Business cards are an essential for any business whether you are fully established or just getting started. They are a simple way to say hello, explain what products and/or services you offer, and detail how someone can contact you to get those services. Best of all, you can carry quite a few in your wallet at once so you always have one on hand for when the opportunity arises. Although I have been known to accidentally dump out a handful a couple times when trying to pay for my meal... learn from my mistakes and maybe only keep one or two!

It's not hard to see why having business cards can be handy, but what can you do to make your cards stand out from the others? Oftentimes, business owners and customers alike receive tens of business cards at a time. You need to make sure that yours is the one that catches their eye. Unfortunately, explaining how to design business cards is not quite a one-size-fits-all situation. The design and elements need to be specific to your business. I recommend you also read Color Theory In Marketing to help decide what colors you need to include in your business card design. In the meantime, let's look at some examples.

This first design is simple, sweet, colorful, and straight to the point. It shows that "Madisyn" has a good eye for color and composition, that she's fun, and it says exactly what she does.

In this case, the made up business is owned by an independent Interior Designer, Madisyn. To design a card like this that reflects her business, Madisyn would have had to ask herself a few questions:

• What symbols represent my business niche?

• What colors represent my specific style?

• How do I convey my niche on a card in an overt but not overdone way?

Firstly, let's look at what symbols represent my business niche?

When thinking about Interior Design, a few images come to mind. I think of a blanket draped over a chair, brightly colored curtains pulled back just enough to let light in, cleanliness, patterns, etc. Basically, my idea of interior design is cutesy home renovation that doesn't require tearing down walls. This design element is well expressed on the business card by the "O" which has been replaced with a paint roller symbol. This is a simple and easy way to add an extra oomph in your design. Similarly, you can think about what represents your business and add in simple shapes or outlines that connect back to your main theme. If you are a car salesman, you may be able to use a car in place of a letter M. If you sell refurbished phones, you may be able to put a simple smartphone outline in place of the letters O or D. Try not to stretch too far, or you may confuse your clients!

What colors represent my specific style?

This one is all up to you, my friend! Of course, as I previously mentioned, it may help to check out my article on color theory, but for the most part, you are going to want to choose colors that 1) represent your company well and 2) you can look at all day every day on every piece of marketing material and not get bored of. This is because it is important to not only keep your design clean, but also consistent.

Madisyn likes bright, young, saturated colors. She likes bringing plants in to liven a room. Maybe she likes to emphasize fruit imagery around the houses she decorates. These ambitions are ALL communicated in her use of color and shape on her business card. This is where shapes and patterns really matter. A beekeeping or honey business could use honeycombs or a nice handmade look with a simple bee pattern. A glassblowing business could incorporate a glossy edge emphasized by color.

How do I convey my niche on a card in an overt but not overdone way?

The answer to this question all comes down to how decorative you want to be. Here is an example of my business card - mainly for art and design clients!

My art is heavily based in mixed media and collage, the fun colors and shapes represent my personality, the hidden word "art" in the cityscape represents the hidden meaning I like to hide in much of my art, and the Linktree QR code ensures that I never need to throw away cards. Functional!

Is my card overdone? Yes, but on purpose. You can read a little bit about my artwork and style here, but to summarize: I'm heavily influenced by the Dadaism movement from the mid 1900's. The ideology, the purpose, the art itself, the mentality - everything stood out to me and I absorbed it like a sponge. Dadaism is rooted in chaos, historically, which flooded into their art very quickly and thoroughly. BUT the point is, I like my cards like this. Some don't! Let's look at a colorful but toned-down card I made for a client.

Unlike mine, Beau's business card is colorful AND subdued. He wanted to place his phone number on the card as well, which is always a good move, but not always necessary. In all, this is a great example of a simple but effective business card. You don't ever have to go as bright and busy as I did with mine!

I hope this guide helps you decide what to do with your business cards. If you decide you would rather have someone design yours for you, I hope you keep me in mind. The information is on my business card above...lol!

(you can also find the contact form here)

Thank you for reading!

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