How to Design Business Cards

Business cards still have not lost their appeal in the digital age. In fact, more people are now creating business card designs that can double as a personal branding or marketing tool. The more creative the business card examples, the more eyeballs it can attract and subsequently command, so it’s important to get the right design for it.

Just like how an ultimate card-making guide functions, this short guide aims to provide step-by-step information on how to create your own business card layouts.

Information to include in a business card

The amount of business-related information you wish to print out on your printable business card will largely depend on your company’s image and corporate branding. But business cards will generally list most of the following information:

• Company logo and name
• Proprietor or owner information
• Business address
• Contact numbers
• Social media accounts
• Website URL
• Business slogan or motto
• Other design features

Template-based business card or handmade business card?

To start off, you should remember that there are two main routes you can take in designing any business card templates. The first one is creating business cards using printable templates. The second route is by making a card by hand.

As its name suggests, template-based or free printable business cards are created by using pre-made PSD card design templates. These templates can showcase a variety of designs and themes. All you have to do is purchase the template, edit it, and print it out. Most people take this route in business card-making because it is cost-efficient and allows them to allot their time to do other productive things.

The second route to business card-making is by manually creating a watercolor business card. This approach can be time-consuming, costly, and not practical, especially if you are going to create hundreds of cards. But for those who want to create highly personalized business cards for a limited number of people, creating a handmade card design is the better approach.

Things to consider when creating a business card

Listed below are important aspects of designing business cards that you should note so that you can create the most visually appealing floral business card.

Overall design

The first thing you should consider when creating a business card design is its overall look. Often, this “look” needs to coincide with the image of your business or brand, the industry you are in, and your own preferences. Choosing the overall design is basically deciding what theme or motif your business card should have. Do you want to have a professional business card? Or would you prefer a less formal, more colorful business card? What other card design ideas do you have in mind?

Planning how your diy business card should look is an essential step in the card-making process since it allows you to put your ideas into words and then onto paper. If it helps, you may write down the specific characteristics or sketch the card design on a piece of paper so that you will not forget it.

Font style

Once you have decided on a design theme to follow, you should next choose the typeface family and corresponding font styles that will be used in your business card. There are a lot of font styles (both free and premium) available today. Choose the ones that will best reflect your brand image. You should also remember to only use up to two font styles for each card page. Using more than that will confuse anyone reading the sample business card and it will make the card face appear crowded.

Paper type and finish

The type of paper you choose for your round business card design will also greatly affect the overall result. Typically, minimalist business card designs are printed on card stock of varying thickness. Usually, printing firms may recommend that you use thicker paper if you want a durable card design. Others may suggest using paper with regular thickness if the business cards are mass produced and given away to a large audience.

If you wish for your unique business cards to exude a more sophisticated effect, you may also use premium paper with a glossy finish. There are other printing materials such as PVC, plastic, leather, metal, and even wood that you can also use.

Color

In printing, the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) color mode is used. This color mode is different from what we usually see online since computer screen displays typically use the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color mode. CMYK is a subtractive color model; that is why images printed using this mode often appear richer in color and truer to the original shade of the object being photographed. When printing a business card, you may need to use accurate colors if your business uses a specific color palette in its branding. Furthermore, a carefully considered color scheme also plays a role in creating visually pleasing business card designs.

Bleed

Another important aspect to keep in mind when making business cards using printable templates is that you should designate a bleed space on the card design. Bleed space is the area in a printed material that will be cut off. Business cards should have bleed so that they will maintain a uniform size printing them out. Blank business card bleed typically measures between 3 mm and 6 mm.

Card shape

Creative business card designs often get referenced and used more since these cards can pique their recipient’s interests. In order to achieve the same effects for your own business card, you need to make sure it stands out. And one of the ways to do that is to use different card shapes for your card. There are circular, triangular, and even irregularly shaped business cards available today. As a business owner, you just need to keep an open mind toward novel ways of creating a free business card template. These days, every extra oomph in terms of publicity is needed in order for you to attract your ideal customers.

Start creating

You have now learned the different important guidelines to consider when creating a typography business card. You may now begin to think of any design ideas and apply them in your personal card designs. Just remember that a business card is only about 3.5 inches by 2 inches in size, so you need to succinctly incorporate all the design elements and business information into this small space without making the card look crowded. Start creating and enjoy the process!

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