The Worst Business Card Ever

By
Angie Herrera

At a networking group I regularly attend, I pick up and receive various business cards from various people. Some because I'm interested in what they have to offer; some because from a design perspective, I'm curious (about the card, their site, etc.). Here's one I picked up some time ago and found lying around in a drawer I recently cleaned out (name, phone and email have been blurred to protect the innocent).

Can you tell me what this person does? Yeah, me neither. And when I found the card I tried so hard to remember who this person was and what he had to offer. I just couldn't remember.

Business card basics

There are key things that every business card should have:

• Your name
• Your title / occupation / whatever it is you do
• A phone number
• E-mail address (and if you have your own website, it had better not be a Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!, AOL or some other such email address)
• Physical or mailing address (or both)
• Your company name (if applicable)
• Your tag line
• A design that conveys your brand

The above example business card has just three of those things. That card fails because it doesn't give enough information whatsoever. I guess you could say that it's memorable because it's so vague but I don't think that's a good thing.

Business cards are inexpensive - get good ones from the get go

Don't skimp on getting quality business cards. They're a lot less expensive than they used to be, even for full color on both sides. Going with cheap business cards may save you some dough, but it gives you nothing except a cheap image. If you're starting out in your business this is not the impression you want to give off.

Speaking of image... it matters

Yes, image and impressions matter. You don't have to have an over-designed card - simple but unique is best. Even a purely typographic card is fine and works when executed correctly (e.g., better paper stock, special printing processes such as letterpress or embossing, etc.). No matter what, it needs to grab attention and communicate all the right information (who you are, what you do, how to reach you).

Remember, your business card is often one of the first things people will get from you and one of the first things they'll read to learn even just a bit about you. Don't be like the guy in the example above. For all I know, he's a hit-man*.

 

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*Okay, that's unlikely given where I got the card in the first place, but hopefully you get my point.