A Design Expert Shares Tips on Creating a High-Impact Business Card

culled from:smallbusiness.fedex.com

FedEx Updates: Is the business card still a useful tool?
John Date: Definitely. There’s an association — an experience — you make when meeting someone and handing your card to him or her.
There’s no question that business cards and the use of business cards have changed a lot over the past 20 years. We've gone from using some very basic information — perfunctory information that's going to go in a Rolodex somewhere — to making an impression about who you are.
The business card is more graphically oriented now. It’s used to convey an idea, an image — what you create. Or an interesting aspect of what you create. It’s become much more of a portfolio piece then it was in the past.
FedEx: How do you design a business card that someone will hold onto and use?
John: Keep it simple. Keep it straightforward. Keep it subtle.
Business cards are a face-time experience. If you're dropping your business cards into an envelope and sending them out, I'm just not sure how helpful that is for anyone. But when you meet someone and hand them your business card, you're creating an association for memory. So if someone doesn't remember your face just from meeting you, looking at the card may help them remember the experience.
Your business card should compel that person to go and see what you’re about. It’s the connection that you want to make. That's really all you're looking to do, create that extra dimension of the experience.
For example, let’s say you’re a furniture designer and you’re talking to a prospective client about what you do. The experience would be more meaningful if you hand him your business card that shows a memorable piece of furniture and includes a simple website URL.
FedEx: As far as what to put on the business card, you said less is better. What would you include, and what would you leave off?

John: You want to include the pertinent information that enables a person to connect with you, such as your email, phone number and website.
There's a lot of information that just isn't important anymore. For instance, geographic information means very little, unless that’s an important part of who you are. If you’re located in a downtown loft near all of your clients, obviously that’s something you want to convey to them.
FedEx: What should be done with the back of a business card?
John: With space at a premium, if you've got more information you want to include, the backside is certainly a way to do it. Quite often, it’s not text at all. It's an image or something interesting that goes along with what you do.
If you’re going to use the backside, make it something meaningful. Or you can leave it blank and write in longhand a brief mention of something you discussed. That gives the person another dimension of the experience that they find personal and lasting.
FedEx: Is it a good tactic to include a QR code?

John: A business card is a tiny billboard. To be useful, a QR code must be close to three-quarters of an inch square so a camera can take a good picture of it. So here's three-quarters of an inch square that you now used up on your business card — unless the QR code is integral to who you are, there are better uses of this valuable real estate.
FedEx: You said earlier that social media has helped change the design and use of the business card. How do you connect the two so they resonate with the people you meet?

John: There should be a commonality in style and content that associates your business card with what they see when they go to your website or Facebook page. That’s the connection. In the larger sense, it has to do with the color, the style, the imagery and the voice you use. Business cards, letterhead and everything else are about branding — it's about who you are.
FedEx: What tips can you offer on designing business cards?
John: Texture and depth are important. Flatness isn’t stimulating or memorable. You want people to remember you when they experience your business card. Here are some guidelines to make your card memorable:

• Simple type with simple artwork and simple information is as powerful as just about anything out there.
• When using colors, use just a few, and choose a dominant and recessive color that work well together.
• Avoid colored type on a strong photograph. It’s confusing and difficult to see.
• Create depth by using contrasting color, luminosity or tone that makes portions of the art recede or advance.
• Blocking off sections of information is another way of creating depth. For instance, put your name, title and company in one area. Block off another area for the geographical location or website info.
• Create texture and movement by using a visually stimulating combination of objects and color.
• Use 10- to 12-point font, unless you want the size of the font to be a design element.
• Limit the number of font styles to one or two, and limit the font weight.
• Use sans serif fonts — they’re easier to read. Stay away from decorative fonts, unless the point is to be decorative.