Designing a business card: tips on format, content and paper
Format
The usual size is 85 × 55 millimetres. Different formats stand out, but do not fit every card holder.
Content
- Name and role
- Company and logo
- Telephone, email, website
- Address, where relevant
- Optional: QR code linking to contact details
Design
- Little text, clear hierarchy
- Type no smaller than about 7 point
- High contrast and easy to read
- In the style of the brand’s logo, colour and typeface
- Enough white space
Paper and finishing
Thicker paper feels more premium. Finishes such as varnish, embossing or foil add accents, but should be used sparingly and in keeping with the brand.
A practical example: a card that is not overloaded
Suppose a physiotherapist wants the following on her card: name, title, three qualifications, practice name, logo, address, landline, mobile, fax, email, website, opening hours and social media profiles. Technically it all fits, but it looks overloaded. The revision: the front with logo, name and role, the back with address, one telephone number, email and website. The opening hours belong on the website, and the fax number is dropped. Anyone who wants to know more scans a QR code. The card carries fewer details, but is taken in faster and is more likely to be kept.
Common mistakes
- Type too small: What is readable on screen often looks too small in print. Make a test print at actual size.
- Too little bleed and safety margin: Text near the edge gets cut off, see print-ready files.
- Poor contrast: Thin, light type on a coloured background or on photos is hard to read.
- Outdated details: An old number or address makes the card useless. Order smaller quantities instead.
- A QR code that has not been tested: It must be large enough (roughly 2 × 2 centimetres) and work with several devices.
Decision aid: paper and finishing
- Uncoated, textured paper: Natural and tactile, good for craft-based, personal brands. Colours look slightly more muted.
- Coated, smooth paper: Vivid colours, suited to photos and technical subjects.
- Thicker paper: Feels more premium, but should not be so stiff that it jams in the card holder.
- Finishing: Varnish or embossing in just one place, such as the logo, looks more deliberate than all over. It raises the price, so check whether the extra suits the brand.
Myth versus fact
Myth: Digital contacts make the business card redundant. Fact: In a face-to-face conversation, at appointments or with a tradesperson on site, the card is often the quickest, simplest way to hand over contact details. How useful it is depends on whether someone keeps it. Design and paper play a part in that. Whether a card makes sense for your day-to-day work depends on how often you meet people in person.
An aide-memoire for the conversation
A card only becomes useful once you know where you got it from. It is therefore helpful to leave room for a handwritten note, for instance an uncoated area on the back. If you jot down after the conversation what it was about, you can follow up in a targeted way later. A glossy varnished surface, by contrast, often does not take ballpoint pen well. This everyday question also belongs in the choice of paper.
Quantity and updating
Do not order in bulk. Roughly work out how many cards you actually hand out in a year, and order that quantity. The unit cost falls with larger print runs, but a card with an out-of-date telephone number or role is worthless. If things change often for you, small runs or digital printing methods are the more economical choice.
More under print-ready files and printed matter.
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