Additional Articles for October 2003 Issue

Business card savvy:
Put that little piece of paper to work for you

It’s funny how a little thing like a business card can convey so much about an enterprise. Probably you know this on an instinctual level, yet you may not know what it is about business card design, ink color, size or layout that makes a business card work—or not. Here are some guidelines to help you create (with the help of a design professional, I hope) the best image for your business.
Less Is More
Include the fewest words you can for maximum effect and utility. What should an effective business card say? Believe it or not, a good card is constructed to contain as few words as possible—this is not the same thing as saying little. A good card conveys much with a strict economy of means. Your business image is created by your business card size and format (whether horizontal or vertical), stock and type color, lack or inclusion of graphic elements and text. Messages conveyed are both overt and subliminal.

I’m hoping you’ll understand from this barrage of terms that business cards need more consideration than they are often given. Follow me as we step behind the wizard’s curtain to see the inner workings of this vital business tool. First, we’ll learn the hard and fast rules, then we’ll look at occupation-specific variations.

The most important name on the card should be the name of your business. Importance is conveyed in print by a larger typeface and maximal prominence. Take this simple test to see if your business name is the most prominent thing on your card. Look quickly at your card. Is your business name the first thing you read? It should be.

This card completely captures the spirit of “less is more,”
a classic card for a very traditional clientele.

The next most important information will be the single best means of reaching your business; an address and telephone number, maybe even a Web address. As disappointing to our entrepreneurial egos as this may sound, a functioning business address really is more important than any individual’s name that could appear on a card. If you don’t believe me, think about this. Listing the name, the business and its addresses can create a functional business card; minimal, yes, but functional. The same is not true of a sliver of card stock printed with only a business and owner’s name. Fortunately, most of us will never have to choose between including our address and our names on our cards. However, being aware of the relative importance of the two is vital.

Now, take a moment to decide what sort of an address to use. Make a list of all the phone numbers and addresses (physical, postal, email and Web) you can muster for your enterprise. Then get tough. The only addresses and numbers that belong on your card are those that your customer will most commonly use to reach you. That means that if your customer needs to know your physical address because they’ll be primarily visiting your office or coming to your store, make sure that you put a physical address rather than a post office address on your card. Chain stores or businesses with multiple offices should have cards unique to each store or office location for use in each location. In most cases, a corporate home address should appear only on cards of people working at corporate headquarters. Include a country name (United States, Canada, etc.) only if you do international business, or want to imply that you do! Avoid using mailing addresses on business cards. Save these for stationery.

Should you add an email address? Yes, unless you have a Web site with an email link. If so, your Web address is sufficient—remember fewest words wins. In fact, if the primary means by which people reach you is over the Web, I’d be tempted to offer only a Web address, no physical address, and then a city and state. Folks like to know where the person with whom they’re doing business is from, but they don’t need to know the most intimate details of how to find you when you’re primarily a Web business. Remember, the goal here is to pare down this address stuff to the minimum number of words and ways of reaching you in order to maximize the effectiveness of your card. I can’t overemphasize this point; it is natural for a business person to want to include every means of contact rather than the best means.

This card walks a fine line—a surgeon using artsy graphics, non-traditional card orientation and trendy phone number formats. I suspect this man wants us to know he’s an artist with the scalpel.

Let’s spend a moment considering phone numbers. Many otherwise wonderful business cards offer too many phone numbers and become hard to read as a result. In most cases, one office phone number, toll-free or regular, should do it. Resist the temptation to sound accessible by listing your home telephone number, as well. List it and, sooner or later, you will receive business calls at suppertime; besides, it’s hard to train family to sound like staff. You may offer up a fax number as well, if you really must. For extra cachet, you might even call your fax number a “facsimile” number. This usage is most common in very formal or high-end businesses, or those that benefit from a certain association to the archaic—such as book binderies and manuscript illuminators. Nowadays most everyone calls a “facsimile” machine a “fax” and doing otherwise sends a definite message.

