It seemed that until a few years ago business card design stayed fairly constant since before the war. A plain white rectangle 2×2.5” with a name and contact details printed in black, and if the company was extravagant enough, a little logo in the corner.
I know this was my father’s staple design for over thirty years. No real change in the paper, font, ink or anything. It seemed like the business card was the accessory that design forgot. Then it seems that designers saw them for the first time a few years ago. Now the realm of the humble business card is as lively and as imaginative as any other.
A variety of shapes, materials, colors, fonts, textures and anything else that can be dreamt up have slowly crept into the market bringing it new life. Once more they are something to look at and evoke interest, rather than being just part of the meeting process of swapping cards. Now business card design is in the 21st century and interesting once more.
It is amazing what a creative mind and a little cardboard rectangle can do when left in a room together for a while. Of course it doesn’t even have to be cardboard any more. In my collection I have a steel one in the shape of a dog tag, various types of plastic ones from clear or shiny, and even one made from wool. They don’t even have to be rectangle! In fact I think the only rule that seems to have stuck is the size. Still small enough to be concealable or portable, but large enough to hold the information and carry the design.
So there really is no excuse for having a boring business card nowadays. If you can’t create your own there are plenty of places you can get someone to do it for you for a lot less that you would think. A good and imaginative design will make you memorable, which is the whole point of having a card in the first place. If your business card design stands out from the crowd, then so will you. Every time a client or prospective client sees an imaginative or eye catching card they are going to think of the person who gave it to them. After a while they aren’t even going to need to see the card to think of you.
That effect is what every business wants to achieve with its audience. The instant correlation between company and product. If someone thinks of you when they think of a certain product or service then chances are they are going to come to you eventually.
So as you can see, having a memorable business card design is one of the cheapest and most effective targeted marketing methods around. Even in our electronic age, that little slip of whatever, in whatever shape with your details on it, can be your gateway to the world.
Filed under: business card design
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