The use of business cards is still one of the best strategies when it comes to marketing yourself and your business to your potential customers. I have seen so many designers and other professionals who still invest in creating business cards that are clean, unique and stand out among the crowd. A simple card can bring you and your company great results, when you create them with care.
The design and appearance of your card can make or break your marketing and branding success. How you conceptualize and create your design does matter. Your card must always reflect the best of you and your business. To do this, the primary key is to make your design appealing, informative and targeted.
The first goal of your business card design is to make the right impression. A bad card design is like introducing yourself to a crowd of people by speaking in front of them about yourself but no one pays attention to you. It must convey the positive and professional you to your customers. Your identity fixed visually on your card is affected by fundamental elements of design such as colors and images.
The right use of colors and images incorporated with other elements like logo and text will make your card build a unique identity portraying a good impression to your target audience. To further help you out in this, here are some important tips you may consider in terms of using colors and images:
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Do use color for interest and to emphasize other elements. Use them in the most important elements of your business card design but not overdo it – remember, less is still better. It can be in your logo design, company name or other graphics. Colors can also be your identity so it is better if you use a color scheme which best represents your company. Most likely, it can be the scheme used in your company logo.
ConsorciumSTS Logo
ConsorciumSTS Business Card Design
Kreujemy.to did a nice business card design as a part of the identity for security systems Consortium with the right use of color scheme based on the company logo. (Source)
- Do match color tones. Make sure that the foreground and background colors of your card do blend. If you use bright colors for your logo and text, you may consider using black or other darker shades that compliments with it.
- Don’t use colors and photos that veer from your other branded materials. Your business card must be consistent with the general design and color schemes you use for your store, catalogs, flyers, website and other materials.
CoPlanner Corporate Design – Color Scheme
CoPlanner Corporate Design – Visual World of CoPlanner brand
CoPlanner Corporate Design – Business Cards
CoPlanner Corporate Design – Stationary
Moodley Brand Identity and Josef Heigl did a great job in creating the CoPlanner corporate branding identity (above). The use of the color scheme and visual photo is well executed not just in the business card design but throughout the company stationary. (Source)
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Do include appropriate photo. Make sure to put photos of you or related to your business if it is appropriate and it will enhance your card. There are times that photos are more appropriate to be the background of your card if you have lesser text and other graphics in the design.
Blok Design did an impressive work in making the branding identity for Public (above), a company focused in creating social impact. The unique philosophy of the company was properly reflected through the use of appropriate images as a part of the overall design of the cards. (Source)
Ana Johnstone is an Illustrator from New Zealand and made an excellent work on her business cards (above). She used photos of her illustrations to accompany her card prints at their back to showcase her illustration style to the audience. (Source)
The next time you create your business cards, take time to conceptualize on how colors and images should be incorporated properly. Consider the kind of identity you are going to promote to your audience and think of a nice design to support your branding. It helps to seek inspiration around the web but nothing beats an original design that uniquely identifies your card from the crowd.
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