How User Friendly is Your Business Card?
Fancy business cards are a temptation for every business owner. Lately, I've received business cards that vary enormously in shape, size, material, colour and typography. I've even had one card that was completely transparent (printed on acetate). It's only natural to want to impress current and potential new customers. Sometimes it is good to be different to get yourself noticed, but sometimes it is better to just go along with normally accepted standards. Perhaps the design of your business card is one of those times when it is better to stick to convention. If your card is too fancy you may be actually reducing your chance of leaving a lasting impression.
Philip Richardson from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM team posted an article in which he discusses good business card design. He looks at how people use business cards - for example using a CardScan device to enter data automatically - and the implications on card design. He also lists some dos and don'ts for good business card design.
So next time you order business cards, spend a moment thinking about how it will be used by the recipient. Consider whether your funky card design will actually make it easy to use.