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PDF Library file compliments of Summit Press, Inc. www.summitpressinc.com

Quick name the single marketingitem most widely used by businessesof all sizes. Did you answer businesscards? With business cards, we firstbegin to make an impression on thepeople who will eventually be ourcustomers. Our business cards estab-lish an image for our organizationand us and provide informationabout how we may be contacted.And all this is presented in a familiarform that is easy to store and

retrieve.

If this makes a business card soundlike a wonderful marketing tool,that's because it is! By using somecreativity and a bit of unconventionalthinking, you can proudly present abusiness card that both stands outand really markets you and yourcompany.

The first decision: sizeA standard American business cardmeasures 3.5 x 2 inches. This sizefits conveniently into business cardholders, protecting the cards beforethey are given out, and can bestored easily by the recipient in abusiness card binder or rotary file.Although using a non-standard sizemay tempt you as a way to present amemorable business card, do remem-ber that your ultimate goal is to have

the recipient store and later retrieveyour business card. A standard sizethat canbe stored in a standardfashion will accomplishthis objective best.

The second decision:information to includeSince the ultimate purpose of a busi-ness card is to provide informationabout who you are and how youmay be contacted, the basic informa-tion to include on your business cardis the name and address of yourcompany, your name and title, yourphone and FAX numbers and your e-mail address. You may also wish toinclude aids to help others remember

your name, such as a phoneticspelling or a nickname in parenthe-ses. When important for image, con-sider adding your professional oracademic designations and affilia-tions.

In today's world of wireless communi-cations, you may find that your com-pany's toll-freephone number,

your directphone line, yourcell phone num-ber, your pagernumber and yourhome phonenumber may notall fit on the busi-ness card. Beprepared todecide which ofthese options are most likely to lead

to success for the person who wantsto contact you, and omit the others.

The third decision: a logoThe word logo is a shortened versionof logotype, which originally meantan identifying symbol created fromtype. Today a logo can be createdusing art elements such as clip art,

typefaces, photos, symbols, silhou-ettes, shapes and outlines, or a logocan be designed from scratch. Butregardless of the method used to cre-ate the logo, there are a few basicrules that govern logo design.

The purpose of a logo is to visuallyconvey attributes of the business.These might include what the busi-ness does or what characteristics ithas. A painting business, for exam-

ple, could use a paint bucket andbrush to demonstrate its trade, whilea bank might select strong, bold typeto convey security and stability.

Developing a logo begins with decid-ing what words best convey theattributes of the business, then select-ing visual images that evoke thewords. This may take a brainstorming

session or two,especially if you

want to avoidideas being usedby others or visu-al images thathave becomedated or stale. If

you have a wordlist but are shorton visual images,call us at 817-334-0521 . We

will be happy to have you look

through our clip art library or stockphotography collection.

The fourth decision: designGood design communicates an ideaand equally considers function andform. Good design is visually strikingand conveys an impression. Gooddesign separates your business card

Design EffectiveBusiness Cards

Business Cards

QUICK TIP: The back of a busi-

ness card is often overlooked as aplace to display information.Secondary contact information suchas cell phone, pager and homephone number are good candidatesfor the back of a card, as is compa-ny web site. Also, consider a busi-ness card that folds to standardsize.

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from others and provides a wow fac-tor as you hand your card to anotherperson.

In The Non-Designer's Design Book,Robin Williams describes the fourbasic principles of design:

Proximity, the grouping of like ele-ments;

Alignment, the visual connection ofall elements;

Repetition, the repeated use of visualelements; and

Contrast, a marked differencebetween elements

When designing a business card, themost important elements are proximi-

ty, alignment and contrast. Using theprinciple of proximity means thatrelated items appear physically closeto each other, giving the reader avisual clue about the organization ofthe business card. Thus, informationrelated to the company (address, tollfree phone line, FAX, web address)should be grouped and proximate,while information about the individ-ual (direct phone line, e-mail address)should be grouped and not in closeproximity to the company informa-tion.

Following the principle of alignment,nothing is placed on the businesscard arbitrarily, and every item has avisual connection with somethingelse. Alignment is what unifies ele-mentsthat are physically separated(following the principle of proximity)

and creates organization. Alignmentcan be achieved by building thedesign on a grid.

Contrast adds visual interest to abusiness card and also creates orga-nizational hierarchy. But for contrastto be effective, it must be definite.Two elements that are only a bit dif-ferent don't contrast, they conflict.True contrast is bold and obvious - a

thin line with a thick line; large typewith small type; a scriptfont with a bold san serif; light anddark ink colors.

The fifth decision: colorIntroduce color into your businesscard with paper, ink or both. The psy-chology of color is a topic in itself;here is a brief summary:

Warm colors (red, orange, yellow,brown) evoke danger, power, pas-sion, strength, blood and war. Whenused as an accent, warm colors canstimulate people to make quick deci-sions.

Cool colors (green, blue, purple) sig-

nify nature, life, new growth, energy,faith, money, royalty, richness, powerand sensitivity. Blue is deemed thera-peutic to the mind and body.

The color white connotes purity, clari-ty and cleanliness.

Notice that all the colors are associat-ed with words. Use this informationto select colors that elicit the emotion-al response consistent with the visual

image of your logo. The combinationof logo, design and color will createthe truly unique business card youdesire.

Helpful Vocabulary Words:

Baseline: A virtual line on whichtext, exclusive of ascenders anddescenders, is set.

Bleed: In a layout, any image areathat extends beyond the trim line.

Body type: The type used for themain text of a document. For businesscards, body type size is usuallybetween 7 and 10 points.

Character count: The total num-ber of typeface characters in a line.

Close registration: In printing,the precise alignment of two or moreimages.

Design grid: A virtual frameworkupon which a layout is placed.

Dingbats: Small, ornamental char-

acters used as design elements. Adingbat consisting of a stylizedflower or leaf may also be called aprinter's mark or printer's flower.

Icon: A visual image that suggestsits meaning.

Rule: A line of selected thickness.May be drawn horizontally or verti-cally.

White space: Any area not occu-pied by text or graphics. Whitespace can be used as a design ele-ment.

Business Cards PDF Library file compliments of Summit Press, Inc. www.summitpressinc.com