When delving into any event where there is potential for beneficial networking, a business card is a perfect means to leave a lasting positive impression on any individual. To actualize one’s objective (receiving a call or email from an individual) in these types of events, one must distribute a business card designed with the key elements in order of importance, along with considering graphical elements and the substrate (what the information is printed on). If these elements are not in place, the potential for leaving a lasting positive impression on an individual is lost, thereby undercutting one’s own objective.
Elements in Order of Importance
Company Logo
If you don’t have a company logo on your business card you are out of luck! This is the most important element of a business card and should be the most prominent element. The logo tells an individual what your services are (if it’s a good logo, which will usually have a descriptive tagline), which in turn shows them why you are a valuable contact and why they should keep your contact information.
Good Logo Emphasis
Name
A business card with a name is far more effective. Someone will seldom respond to something that is not personable. Your name should be second in the design element hierarchy to take full advantage of this human tendency to be drawn to other humans. Handing out a business card without a name is like trying to use a credit card without a card number; the card reader won’t recognize your card and you won’t be able to get what you want. In simple terms, your perspective contact would rather contact an individual than just some random person in your organization. So, the name on a business card attributes respect to the receiver. making them feel important enough to be on a first-name basis with you.
Title
There are usually multiple individuals providing different services within an organization. You may be a Project Manager, Designer, or CEO. Whatever the case, if your perspective contact ever needs the specific service you provide, the convenience of knowing your title will benefit them greatly and provide a better response rate.
Phone, Email, Mailing Address, Fax
Any but not all of these elements can be omitted or emphasized to show your preferred method of contact. Once again our social tendencies come in play when proposing a method of contact to your perspective contact. People would rather call than email; calling satisfies our human impatience and allows us to communicate in the most human form, spoken dialogue. Because of this, the order of contact information should be: Phone, Email, Mailing Address, Fax (Fax should be last in the hierarchy because its use has almost diminished in this age). Nevertheless, this order can be modified as needed. In the following image, a nice hierarchy and layout of all information exists.
Effective Layout of Information
Graphical Content
in addition to the previously discussed elements, photos and graphics can be added to further emphasize your objective, to get in touch with your perspective contact and, probably, provide them with services. How is this done? Well, photos and graphics identifiable and relevant to the organization you represent will be strategically positioned on the card in order to further emphasize what the organization is about. Graphical Content acts much like your title helps the perspective contact know what services you provide (what branch of the company you work in), it identifies your company. For instance, if one works for a hardware store they might want a graphic or photo of a hammer on the business card. In the following business card, it’s pretty obvious that the business card holder probably provides some sort of service to do with eye care because of the eye glasses graphic.
Business card for the Eye Care Centers of Miami
Substrate
The substrate is what the information is printed on. Ironically just like grocery bags, the substrate can be paper or plastic. The substrate should be selected first and foremost based on the customer – if the customer drinks coffee a linen/cotton fiber paper would work good. The customer is considered first in the paper choice (as well as when considering the graphical content) because if the customer doesn’t like it your goal isn’t met. Your perspective contact may not contact you simply based on the look of your business card. The look needs to be tailored to the audience and something that appeals to them should be used.
Cotton Fiber Business Card
Plastic Substrate
Finish
The finish (luster or sheen) can also effect the response of the perspective contact. If one owns a organic feeling coffee shop and has a business card designed with the look and feel of the shop, a gloss finish wouldn’t be effective – especially on a cotton fiber business card.
When all of these key elements have been considered – company logo, contact information, importance and order of the information, graphical content, and substrate and finish- a fully functional and successful business card can be created. After the card is distributed, one can sit back and enjoy the benefits – more contacts and more business.
Matt Socha
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Great tips and information! I would add that I’ve been seeing a trend of incorporating a QR code into the design of business cards. This gives people an easy way to scan and go straight to a website. This also lets the business card owner easily track who has visited from their business cards.
You’re right Kristina, QR codes are popping up everywhere and using them on a business card is a great way to help people connect to a business’s website.