palette in period style and make your brand look more fun, established, and authentic.
• Modern and experimental fonts
Speaking of minimal yet bold, how about making your type larger than life? Next to colors, fonts are a major big deal in making a design look attractive. Brands with wordmark logos, where the logo is the brand name itself, have a greater need to choose a well-formed font for their business cards.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
While you can’t experiment with logo fonts in business cards, there’s nothing to stop you from playing around with secondary fonts. Fonts for your contact info or the thank you note can help you leave a design calling card for potential customers.
• Creative edges
Colore and printed edges are making a comeback in business card design. Usually kept in the design drawers of the ‘50s, these vintage vibes are making modern business cards look even more perfect.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: behance.net
Make the most of this trend by choosing bright colors for the edges — colors that contrast with the primary palette of your card. Neon colors work too. Especially for business cards where the overall design is simpler. They help the design pop without adding more details.
• Contrasting colors on the front and back
One of the leading trends of the day is business cards with contrasting colors on the front and back. Designers are using primary brand colors in a clever twist to make the cards look really chic and to reinforce brand colors in consumers’ minds.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: behance.net
It also makes the card look refreshed and vibrant. While you can make the trend work on all color palettes, the best results will be seen on brands with contrasting primary shades. Teal and orange, blush pink and green, neon green and blue.
• Accessible business cards
Art and design should never be limited to a select few. Make your good design even better by creating business cards that are accessible and inclusive. Businesses are expanding their offers to a wider audience by including those with various challenges, such as blindness, color deficiency, and low vision.
Image Source: behance.net
Image Source: dribbble.com
One way you can instantly make your business cards work for the masses is to use colors that offer the best contrast. Such colors make the text readable with ease. Another way is to use icons whenever you can. Instead of naming the text field ‘Phone’, use the phone icon to help people with low vision.
Want to go a step further? Include braille in your business card. Remember that braille equals a 29pt font, so keep the text short!
• Sustainable business cards
More and more customers are aligning themselves with brands that offer sustainable choices. If sustainability is a key part of your business practice, wear it on your sleeves or business cards!
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Use biodegradable stuff to print your business card on. Recycled paper, wood, and fabric are great choices to show your serious commitment to the planet.
• QR codes
Much like business cards, QR codes aren’t dead either. No matter what you hear on the Internet. Make use of these nifty little tech outposts to guide your potential customers to your landing page, social media, or online portfolio.
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
Image Source: dribbble.com
QR codes help you keep things neat when you want to add more stuff to your business card but are afraid to crowd it.
Design your business card with Free Logo Creator
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