Finally, let’s talk about names that should go on the card. Many small businesses may only need one card—with the owner’s name on it. Some businesses may not need an individual’s name listed at all. Often, retail businesses don’t need staff names on their cards except for buyers who go to market. Most businesses, however, should have individualized cards for some positions. These cards may sport a title or position description to go with the name. Please, please stick with authentic, meaningful titles. “Owner” is more appropriate for the typical small business than “President” or “CEO.” “Proprietor” has quaint charm and works well for small “shoppes.” Titles written out in English are always preferable to a string of initials following a name. Too few know what your hard-earned “P.L.L.C.” or “L.C.S.W.” means.

Beyond Text
Now that you know what text to include on your card it’s time to select a stock, a type color, font or fonts (no more than two), format and graphics.

There are many wonderful cardstocks out there today. Most zip through computer printers rendering usable cards for a home office. Others require a commercial printer or copy shop’s professional hand.

• Look for recycled stock; it’s better for your children.
• Choose a color and texture that allows your text to stand out. White is the most universal stock color and one accepted all over the world. It is usually the only stock color appropriate for doctors, lawyers and bankers. Here in the States, white has a formal, even cold, feel that might be too much for many businesses. Ecru stock, that creamy off-white, is second behind white in broad acceptance and readability. It is a good choice for many businesses.
• Other colors and exotic textures work but most are best in the hands of professional designers.
Ink color has image consequences, too.
• Black is most formal and most readable. Gray is close behind. These are the traditional colors for doctors, lawyers, bankers and the international business set.
• Navy has gained acceptance for some uses. It’s the ink equivalent of the blue blazer.
• Other colors have purposes in trained hands, but most are unsuitable for business card text because of their reduced readability.

Even printing methods offer choices. Computer generated printing can be just fine. Cutting computer stock, however, must be done accurately. Have you ever received a crooked handmade card? Most traditional businesses will want to ask for “flat printing.” This print is not shiny or puffy like thermography (fake engraving, typical of many less expensive wedding invitations.). Flat printing looks classy because it’s honest. So are letterpress and engraving, but these methods are expensive.

Perfect for the perfectionist. A home-based business who doesn’t invite walk-ins. The textured stock, minimal text and sophisticated graphics put her firmly in the high-end handcraft league. A gem.

Let’s look at typefaces now.

• The formal triumverate—doctors, lawyers, bankers—like traditional typefaces

• The rest of us get to use many other readable faces, as well.
• No one should ever attempt to use Gothic faces

in business applications. These fonts are absolutely unreadable by anyone but a medieval scholar.
Card format means “horizontal” (the most traditional and generally most appropriate) or “vertical.”
• The formal folks will want to stick with horizontal.
• Artists and women love vertical formats. Vertical formats can be tricky to design but very striking when successfully done. Many people think a vertical card is more readily noticed. This may be important for cards that are left lying in stacks in public places or tacked to boards. However, they don’t staple well to Rolodexes. While we’re talking about such things, let me bring up oversized cards. These, like the verticals, get noticed, tend to please women and tend to annoy men.

One final consideration is graphic enhancements. Art and niche businesses often make successful use of these today.

• Art that is screened lightly behind text can be very effective. It can soften an otherwise austere traditional-style card without putting off traditional-type customers.
• Screened graphics can also render text illegible if too dark or elaborate.
• Do not use cheap clip art. Lots of good clip art exists as does much uncopyrighted material found in old books. These often scan nicely.

Good business cards work hard and long. Don’t stint on them. If this article has succeeded in scaring you away from homemade cards, hurray! Few of us lacking the proper training would think of doing complicated business accounting. You’d be surprised how many otherwise sensible folks think they can render killer business cards at home. However, if, having read all this, you’re still intent on doing it yourself, then by all means collect as many cards as you can, select the very best among them, and imitate shamelessly; all the while clutching this article for ongoing reference.

Next month, look for a guided tour of the successful brochure.

Kristina King is a market grower of authentically raised fruits, vegetables and heirloom plants and is the leader of Slow Food International in Maine. She consults on a range of seemingly unrelated issues, such as visual merchandising, space planning, landscaping and market development. You may reach her by email at <onemorninginmaine@yahoo.com>, or by calling 596.0248.

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