Business cards

The business cards are usually shared during formal introductions and they are used as memory aids. They include the giver’s name, company’s logo and some contact information (like street address, telephone number, fax number, email address, and the website of the company). In the beginning the business cards had very simple designs, and they were usually printed on white paper, with black ink. Nowadays, a professional business card will have some visual striking elements, to attract you and to make you remember easily of the person who gave you the business card. It’s very important to make connections in your customer or future customer’s mind, and these associations should be sticky and simple. The card stock had different parameters, depending on the location, culture and industry. The weight also depends on the location, but they are usually printed on paper with a 350g/m2 density.

There are high quality business cards which don’t have full-color photographs and they are printed on sheet-fed printing presses. Some companies even trademarked their colors ( Tide-orange, Los Angeles Lakers-purple and so on). It is very effective to print the business cards in full color because of the digital printing process. The less expensive processes exist for producing business cards, like, for example, thermography (it uses a plastic powder, which melts and adheres to the wet ink). The thermography is similar to lamination and the look of two business cards created through these two processes is quite the same, but the only difference is that the thermography simulates the “raised-print” effect. Some business cards are coated with a glossy coat, which creates an additional design advantage.

The business cards are very good advertising elements, and often they are printed in English on one face, and in the local language on the other side; they are small elements, but they reflect a lot of aspects of the person who gave it to you, and the company he/ she is representing. It is very important to make some research and see what information is important, and what people need to see on your business card. There are business and personal cards, and both of them have the same core purpose, letting people get in touch with you. The business cards, for business purpose of course, must have an elegant and serious aspect, while on the personal card you can put whatever you want to represent you. It is very important to take care of what people see on the business card, and please take care of the orthography. Having typos on the business card is quite a big minus point on your image balance. Even if it is the business card, or the personal card, it must be neat, and represent you simply.

Business cards

Nowadays, there are more contact options than there have ever been. Less people want to be identified with the business person they are during the non-business hours. People like to keep a distance from their work, and social situations are the best example, when someone wants to be seen just as he/she is, not like the Manager or CEOs they are when they are at the office.  Here is where personal cards come into the arena. A personal card highlights your personality and your interests, not those of the company you work for. The personal cards are usually colorful and engaging, and they do not focus on your status or your position in a company or in an industry. The personal cards will always reveal only what you to choose to be known by the others.

A personal card will allow you have the same benefits as people who own business cards, and let’s just mention interests, a cool social image, networking and meeting new people. In all these situations you can give someone your personal card, and they will be positively surprised to see that you are an original person who shares the same interest as him/her.

There are a lot of design companies which can help you create some pretty interesting business card designs, and a lot of valuable people work in this industry. A very important aspect is to know what you would like to express with those business (personal) cards, and they will do the entire job for you, from designing to printing. You can also design your business card and just print them, and you can also print yourself the business cards, but you must take care to choose the proper paper and a good printer. After this, you could laminate them or you can just use them like this. The new trend is to design your business card on an online website (and there are plenty of websites which offer you this kind of services) and then send it to another company to print it. There are also websites which offer already made business card designs, and you choose one of the free printable business cards designs for your company. You can have very cheap business cards this way, because all the costs are about printing them, and maybe buying some business card holders, to have them always looking new and proper. The free business cards are an effective option and you can use websites to choose one of the available designs or create your own.

Business cards

A new model of business cards is the folded business card, which can contain much more information, because there is more available space, for a brief description of the company, of your interests, or anything you think people who will have the card are interested in. This is an interesting model of business card, because it is more than just a contact card, is a short presentation of your purpose. If it is a personal card, you can add information related to your interests, to the places or people who can be contacted when you are not available, or anything else about your hobbies.

The main aspect to take into consideration when creating a business card is the first impression created in the eyes of the person who receives it. You should think why you would like to choose a glossy or a matte finish for your business card, and what you want it to reflect about you or the company you represent. It’s all about human nature to check out the business card, to analyze it and only after this the elements start fixing in person’s memory. You should try to focus on the message you want to send to the holder, and not loose yourself into details like advertisements on the back or too colorful design, personal pictures or kitschy designs. I am sure that the holders of your business cards are not interested in advertisement from another company, which is not yours, so avoid placing design or any other company’s ads on the back of the business card.

The business cards have a very important role in the marketing strategy of a company, so take care about brand awareness, and free business cards, which are co-branded, distract the holder from your company and cloud this awareness you want the customers to develop for your company. A professional business card will never be co-branded, and it will have the right elements to attract the customers and make them call your company when they will need the services you offer. The free cards are a good option, but they diminish the focus on the services you can offer, and they split holders’ attention.