In the business world, something the size of a wallet photo – our business card – serves as both an introduction for us and a sales tool that hopefully serves us long after it has left our grasp. Deciding how to sum ourselves up in that tiny space so this tool is as effective as possible can take a lot of thought and should not be a last-minute project.
Some excellent articles have already been written on creating business cards for the scrapbook and other creative industries. Rather than repeat that excellent advice, I will provide links to those resources:
- Leave a Creative Calling Card (great design ideas for designers & crafters)
- Business Card Designs (creative design ideas for businesses)
- Business Card Mistakes (by marketing guru Seth Godin)
- Desktop Publishing: Business Card Design (About.com)
- How To Design A Memorable Business Card (Lifehacker)
- 7 Tips for Business Cards Worth Keeping (Marketing Vox)
Once you have a design concept in mind (or even if you don’t), there is another decision to make: how you are going to print your cards. Cards can either be printed at home, using pre-perforated sheets of cards from an office supply store along with computer templates, or they can be printed professionally.
The best choice of cards for home printing are the Avery Clean Edge Cards. These cards come in sheets of ten and when separated, leave absolutely no perforation on the edges. They come in matte, glossy or linen versions and are available at most major office supply stores in packages of 200, 400 or 1000 cards. Home printing can be a great option for small quantities of cards, or when multiple cards are needed for various purposes. Custom cards can be created quickly and easily and printed off in small quantities.
If you do choose to use the Avery cards, there are plenty of template tools to assist you in your designing efforts whether you want to start from scratch or customize a pre-designed card.
For a truly professional feel, however, using a printing service is your best option. There are plenty of online services that are surprisingly affordable, have pretty quick turn-around times, and some even offer extensive online design tools on their websites as well.
If you’d like to go with something quirky, more memorable than a standard card – and very trendy in the tech community – check outMOO Cards. The size of a standard business card cut in half lengthwise, Moo cards can be graphically beautiful (you can put a different image or picture on the back of each one if you want) and memorable for their unique size. These cards don’t have room for full address/phone/email/web contact info on them but they are great for handing out as reminders of web addresses or as coupons.
Whatever method you use to print them, make sure you put some time and effort into creating your business cards. They can be as much about making a first impression as the clothes you are wearing and your handshake, and can help make or break a key person’s impression of you – or help decide if you will be remembered at all.
