In today’s fast paced business world, many business professionals choose to send their business cards through e-mail and cell phone messaging systems. Business cards are essential for exchanging information and to keep in contact for future business proposals. Entrepreneurs choose e-mails and cell phones to trade business cards because it doesn’t cost anything, they don’t have to bother with printing and it’s quick and effortless. But the truth of the matter is, with email and cell phone business cards, they are either deleted without notice or forgotten. There is no way you can create an impact or impress the person you are sending a business card to, if you’re sending it by email or cell phone. Designing an effective business card gives the other person a touch of your personality your professional attitude and something to remember you by, next time he wants to do business. He will remember you, over all the other people he has met if you have sent across the right impression through your business card.

So how do you make the right impression? Your business card is like a souvenir of your company and of you, so make sure it is appealing and tasteful. Use easy to read colours, fonts and sizes that go well together and include your company logo. Your font should not be smaller than 7 or 8 points. Try and incorporate something innovative onto your business card so the receiver will be able to utilise it in some way. If the receiver finds it useful he will keep it in a handy place where he sees or uses it everyday and will be more likely to remember you when the time comes. Some professionals make their business cards useful by printing calendars on one side of their business card, printing their business cards on magnets, pens, and much more. Believe it or not, there are even companies that have managed to print their business cards on rubber bands! However, if you decide to print your business card on paper, make sure you choose a size that will be easy to fit into a wallet. If your business card is too big to fit into a wallet it becomes cumbersome and will most likely be thrown out. The standard business card used in the UK is 3.346 by 2.165 inches.

You might want to think about working with a designer to figure out the perfect layout for your business card. Certain styles should be selected depending on the type of business you run. If your business card is representing a government office then you would probably use a simple professional looking font with simple tones and basic layout formats. However, if you are designing a business card for an art school you’ll probably design it using a lot more colours, creative fonts and images.

The aspect of a business card that most people tend to overlook is the printing paper used. The printing paper is the most important thing to consider when designing your business card. It is the piece of paper that will hold all of the information you want to provide to potential business professionals interested in doing business with you. Make sure you maintain a professional image by selecting high quality paper. Just like gifting someone cheap wine, a business card printed on low quality paper will reflect a poor image and will lower your credibility. Choose the correct thickness, a paper type that will be durable and a colour that will suit the layout of your card. The ink used on the business card should be moisture resistant and should not bleed if it happens to get wet. The worst situation would be if your business card gets wet and is no longer legible for anyone to contact you if needed. If your not sure what type of paper to use, recycled paper is the safest choice. It is an affordable type of paper and considered ethical for businesses to use.

Designing your business card should be taken as a priority since it will be representing you and your line of work in front of many business professionals. Your business card designed efficiently, will open the door for many growth opportunities to come your way.