When you design a business card, you have ultimate creative control. Even with little design expertise, you can create an eye-catching business card, which can help you promote your business.

Divide your choices into categories and consider how each choice affects the price and quality of the project. Business card design basics include the following decisions.

1. Choose a printing method. You can either print yourself, using pre-printed business card paper or upload your design to an online printer.

2. Pick the best business card design layout. Your choices include horizontal or vertical, single- or double-sided, folded or a custom shape.

3. Decide whether you want a color or black and white business card.

4. Select paper color and a glossy, matte or a custom plastic surface.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn the basics of business card design

Several online business card printers have galleries of business card designs on their websites to give you ideas. Customize one of these templates to get a professional business card design for free. You can also study the templates to get a better understanding of what elements comprise a well-crafted business card.

I recommend: Choose from several topics relating to unique business card design, including using color, choosing graphics and ways to maximize the sales potential of your business cards at GreatFX Business Cards. Get tips on using full-color, plastic cards or laminations and varnishes, and view a gallery of business card templates at Andreoni.

Understand guidelines for uploading your full-color business card design to an online printer

Many online printers have online design software you can use to design a business card. Get more flexibility in your design by using your own software, but make sure you understand the printer's file format requirements. Read the requirements before you start to design your business card, paying attention to guidelines for trimming and bleeds.

I recommend: Get step-by-step guidelines from Overnight Prints for creating your custom business card file in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Microsoft Word and many other popular graphics and publishing applications. Download a template for use in Illustrator, Photoshop or Quark Express and learn how to complete it and upload it to 4over4.com for printing.

Find fonts and images for your custom business card design

Add interest to your business card by using a unique font, a special piece of clip art or a photo. Consider using a photo design that bleeds to the edge of the business card, which means you make a design with the photo extending beyond the edge of the card.

I recommend: Browse free fonts for PC or Mac by many themes at Dafont.com, where you can type your company name into the "Custom preview" field to view it in each typeface. Sign up for a low-cost subscription to Jupiterimages where you can download royalty-free clip art images. Use tutorials from SXC to download photos and to learn other design aspects.

Design a business card quickly and easily with pre-printed business card paper

The type of material you use for your business cards is part of the design element. If you want to print business cards in-house, you can look for pre-printed and perforated sheets of paper designed specifically for business cards. These papers are a way to get color on a business card even if you print them on a monochrome printer.

I recommend: Browse a large selection of pre-printed business card paper at Desktop Papers or choose from the company's parent site, Desktop Publishing Supplies. Find pre-printed business letterhead and business card papers at thePaperSeller.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't assume that printing your business cards will be less expensive than having an online printer make them. Depending on the business card design and the quantity, an online printer may be able to print it for less than the cost of buying special paper and ink for your computer printer.

A good business card design is an integral part of any successful business person’s advertising and marketing plan. The card must be professional and practical, but thinking outside the box when it comes to a business card design can set you apart from others in the mind of the customer.

Take advantage of the marketing power of the small and inexpensive tool that is a business card. Use some interesting and creative techniques to set your business card apart from all the others out there.

When designing your business card remember to:

1. Design a business card that is appropriate for your industry.
2. Represent your personality through the business card design.
3. Think of the image of the business that you are trying to convey.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Business card designs with shiny embellishments will grab attention

Foil accents look elegant and expensive, which can speak about the success of your business. They also pop the words right off the card. It is a long-known fact that shiny things grab the attention of people.

I recommend: See the foil-accented business cards available at Paper Direct and Iconix.

Try a vertical card

This still gives you the same amount of room to work with, and costs no more to print. It is just unusual enough to make your card stand out from the others. It also makes the card easier to read when it's stuffed in a pile or a wallet.

I recommend: Order vertical cards from Vista Print or Overnight Prints.

Choose a custom business card design with an interesting texture

Tactile responses send an important message to the brain. Having an interesting feel to your card can carve out a space in your potential client's brain for this business card, making sure that it's the first one they will grab.

I recommend: Business card designs on textured parchment can be found at Competitive Computer Resource and DolphinBlue.com.

Include an image on your card

Visual people associate a picture with a business and are likely to remember it. An image is important for association, which is why so many businesses spend a lot of time coming up the right logo. Get creative, and try a cartoon or caricature instead.

