5 Tips for Designing a Professional Business Card!

Include only necessary information. Your business card should be a quick message telling others what you do, and where they can contact you to get more information. Essentials include:

• Name
• Email
• Website
• Phone

I would also recommend adding your job title that describes what services you are offering, especially if there is no clear indication on your business card, through use of logo, design, or other text elements.

Layout. Again, I prefer to keep it simple, and include only what is necessary. This allows you to leave ample space between lines, as well as use a legible type size so that anyone can retrieve your information quickly and easily. As a rule of thumb, you should stick to a point size ranging from 9 to 11. You should NEVER use a point size that is less than 8. Fonts can vary, meaning some look larger than others even though they are both size “8.” So be careful!

Keep contrast in mind! Font colors similar in color to the background or text placed over a photo are generally hard to read. Red on green, yellow on orange, pink on red generally DO NOT work well.

Use the back side. Creating a two-sided card can allow you additional space to describe what you are offering, examples of services, a discount, a tagline or an image if necessary. Personally, I prefer to keep business cards simple and straight to the point, but when necessary to include more info, a two sided card can keep things clean and organized. Put your contact info on the front and any additional info on the back.

Last, but certainly not least… Make sure you view your proof at 100%. This way you can be sure your text is accurate and legible. Keep in mind all printers are NOT created equal, so printing your proof will most likely NOT be an accurate representation of color, but it’s extremely helpful to review the layout and text size!