If you have a business, you need a business card. We know that with the pandemic, the printed format may have lost prominence to online. But in a craft business, where the senses play a prominent role, your business card is also your business’s letter of introduction and contact. In a few square centimeters, you will have to bring credibility to your brand – and your work – in a professional manner.
Keys to design your business card:
If you search Google, Pinterest or Behance, you may end up overwhelmed by the diversity of designs you find. Each company is different and each business and artisan has its own style. For this reason, we recommend you to assess these 5 points, basic but useful, to start designing your artisan business cards. Let’s start:
1.- Decide the info you want to share
Select the information that will appear. Depending on the characteristics of your business, you will have to focus more on some information or others. For example, if you have a physical store, the business card can be a reminder of where you are or where you can be found. If, on the other hand, your business is 100% online, you are more interested in advertising your website and social networks instead of a postal address.
In any case, it is important not to put information everywhere, but to expose a message as clear and brief as possible. For example, if you work alone and you plan to grow your company, you have built your own brand and you want to make it known, do not highlight your name, but your logo or brand next to your contact. If there are several employees, dedicate a card with the name of the employee and his or her position. You can have several cards, each one with different data depending on the public you are addressing, but they must always maintain a coherent design, style and purpose.
2.- Order the information from most important to least important
Once you have selected the data you are going to put, you must distribute them on the card. Highlight the most important, a single, first element, thus establishing a hierarchy. At first glance, what do you want to prioritize? The logo, your company name, contact person, … You should choose one and the rest of the information should be grouped around it. You can help yourself with small icons or glyphs to highlight other fields that you consider important, for example, telephone, email or web address.
If your brand has a logo, on a card it would be the largest and most prominent element. In a card of a company with a more personal project, its size would be smaller, but always visible next to the name of the person, which in this case would be the most prominent element.
Remember that the cards should help your audience know that you exist and where they can find you.
3.- Format and size
Once you have decided on the content, you will need to consider where to put it on the card. This is an important decision as it will determine how it is presented.
The classic business card format is usually horizontal, 85mm x 55mm and printed on one side. From here on, there are many options: vertical, double-sided printing, mini-cards, square, round, die-cut… We recommend that you think about your customer and whether it will be easy for them to read and carry the card in their wallet or card holder. If you have doubts, you can create two versions and test which one works better (or which one runs out first). You can also create customized versions for an event you are participating in or for a strategic audience.
4.- Typography
If you already have a defined brand, you probably have a chosen typography. In cards, as in everything that communicates your brand, it is important to keep the same style. Therefore, we advise you to use the same typography you usually use.
If you do not have any typography selected, the best option are those with a discreet, clean and elegant design. Give priority to those that are easy to read, include uppercase and lowercase versions, with accents and with “ñ” if they are going to be in Spanish. You can find many options in Google Fonts, Word or websites such as Dafont. In order not to saturate the reader’s attention, it is advisable to use only one typeface on the card, two at the most if the one you use in your logo is different.
5.- Colors, materials and finishes
The design of your cards goes beyond data communication. Color, materials and finishes are a way to know and understand your craft project through the senses. Here you will be able to exploit your creativity to the fullest. In any case, it is better to leave this choice to the end, otherwise you will give more importance to the support than to the content, which could condition the message. Do not lose sight of the fact that the data must be visible, legible and easy to interpret. The other elements of the card must contribute to this.
Currently there is a wide range of printing options with prices for all budgets: craft paper, with matte or glossy varnishes, metallized, golden, perfumed, printed, with iridescent effect,…. In addition to alternative supports such as plantable paper, wood, cork, plastic or metal. It never hurts to know that they exist.
Remember: your card should present what you do, with the utmost professionalism and clarity. If it does, you can add other elements that help reinforce your brand and your values.
We hope we have helped you in choosing your business cards. And if you have any doubts or questions about this or other topics related to marketing and communication for artisans, Labois can help you.
Leave a Reply