05 Dec

First Impressions: business cards

If business cards were a currency, I’d be on my own yacht off the coast of France by now – I seem to be collecting them by the bucketload at the moment.

What’s quite interesting is – once you get past about 10 business cards – that you start to make comparisons between them (okay, I’ve slightly redefined ‘interesting’ there…).

A good business card should tell someone what you do, even if it’s not handed to them by you personally. It’s your spokesperson in your absence.

Below are the best examples I’ve come across. They’re simple and they communicate exactly what each person/business does (ignore the writing in the corner of some of them…);

HR Dept:

Card1 Card2

It’s all in the name – I know instantly what sector they’re in. Simple and effective.

Smart Local:

Card3 Card4

The logo has shades of Pintrest and Google Maps, and the card spells out that they specialise in social media and local SEO. I’d know what Smart Local did even if I wasn’t passed their card directly.

Aspect Press:

Card5 Card6

When I was handed this card, I thought ‘nifty!’. Aspect Press cover printing for the creative industry, and it shows.

Helix Design:

Card7 Card8

Simple, clean design…as expected from a graphic designer.

AppWare:

20131205_204859 20131205_205837

No mistaking what they do – they develop apps. If memory serves me right, I was told that the card was even up to date in replicating the look of iOS7. So smart, so simple.

This isn’t to say everyone gets it right. In recent weeks I’ve been handed a card with a huge image of a car on it – I thought the card owner sold second-hand cars, but they do nothing remotely similar.
I’ve also been handed a business card with planets on it: the business had nothing to do with planets/space.

Business cards – your first chance to communicate what you do: so easy to get right, so easy to get wrong!

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