Business cards serve many purposes but their primary purpose is to tell what you do and give the recipient a way to contact you.
At the very least a name and contact method (address or phone number) should go into a
business card design. As for where to put this information, there are hundreds of possible arrangements, but there are a few commonly accepted guidelines for where to place the most essential information. When in doubt or when there is little time to experiment, follow these guidelines for creating a basic, serviceable, and
effective business card.
Minimum Information for a Business Card
Other information is optional but as a minimum the
business card design should usually contain:
Individual's Name and/or Business Name
Individual's Title or some other descriptive text to indicate what the person does if it's not obvious from the business name
A way (preferably multiple ways) to contact the person — could be phone, fax, email, web page, mailing address, street address, etc.
It is not necessary to but a complete listing of services or products on the business card.
Business Card Checklist
Many of the items in this list are optional. You must decide which ones are appropriate for your
business card.
Name of Individual.
Name of Business or Organization
Address.
Phone Number.
Fax Number.
Email Address.
Web Page Address.
Job Title of Individual.
Tagline or description of Business or Organization.
The items listed below are to aid in designing your business card. Some may not apply.
Horizontal or Vertical Layout.
Emphasis on Business or Organization (name and/or logo).
Emphasis on Individual.
Emphasis on Title of Individual.
Emphasis on a particular part of the contact information (phone, address, email, etc.)
Size of Logo or other graphics — large (dominant) or small, etc.
Number of Colors.
White space (blank spaces) toward the middle or toward the outer edges.
Conservative typeface (such as those used in the stories in your textbooks) or Fun, Informal typeface (such as crooked letters, funny shapes, odd sizes, or type that looks like handwriting) or a mix.
Keep it to the essentials. Use brochures and personal interviews to disclose the full range of services or products offered.
