A brand's sales increase by 2.5% every time it passes out 2,000 cards.
Think about that the next time you start considering throwing in the towel to skip on the most robust direct marketing tools.
Nearly everything is digital now. As a result, some people don't see the point of handing out business cards anymore. This disregard for calling cards is a shame considering that this marketing asset has a lot of potential. Tapping into the opportunities of this collateral is another chance for you to grow your business.
But you don't want to go into sourcing or designing your business card without familiarizing yourself with the seven elements of business card design in 2021. This article will show you how to create a bulletproof business card that you can hand out with pride.
Before we dive into each element, we should take a refresher course on why business cards are still relevant today.
Why business cards are important
It helps set the right impression - A small piece of paper may be trivial to some, but it can do wonders for your business when used right. It can easily showcase how creative or innovative your company can be. Additionally, a study by Statistic Brain Research found that 72% of your recipients will make a judgment on your brand based on the quality of your card.
Direct marketing tools still matter - This is important because technology isn't everything. Your phone battery may run out of charge, or you may not always have ready access to mobile data. Having something tangible
Can help your brand become viral - Virality or being social media famous is an elusive thing. To achieve this, you should be clever and offer something that people have never seen before. For example, you can try to grab the interest of your audience through a brilliant business card design. One great example of this is Bon Vivant's cheese grater business card.
Source: HuffPost
People loved the deli's card so much that the store quickly ran out and placed a policy for the customers to get a copy. Talk about good problems to have. It also got featured in the New York magazine and HuffPost.
7 Core Elements of Business Card Design in 2021
To make an effective business card design, you have to be familiar with the elements that come into play when creating one.
This section will shine a light on these design elements. Every element is an avenue for you to reinforce your brand identity and become a recognizable company in the market you are in.
Brand logo
A brand logo is a visual representation of a brand. It gives your audience a symbol that they can associate with your business, making it easy to remember.
By now, you've probably heard that brand consistency allows brands to drive revenue growth by 33%. According to a study by LucidPress, this helps build better relationships among brands and their current and potential clients. That's why you need to put the face of your brand onto your business card.
It is common to see companies place their logo on the left side of the card. This frees up the right corner of the card to put other vital information that people want to know about your company.
Brand color
Color brings an eye-catching quality to any branding collateral. This design element helps grow brand recognition by 80%. Most importantly, it conveys emotion and allows you to communicate more effectively to your customers.
Learning the meaning behind colors gives you the chance to change your design's mood and visual impact. Consumers are known to associate human traits with color, and you can use that to create a more engaging business card.
However, for business cards, you want to make sure that you use easy-to-read colors. It is best to go for dark colors when designing the text for important information such as your contact number to avoid confusing your recipients.
Creativity
You can overcome your fear of having your card thrown out by ensuring that you have a brilliant design that people will want to keep.
Impress your audience with a business card that isn't commonplace. To make it even more memorable, you can put a twist that is related to your brand. For example, if you run a bakery store, you could add a bitten-off effect to your card to symbolize your brand's irresistible pastry menu.
However, simple tricks like adding drawings or borders to your design allow you to have an eye-catching handout without having to spend more time and money trying to come up with a high concept card.
Shape
Most business cards are rectangular. This figure and measurement make it easy to keep in wallets, pockets, and card organizers.
However, you can put a spin to create a unique design that will stay on top of your recipient's minds.
If you run a data analyst company, you could use an out-of-the-ordinary shape of a line graph. On the other hand, if you're handling a gardening company, a leaf shape would be an excellent choice to express your brand with a card.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to the designs you can achieve with shapes.
Material
Medium is a message. Similarly, the material you print your design on will also play a part in your design. Choosing the right one is crucial to prevent your calling card from looking cheap.
You can choose between the two common materials for business cards which are paper or plastic. Below is the difference between the two:
- Paper - Paper is a workable material, allowing you to experiment with different finishes. You can choose to have glossy, matte, textured, and other types of paper. It is the most affordable choice.
- Plastic - The sturdy nature of plastic makes it more durable and resistant to the elements, so you don't have to worry about the ink bleeding when the card is exposed to water. It may cost more than paper, but it will surely help stand out.
Font
Different fonts have varying personalities. Like color and illustration, typography gives you the chance to express yourself and flesh out your brand personality. For example, there are fonts to help your brand appear feminine, masculine, and other design-related concepts.
Should you choose to combine fonts like serif, sans serif, and script— make sure that you incorporate only two to three to
Additionally, you also want to consider the font size you are going to use. It is recommended that brands have an easy to read text, especially if your brand's target audience is in the older age bracket.
As a rule of thumb, it is best to make sure that the font size is at least 8pt. Serif fonts also improve readability compared to sans serif fonts. On the other hand, sans serif fonts are best for footnotes and other small texts.
Size
There isn't a worldwide standard on business card sizes. It's a tricky thing to do considering different cultures and the history of the business card. In fact, in the old days, business cards were more significant and used to promote a socialite's presence in a town.
A trick you can do to help determine the size of your card is to think about the country you are in. This will help you identify what size is more appropriate for you.
- USA: 89 mm x 51 mm
- Canada: 89 mm x 51 mm
- UK: 55 mm x 85mm
- Japan: 91 mm x 55mm
- Australia:90mm by 55 mm
- Iran: 85mm x 48mm
- China: 90mm x 54 mm
- Singapore: 90mm x 54mm
- Hong Kong: 90mm x 54mm
There isn't much of a difference when it comes to the variation. However, the list above is there for brands that wish to be more particular and conform with prevailing cultures where they reside.
Conclusion
Once you have the basics on lock, you're all set to create the design you have in mind, whether it be a creative or a standard card.
This article has shown the light on design elements that you can use to your brand's advantage. Plus, it has featured best practices and examples of good business cards for you to take inspiration from for your own collateral. So now you're all set to get a business card that will help you unlock opportunities.
DesingCrowd is a great place to start looking for a custom business card design. You can use the crowdsourcing platform to start a business card design contest and work with a growing community of freelance graphic designers. Get up to 50 design submissions to choose from today.
If you're looking for an option that's fast and easy on the budget, the BrandCrowd business card maker is what you're looking for. It lets you find and customize the perfect design. Browse its library of designs for various industries like tech and construction. You will find your ideal business card and personalize it with your brand name, font, and colors in minutes. Try it today.
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Written by DesignCrowd on Thursday, May 6, 2021
DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.
