As you all know, we’re currently running a custom business card design giveaway. We’re getting a great response from the community so far, and thought we’d run with a business card theme on the blog for a bit.
All this talk about networking tools got us thinking about what works and what fails miserably. Design is an art form, so it’s certainly subjective. But some business cards just plain suck. We’re not going to get into the finer points of design elements here; we’ll leave that to the ferocious art forums. Instead, we’re offering a brief rundown to help explain why your business card gets tossed in the trash.
Business Card Design Fails
- Your Picture is Pixelated and/or Outdated– The point of putting your picture on a business card is to ensure facial recognition. No one is going to remember your face when you’re using a photo from your college days 20 years ago. Ditto for a low quality photo that’s too blurry to make out your mug. Use a current, clear picture, or don’t go there.
- The Fonts are Too Small or Illegible – Business cards are supposed to present your contact information in an attractive way, not make your prospects wonder whether or not they need glasses. Tiny letters and funky fonts won’t win you any points when someone’s trying to actually reach out to you.
- You Printed Without Proofreading – Nothing is more embarrassing than spelling or grammatical errors on printed marketing materials. If you don’t bother to edit your own business card, then you probably aren’t worth following up with. This may sound a bit harsh, but your card is an extension of you as a person and as a professional. That means a careless card indicates that you don’t care enough to do your best. If you don’t care, why should anyone else?
- Your Card is Covered in Clutter – It’s always smart to include social networking profiles, phone numbers, email, etc. Still, don’t go overboard by listing every single social site, organization, or distinction under the sun. Focus on the platforms you update on a regular basis, and save the awards for your personal trophy room.
- Your Job Title is Obnoxious – Social media marketers earned a reputation for inventing absurd job titles ranging from guru to wizard and alchemist. Other questionable professional titles lurk within the digital realm, including SEO. While the ridiculousness typically stems from tech professionals, I’ve seen plenty of nonsense from more traditional white collar workers. Suffice to say if your job title makes me want to gouge my eyes out, then I’ll happily send your card straight to the paper shredder.
Step Up Your Design Game
There may be other reasons why your business card sucks, especially if you decided to save a few bucks and skip the whole DESIGN part of the printing process. We’re a bit biased, but we firmly believe there’s no substitute for custom graphics. If you’re committing any of these offenses, we’re always willing to step in and clean up the mess.
What are your pet peeves when it comes to business card design? Graphic artists, what do you do when a client insists on making a sucky card? Tell us in the comments below!