3 Tips for Designing the Perfect Business Cards

Your business cards have a number of functions. Not only do they allow you to give a potential new client or business partner your contact information, they serve as visual reminders of you to the person you gave it to. Because they play such an important role in your business life, you want to make sure that you design the right cards to represent you and your business best. Here are three tips for designing the perfect business cards.

Perfect Business Cards
Readability: A Must

Choose a Sturdy Cardstock

Business cards on flimsy cardstock look cheap. By extension, they then reflect poorly on the presenter of the card–in this case, you. This is always a no-no, but can be particularly detrimental to the new professional, who doesn’t have a solid reputation to back up his or her new business status. A card made from heavy cardstock gives your business card the psychological weight that your new professional life requires; you look solid, because your card does.

When shopping for the card, talk with the print shop about the paper options for your business card. In addition to choosing a thicker stock, make sure that the design on the cardstock fits your company image. If you’re a creative type like a designer, you can get away with a bit of whimsy whereas a banker or lawyer will want to go with a more subdued card.

Make Sure It’s Readable

Even if you’re in a creative industry, make sure that the fonts you use to convey the information about your company are easy to read. Avoid lettering with lots of curly cues for the most important information on the card. It’s OK if your logo is constructed from this type of font—just don’t repeat it on the card. Instead, opt for an easy-to-read font like an Arial or Times New Roman.

Additionally, try to limit the number of fonts you use to only two, and if you have constructed your logo from a font, limit it to one other font besides the lettering you’ve chosen for your logo. Otherwise, your card will look too busy and be difficult to read.

Don’t Forget the Real Estate on the Back of the Card

Business cards if treated right can function as mini-brochures if you use the back of the card. There are a number of ways you can use the card from adding a coupon to drawing out a map to your place of business.

All of that said, you still don’t want to break the “busyness” rule. Any information you put on the back of the card should look clean and properly reflect your business’s image and should not look “busy.” As with any area on your business card, make sure you leave enough white space so that the card looks professional and remains easy-to-read.


This article is written by Bruce. Bruce works for one of the major printing companies in Sydney, Australia. He provides advice and and quality printing services for business cards Sydney clients are lucky to have access to. His services are available for small orders for small businesses to bulk orders for major corporations.


Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.