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Business cards are the smallest of all business communications but by far, they work the hardest of all.

This tiny 2" x 3" piece of card stock does so many things it introduces you to a perfect stranger identifies you and the role you play with an organization transmits important contact information and serves as an advertising and branding device.

The fact that we're so well connected today makes it a challenge to design a business card. With all the business phones, cell phones, 800#s, pagers, email addresses and web sites, we have more information that available space.

That's why editing the information that appears on a business card is the first step to making it effective.

First look at the basic information. Your name and title, the company's name, logo, address and phone number are a given. But do you really need to have a company slogan, the brands it sells and the year it was founded?

Next, ask yourself how many phone numbers really need to appear on your business card. Do people absolutely need your cell phone, 800# and pager? If you're a sales person, do you really need to include the fact that you're a member of the Million Dollar Club or President's Circle?

Every business card should contain an email address, but just your primary business email. Including your website is important. Referring people to your site for more information helps you limit the amount of details you need to have on the card.

Once you've finished editing, it's time to design.

Design business cards for readability. If people can't easily read your business card, it's worthless. Keep in mind that business cards are often exchanged in restaurants, bars, and other poorly lighted places where readability becomes more of a problem. Before you begin a design, it's also important to consider that over half of the adult population has poor eyesight. And many of them don't wear glasses or contacts.

Here are some hints on designing for greater readability:
High contrast between the type and its background makes reading easier. Keep the card stock as light in color as possible and the type as dark as possible.
Avoid textured card stocks. They generally make reading more difficult and reduce type to background contrast. Textured stocks soak up ink like a sponge so the type runs lighter in color.
Avoid high gloss coated stocks because they look cheap and the high level of reflection reduces readability. Pick a flat or dull coated card stock. If you opt for a dull coated, go for a coated one side, because people often write notes on the back side of a business card and a coated stock will smudge what they've written.
Pick clean readable typefaces. Ornate decorative fonts like Nuptial Script, Blackhaus, or Mistral don't work well. Avoid extra bold or extra narrow fonts which are also impossible to reading small sizes.

The conventional horizontal layout is usually better than a vertical layout. Even though many people enter your information into an electronic database, a good number still keep business card files which are display horizontal cards better. Horizontal layouts are usually more friendly to cards containing a good deal of information

Above all, have your business cards designed and printed professionally. They're part of your first impression and can help make it a good lasting one.

Learn more about this author, Michael Crozier.
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