Once you have your logo, brand color scheme, and a good idea of what you want your card to say about you, you’re ready to start.
1. Choose your shape
As printing techniques grow more advanced and affordable, professionals have more room to explore alternative shapes. The printing technique of die-cutting allows you to cut out any shape you want and still print in bulk. On the conservative end of the spectrum, you could simply round the corners for friendlier business cards in Ireland.
But if you really want to be playful or stand out, you can use virtually any shape: animal mascots, outlines of products your sell, or a shape that’s wholly original.
You can even build your entire business card theme around clever cutting. Print ready’s business card design uses shape to really highlight the employee picture, giving them a more personable and therefore approachable feel.
2. Choose your size
Your next decision is the size of the card. This mostly depends on the standard of the country, so that’s a good place to start. Even if you plan to stand out, you have to know what everyone else is doing to go against it.
North American Standard: 3.5 × 2 in. (88.9 × 50.8 mm)
European Standard: 3.346 × 2.165 in. (85 × 55 mm)
Oceania Standard: 3.54 × 2.165 in. (90 × 55 mm)
No matter the size, you always want to consider three factors when designing:
Bleed area: the outermost part of the card is likely to be removed.
Trim line: the target line for cutting cards.
Safety line: anything outside this line is subject to cutting mistakes. Don’t let essential elements like text or logos fall outside this line.
