Hi Hadley Court readers, this is Jessica Gordon Ryan, guest blogging today on Hadley Court about business cards.
Some may say that the popularity of the business card went away with the Rolodex, thanks to the digital age. But this really is not the case. For as many who believe this to be true, there are just as many who believe the opposite, that a business card is still a very powerful and important tool. As some of you know, Leslie is attending the Design Bloggers Conference in Atlanta this weekend and into next week, and she asked me to write today on a few things to consider so that your card delivers the impact you hope it will, like the cards blogger Erin Gates of http://elementsofstyle.com had designed, above, by Jessica Sutton that were printed by Parrott Design Studio. Who doesn’t love a letterpress business card with a hand painted gold edge on creamy, thick 100% cotton rag paper?
Where to start:
Think about the card and your business and the message you wish to convey. My thanks to the Social Times, here, for this great infographic.
As this card will represent you, you want to create something that will be memorable. You want to create something that will jar a memory, so that when the card’s recipient looks at your card, he or she will say, Yes, I remember So and So – She was wonderful!
Design:
When creating your card you may want to think outside the box. It’s not only ok, but it is encouraged. Be unique. Be different. Be you. Do stand out from the crowd. It is perfectly acceptable to use both sides of the card. It’s also perfectly acceptable to have 2 separate cards. Let’s say you’re a designer but you’re also a published writer. It is therefore not only acceptable but necessary to have two cards. You may have 2 potential clients, each wanting a different service from you. Think about these cards from a design standpoint as well. Although these are for the same business, this is an idea for you if you have two separate businesses so that your brand image stays consistent that I found, here, which contains 29 more inspirational ideas for you for two sided business cards.
What Do You Want Your Cards To Say?
Once you’ve thought about how you might like your card to look like aesthetically, you need to think about what you want your card to say – the information that needs to be listed as that will impact your design. What we chose to place on our cards in terms of details and content is just as important as the initial appearance of the card.
These days, complete mailing addresses and phone numbers are less important { and many women leave them off for security purposes, too. }. As we become more reliant on technological changes and social media our business cards need to reflect these changes as well. Your name and email are the essential details, but if you have a website and a social media presence those should be acknowledged as well.
If your business involves exchanging business cards within a more traditional industry, I would still suggest including at least your town, though, as this makes it easier for people to make connections with you while networking at a business function.
These are clean and crisp and easy to read, yet convey quite a bit of the information she wanted to share. Click here to read the blog Chelsea wrote to share her thoughts about her creative process.
Details Don’t Have To Expensive, but They Matter
Don’t skimp on quality. There are many wonderful companies that offer a high quality card that won’t break the bank. One such company is Moo. Moo, though now in the US, is a British company that focuses on the detail and the design of the business card. There are hundreds of fun, whimsical and unique designs from which to choose – including their famous mini -cards, or you can upload your own template. Need cards overnight? Not a problem. Need to talk to someone on the phone, in person? Not a problem! The company also offers stickers, labels, stationery and postcards to further extend your brand. In addition, they just introduced their lux line, as seen here, on Design Milk.
Here’s an example of one of their pre-packaged designs that I love called, You Can Quote Me. With Moo, you can write your own quotes. Isn’t that fun since you can design your own?
And here is an image from their new Luxe Line, as seen here, again, on Design Milk.
Shape:
Finally, just as important as the design and the details is the shape. At conferences and tradeshows, we all give out and receive many different business cards. You want to think about whether or not your business card will be able to be scanned or kept easily for future reference by the recipient. Here are some of the business cards that Leslie received at last year’s Design Bloggers Conference that she wrote about, here. Unique shapes are always commented upon, and frequently beautiful, but can be hard to store – something to keep in mind if it’s important to you that your card is kept by the recipient.
The infographic below from Ultralinx is one I found that I hope will help you tie it all together!
And lastly, if you don’t have a proper business card holder you might want to consider getting one. The top two, the Tumi and the Lodis are from Nordstrom, and the silver one below is from Kate Spade New York and can be monogrammed.
But if you need a case for your mini-Moo’s , don’t worry, these cute ones fit right on your key ring!
I hope you’ve been inspired to create some beautiful, fun business cards of your own and if you’re attending the Design Bloggers Conference with Leslie, please share a screenshot of your business card with her either on her Facebook page at http://facebook.com/HadleyCourt, on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Hadley_Court, or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hadleycourt/. I know she’d love to see them!
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Thank you for reading Hadley Court today, we appreciate it!
Jessica Gordon Ryan
for
Leslie Hendrix Wood