- There is a great scene that most designers love
in the movie American Psycho.
Several characters sit around a table
and compare their business cards.
The quality of exact shade, or white, of the paper,
engraving quality, typography and weight are discussed.
Unfortunately, things go badly
for the one executive with the best card
as another character is a psycho killer.
I love this scene because it talks about
the incredible importance of something
most people would ignore.
Your business card is your right-hand man.
It's the person you leave behind
once you leave a meeting.
It needs to represent your brand
and do it with punch.
The most important issue with a business card is quality.
The paper, typography and printing must be flawless.
Whatever your brand communicates,
it must do it in the best way possible.
This is not the place to be cheap
and run a few on a copy machine,
but it doesn't need to cost a fortune.
I print my cards with moo.com.
They're cost-efficient and fast,
and give me flexibility with the design.
In the past, I've also printed cards traditionally
with engraving.
I also tacked a card onto another printing job
that had room on the sheet.
On the other end of the spectrum,
your card need to be cost-efficient.
If they cost you $2.00 each,
you'll be hesitant to hand them out.
The design follows your identity system.
Like the stationary, fewer printing tricks are better.
I'd rather be handed a beautiful and simple
black and white card, than one with
embossing, foils, colored stock and a die cut.
In addition to your brand message,
this is your chance to say clearly
I am creative, I value quality
and can be trusted.
I wish I could tell you there's a clear line
between professional and silly, but there isn't.
That depends on your personality and brand.
One designer may be rational and
interested in strategic thinking,
another might be more playful and humorous.
Both, and everything in between are valid.
Go back to your attributes
and check to make sure you're hitting them.
Use the best materials and elements
and like all design, whatever you do,
do it with confidence.