BUSINESS CARD TIPS

If your niche is business card design, or you would like it to be, then this is the article for you. There are many factors to keep in mind before starting the design process and deciding on things like typeface and color. Here are 4 important tips that will help you get started with a successful business card design.

1. Orientation

The size and orientation of a business card is the first element you should think about. I’ve split the sizes into 3 groups:

• Landscape

• Portrait

• Square or Special Cuts

LANDSCAPE

The landscape format is the most common orientation. On a positive note, it is easy to read landscape formats quickly especially when they are sitting in a cardholder. Landscape format can be printed by every printer.

On the negative side, it is almost too common. Since most designers use landscape, it’s typically not a unique execution and is hard to stand out from the crowd.

PORTRAIT

The portrait format definitely has a more elegant and cleaner look. I, personally, love this orientation and many of my clients would agree. Portrait cards can be printed by any printer, just like landscape cards.

The main problem is that this layout is hard to read when the card is placed in a business card holder, but beyond this they are perfect.

SQUARE or SPECIAL CUTS

If you really want to be unique then a square or special cut is the way to go. It’s an eye-catching way to present a business card to your clients because it’s totally different from standard cards.

Many printers offer business cards in square format. And some printers can cut a card in any shape like a droplet or circle. But note that not every printer can print these unique shapes.

2. Material

The most common materials for business cards are:

• Paper

• Plastic

• Stainless Steel

Of course, there are many, many more you can choose from but in most cases, you will be using one of these.

3. Printing and inks

There are several ways you can print a business card:

• 1 or 2 Color Printing

• 4 Color Offset Printing

• 4 Color plus Spot Color(s)

• Foil ink

4. Decorative effects and finishings

The last thing I think about before I start designing is, what I like to call, decorative effects and finishings. In this headline, I group the following things together:

• Cut-outs

• Emboss/Deboss

• Spot UV

If you need a template for a business card u can download or search in your browser Canva.com a lot of templates there that u can edit to create your own business card.