Business card design - what we need to remember

Designing a business card is not as simple as you might think. Small format, only the most necessary information - but it is this small format that causes the most problems: what to include on a business card, what kind of graphics to use, what will look good? Check what to remember when designing a business card.

What's the most important thing

Necessary minimum of each business card are: name and surname of the person to which it belongs, the position held, name and logo of the company, address data, if we have a registered office in which we can accept customers and contact data: phone number, e-mail address and website address. The business card should be consistent in terms of color and graphics and should fit into the visual identification of the company in which we are employed.

Originality is also important. The formats of business cards are similar, so we should think about what will distinguish us from many similar business cards. Certainly we should not duplicate the ideas of the competition in this matter, but try to do something special: to opt for a non-standard material or reach for unusual elements, such as moving, transparent, textured elements, etc.

The business card must be clear and contain a clear message. Excessive content can be a deterrent and will certainly not encourage you to read the information. Let us follow the principle of simplicity in communication: the simpler it is, the easier it is to remember the message.

A simple business card doesn't have to be boring. We can make it more attractive by means of a form, focusing on visual aspects: proper selection of colours, fonts and graphics. If we approach business cards creatively, the combination of graphic elements with a moderate amount of text should bring satisfactory results.

Technical information

Some technicalities and a strict approach to the project will also be useful. The basic question usually refers to the size of a business card. The standard size is 90 x 50 mm - in this format we also recommend making it fit for business cards and has the right size to hide your business card in your wallet.

When passing a business card for printing, we must remember about the so-called bleeds, i.e. the distance between the content and the margin. Leave 5 mm on each side of the design to avoid cutting important business card components when printing. For safety reasons, however, it is always worth asking the printing house about the height of the bleeds.

When choosing a font, remember about the correlation with the fonts used in the company: in official documents, on the logo. Everything must be consistent, especially that the company's logo will certainly appear on our business card. The logo is usually placed in the upper left corner of the business card, according to the reading direction: from left to right, from top to bottom.

In terms of layout and arrangement of elements, a horizontal arrangement is common and most common. But it doesn't always have to be like that. Vertical business card, interestingly designed, can stand out from the crowd and be remembered.

Remember to use a proof printout before printing the entire planned print run, which will allow us to verify both the design and the choice of materials.