Is your business card actually bringing you any business? Does it stand out from the competition, or does it look like everyone else’s? If you don’t want your card to be tossed away, it’ is important to take the time to design a professional and unique-looking card that projects a positive image of your company. A cheap-looking business card will do more harm than good. To spark your inspiration, here are a few examples of some effective and creative business card designs.

1. Sarah Powers Media

Sarah Powers Media uses chipboard in order to create an immediate impression on customers who have seen and heard it all. The thickness of the card combined with the interesting mouse design is impactful and makes the card something you wouldn’t want to throw away.

2. Dreamten Studios

Dreamten Studios uses hard plastic to make its impression as a serious indie studio with the latest in multimedia production technology as well as the most modern perspective on technique. It may cost a little more, but the positive reactions and increase in business more than pay for it.

3. Jay Kwong

Jay Kwong brings a unique perforated bear design incorporating his logo into the business card. The result is a creative and memorable card that impresses the recipient with a mix of humour and artistic flair.

4. Obsessive Behavior

Using a pattern to visually represent the implication in the company name is a great way to cement the idea of a company in the mind of a potential consumer. Note that even though the card is exceptionally busy with little white space, the important contact information is still sectioned off for easy readability and access.

5. Cut & Paste

Another great way to distinguish a business card from competition is to incorporate a series within the design. Cut & Paste does not have the same graphic for each business card, choosing instead to centre their cards around the common theme of children’s drawings.

6. Vitor Bonates

This takes the award for coolest design. As an obvious lover of vinyl and music, Vitor Bonates created a business card to reflect his interests in a memorable fashion. A brilliant way to combine work and play.

7. Gist

This minimalist design draws attention squarely to the name of the company. Minimalist designs usually portray confidence and technical acuity and this card is no exception.

8. Shoe

Shoe has separated itself from the pack by using business cards with elements that move. Far from the cheesy hologram effects of the 1990s, today’s moving elements can incorporate themselves quite easily into the layout of a business card.

9. Frederick Van

The Frederick Van business card shown here does not have one huge effect that makes it different, but it is slightly wider than the average business card, it is slightly thicker and the text is slightly embossed. All of these slim differences add up to one big effect that is quite professional looking without being overbearing.

10. Mogloo

Mogloo uses shape shifting to help makes its offering more notable. This business card actually folds into a rectangle and stands up on the table to display a small paper person. Now there’s a card that stands out – literally.

Can’t get enough of these? Check out these posts:

• Noteworthy examples of business card design
• Five examples of minimalistic business cards
• 8 unique business card designs that think outside the rectangle

Brittany Giles is the Social Media Specialist at The Printing House.