I recommend: Get full color business card design at ColorCards.com or Commercial Printing Company.

Get creative with the shape of the card

It is important not to get so wild with the shape of the card that it doesn't fit nicely in the place that cards are kept, but try printing at a diagonal or shaving off one corner. Texture one edge of the card, or put a hole somewhere in it.

I recommend: Get custom business card designs from services like Custom Biz Printing, or design your own business card through Art-Tec Prints.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Include essential contact info on the card such as the business name, location, phone number and email address.
• •  Remember that less is more, so avoid turning your card into a novel. If your business only uses a phone, include a business name and phone number only.

A business card design plays an important role in the entire marketing package of a business. A successful business card design is unique enough to stand out from others and informative on key information.

Business card design education and training can be as formal and in-depth as a college education, and can be as simple as some tips and advice from experienced designers. Use business card design education and training in the following ways:

1. Start a business card design company.

2. Design your own business card for your business.

3. Expand your printing or graphic design business to include custom business card design.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Earn a graphic design degree to learn professional business card design

There are a lot of educational options when it comes to studying graphic design, which makes getting a degree easier than ever. There are Associates degrees and Bachelors degrees to obtain in graphic design, which is almost essential for running a professional business card design company.

I recommend: The Art Institutes International is a great place to get a Bachelors degree in graphic design; there are campuses nationwide with flexible class schedules and even an online graphic design program. The International Academy of Design and Technology has both Associate and Bachelor degree programs online.

Watch free online video tutorials to learn to design a business card

There are several online video tutorials made by professional graphic designers with much experience in business card design, giving great instruction on how to design your own. Use their advice on layout, size, shape, color, printing services or computer programs to design and print your own.

I recommend: Watch the free series on how to design a business card at Expert Village, or try the video posted on MetaCafe for creating a custom business card in Adobe Photoshop.

Use online business card design services

There are many easy-to-use online business card design programs that allow you to customize business card templates with your own logo, information and colors. Many of these programs are free to design with, and only charge for the amount of cards you need printed. There are also online services in which graphic designers will customize a business card for you, which may cost a bit more, but the unique product is probably worth it.

I recommend: Use the design services at imageMEDIA to learn how to make a unique business card design. Use online graphic design services to educate you on professional business card design at Online Prints.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When creating a business card design, keep the information simple, but include all relevant information like the business name, the services and the contact information.
• •  Think outside the box with a unique business card design, but keep the card size and shape standard so that it fits nicely into a wallet and a pile of other business cards.
• •  Design a business card on a heavy stock of paper; studies have shown that customers associate flimsy paper with a short-lived business.

Having a great business card is an essential part of any business marketing plan. A successful business card design should fulfill certain criteria. The card should be appropriate for the given industry, as well as representing the personality and unique qualities of the business. The card should also portray the image the business is trying to convey. The following business card design key terms should all be considered during the design process.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Font

A font is a unique character set of typeface with a specific style and size, and should be carefully chosen when planning the text for a business card. The text on a business card should include minimal relevant business information.

I recommend: Read the information at PSPrint to learn more about what role font text plays in business card design.

Image

The image on a business card is anything printed on it other than the text, such as a small business logo or picture sample of work. It should be kept small and simple as to not overpower the information on the card.

I recommend: Learn about the best way to use a business logo on a business card from Southworth.

Texture

The texture or finish of the business card is the paper or card stock on which the card is printed, and may vary from rough and bumpy paper to glossy and smooth.

I recommend: See some examples of the textured business card paper choices available from a place like The Paper Mill Store.

Color

Color may vary on a business card in the text, image, or paper itself. It should be attention grabbing but simple, with contrast between text, image and background color for visibility.

I recommend: Find excellent information on color theory and its use in business card design at GreatFX Business Cards.

Layout

The layout of the business card is the careful consideration of placement of the text and image on the business card, and should be unique but visually simple for reading the information.

I recommend: Visit PrintPlace.com to learn more about successful layout of business cards.

Size

The size of the business card refers to the length and width dimensions of the card (standard business card size is 3 1/2-by-2 inches) and size is one area that being unique does not benefit.

I recommend: Look through the information at Entrepreneur Media that includes why business card designs should stick to the standard size.