As a graphic designer I often receive requests from clients that sometimes make me shake my head in disbelief. When it comes to business cards, what seems logical is not always practical, so what better way to share these pet peeves than a ‘top 5 do not list.’
#5 Do NOT… put every award, designation and affiliation you’ve ever had. Limit it to 2 or 3 at the most.
#4 Do NOT… use a profile photo that’s 5 years or older. Keep it current and use a professional photographer. If your photo requires extracting from the background, make sure there’s enough contrast in it so we can more accurately crop you out of there.
#3 Do NOT… force all your information to fit on one side of the card. List the most important information and remember there’s a blank canvas on the back you can take advantage of.
#2 Do NOT… use extremely thin or small fonts on dark backgrounds. It may appear fine on screen, when you’re zoomed in at 500%, but when it’s printed you may not be happy.
#1 Do NOT… forget to proof read your business card. If you read the information backwards, it will force you to pay attention to what you are looking at. But it’s not the end of the world if you missed something. Remember, they’re business cards and we can always print more.
Thanks to the graphics team at Colour Tech for helping me compile this list. As always, we’re here to help… so if you’re unsure about anything, just ask.
Over to you… Do you think this list is too harsh or would you add some more? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers!
Brian Ramoutar, Graphic Designer
www.colourtech.com
This is some solid advice. It’s so common to see bad business cards, where people have rushed straight to the printing process without giving due consideration to the card’s design. A bad card is unbelievably detrimental to the company image.
Thanks Chole! Hopefully we can see this trend of bad design end.
This is a bang on information which we do not get else where. Great piece of advice my friend. Keep it up. Yours one is very valuable to us. Now a days people do not understand the importance of business cards and they get it printed in very low terms. They should atleast keep these 5 piece of information while doing it. Great Job. Keep it up.
Thanks Steven, appreciate it.