Business Card Basics

A business card is a point of entry for someone to learn about a new business - and the designers who create those cards say first impressions should be at the forefront when choosing which style elements to use.

Businesspeople, according to Matt Sellmeyer, vice president of design and production for Schilling/Sellmeyer & Associates, should have business cards that are just as professional as the companies they represent.

"I'll still get people who come in and want to do business, and they hand me a business card and it's obvious that they did it themselves. It's light and flimsy, and it gives you an uneasy feeling about them as a business," Sellmeyer said.

So what tips do designers have for business cards? Here are some do's and don'ts.

DO remember the basics.

It seems simple, but designers say the beginning of any good card is ensuring it has all the information customers need. That means company and individual names, address, phone numbers, e-mail addresses - and especially a Web site, since business cards are by nature not as permanent as other marketing materials.

"Your collateral materials and your Web site are more important to make a long-term, lasting impression," Sellmeyer said. "And if you're putting a Web site on a card, make sure it's there and it works."

And it's also important that the message a card conveys matches the company's mission.

"If you're in the corporate business world, the card should relay a sense of corporate business," Sellmeyer added. "If you're in the day care business, it can be more colorful and vibrant."

DO have a consistent brand.

Because business cards are often the first contact potential customers will have with a company, consistent branding is important.

UMB Bank took branding into consideration when creating its business cards, which tout the company slogan, "Count on more," on the back in white type against a dark gray background.

"At UMB, we say you can count on more, so it's a conversation starter," said Heather Miller, executive vice president of marketing and communications for UMB Bank. "We put it down with the back side up, and then we say, 'Let me tell you why you can count on more from UMB.'"

That type of consistent brand, according to Greenleaf Marketing President Ron Marshall, can give a potential customer an inroad into a large company.

"People will talk to a person much easier than they'll talk to a corporation," he said.

DON'T forget the visual impact.

Making a visual impression is one of the most important parts of a good business card, according to Marshall, and one of the quickest ways to make an impact is with a photo.

"For a lot of applications, like real estate, cards with a photo get far more use than one without," Marshall said. "If you're an attorney or a Realtor, pictures are especially important."

Picture use, however, does come with a caveat: Make sure it's a good shot.

"Get a professional picture - and don't use a Glamour Shot. It's incredibly cheese ball," Marshall said. "You want it to look approachable but professional."

Other ideas to usually avoid: single-color design and typefaces that are too small or hard to read.

DO look beyond the words.

While the text of the card should never be obscured, Marshall said the mark of a really good business card is one that's memorable - and that means unusual shapes, textures and colors.

"Have them cut to different sizes - set it up like a matchbook or a golf ball," he said. "The more entertaining it is, the more looks the card will get. The ones that come in handy are the ones that are a little bit more unusual - it's important for a first impression."

Card weight also is an issue; Marshall said spending extra to get good quality card stock is crucial. Card stock can cost anywhere from 20 percent to 50 percent more than lighter paper, depending on quantity and style.

"Nothing says amateur like a thin card," he said.

"If you can't afford to do a thicker weight, don't do it."

DON'T try to do too much.

The key, Sellmeyer said, is to think of a business card as a miniature billboard and design accordingly.

"Too often, people try to write a book on their business card, and that's not the right vehicle for that," he said. "It's just like a billboard - a billboard creates a simple message, and a card is the same thing. It's a vehicle for the address, the phone number and a contact person. That's all it's made for, and people try to do too much with it."

Marshall said his firm uses the back of the card to explain some of the services it offers, in an effort to keep the front from getting cluttered. Sellmeyer said that while using the back of the card can be effective, be careful.

"If you put a listing of everything you do on that card, and you leave something out, and I receive this card and look through it, I say, 'Oh, it doesn't say that they do that, so I need to call someone else,'" Sellmeyer said. "It's by nature a very limited space to work with."

DON'T overspend ... but DO take it seriously.

While both Sellmeyer and Marshall said Rolodexes and computer address books have somewhat taken the place of the traditional stack of business cards, a cheap-looking card is a bad idea.

"They're used less and less, but you still need them and they need to relay the right message," Sellmeyer said. "If they ran it off on a Xerox copier, and it's light and amateur-looking, it sends that message about the business."

Sellmeyer noted that even some of his small-business customers have spent 75 cents or more per card to get a high-quality product.

Marshall pointed out that in networking environments, a card may be a company's only shot to grab someone's interest, so cost should be considered carefully.

"It's not worth spending thousands of dollars on, but you only get one shot to make a first impression, so it's still worth the effort," he said.