Business Cards

Exchanging business cards is still one of the most effective ways of introducing yourself to people in a professional setting. Your business card is a representation of you or your company. The design of your card helps to explain your personality or the brand of your company. Therefore, it is very important to have a well thought out and designed business card.

Having a business card ready at events and meetings shows professionalism. As an added bonus, if your business card has a unique or creative design, there is a better chance of people sharing your business card. If your business card is impressive and shared among networks, there is a higher chance of referral.

Business cards are very portable. The accessibility and convenience of reaching your contact information easily also increases the probability of you being contacted.

Business cards may seem outdated, yet they are still important when it comes to networking.

Printing Requirements for Business Cards

Adobe InDesign is the software that we will use for designing the Business Card Project. Adobe InDesign is a layout program used for items such as business cards.

Before you start your design in InDesign, printing requirements should be considered. Most printing companies require business card files to be set up correctly. Like having the appropriate size, bleeds, etc. You will also need to follow a template if possible when setting up and designing your business card. Templates can often times be found on commercial printers websites. They are typically free for you to download and use. You may need to check a commercial printer’s website for what sizes of business card they offer. Some commercial printers offer a wide variety of sizes and options. Checking with the commercial printer and finding a template is the first step in finding out if you can move forward with a particular size.

If you do not follow a template when setting up your document, you might get instructions from the printing company to fix the file and resend. In some cases, the printing company will set up your design for you but, expect to be charged extra for this! It is best to learn how to set up business card files correctly – so that you can avoid any costly problems when printing your business card.

Example of a Standard Business Card Template

A standard business card size is 3.5″ x 2″. Your document should be set up with a ¹⁄₈” bleed (.125″). You will add the bleed when setting up your document size in InDesign. I will show you this later on!

Below is a template for a standard sized business card. You can see the crop marks (black lines located in each corner). You can also see the red “Safe Zone” line. Keep all important graphics and words within the safe zone. If any text strays into the safe zone, you will get a message from the commercial printer to fix the issue. The green line is the cut line where the printed design will be trimmed. The green box represents the actual size of your business card. Finally, the blue line is the bleed area. This is where you will extend all background colors or background images to. Bleeds are necessary for certain files that have colors or images that come all the way to the edge of a printed document. If you design with bleeds, the printer will trim away the excess (to the cut line), so that the printed ink goes all the way to the edge of the paper. This is a necessary step because physical printers can’t print all the way to the edge of the paper. They always will leave a white border unless a bleed is used.

Typography & Layout

It is critical to pick the right font pair in order to create a great looking business card. Too many fonts can get confusing and messy looking. Use a font pair that compliments the logo and other elements on the card.

Try not to clutter the design of your business card. Always remember that there is a backside available. If you have a seemingly large amount of information that you want on your business card, remember that you can use both the front and the back of the card to display this information. Usually, the contact info is on the front (not always) and extra information will be on the back side of the card. Logo placement a really important feature in the overall design of a business card. Use your judgment as a designer to determine how much space you want the logo to get. If you have a great logo design that you wish to show off, consider using one entire side of the business card to showcase it.

Logos and color schemes are probably the most important visual choices for business card design. The branding of your company needs to be clearly represented on your business card.

Common information found on business cards

Name – Every card needs a name.
Company name
Job title – Include your job title.
Phone number – Even if phone is not your preferred method of communication, it is to some people.
Email – A business card staple
Website URL – Including your site URL is a non-aggressive invitation for visits.
Social media – If social media is relevant to your field.
Physical Address
Slogan – Completely optional, a slogan helps with brand identity and adds a little personality.

Consider specialty finishes and die-cutting

Different printers offer special services that can help make a lasting impression. See if any of these “special effects” can benefit your business card design. Just a heads up- these special treatments will make the price of printing go way up.

Embossing- This technique creates three-dimensional reliefs, making certain areas “pop out.”

Letterpressing- Rather than raising the paper, letterpress printing pushes the paper down while inking it.

Spot coating- A lot of cards have a sleek varnish to create a smooth texture. Spot coating is the same thing, except only applied to certain areas. That means you can apply a gloss on certain areas (such as a logo) to create a lasting impression.

Die-cutting- is a printing technique that allows you cut out any shape you want and still print in bulk. But it is quite expensive.

Rounded Corners- You can also round the corners to add a unique flare to your card. Rounded corners are less expensive than die cutting and are a great way to create a unique business card design.

Finalize your design

Make sure to take a look at your finalized design to make sure everything works.

First, examine the visual flow: how does your eye move when looking at the card. What do you notice first? Second? Last? A good visual flow should start with the logo, then the name, and then the secondary information or graphics. You can always change and optimize visual flows by changing an element’s size and location or color.

You also want to clear out as much clutter as you can. Is all the information necessary? The fewer the elements, the more impact each makes.

Double-check to make sure you didn’t fall into any common pitfalls. Is the text legible? Do the colors clash? Are any elements too close to the edge? Did you extend background colors or background images to the bleed line in your InDesign document? Is your file set up to the correct dimensions?

Business Card Examples (most of these examples are fancy)

Die cut example that looks like a comb for a salon