7 fresh business card inspirations for start-ups

by Startacus Admin

If you’re a new business just starting to try and make your mark in a chosen industry, you need to do as much as you can to stand out. Networking and contact-building will be an important part of your early work, so it would help for the business cards you hand out to be memorable so that you are not easily forgotten by potential clients.

Many business cards are either professional but staid and boring, or they look cheap and ill thought-out. Depending on your business and industry, though, they do not have to be. They can be one of the strongest aspects of your marketing if you put a decent amount of thought into them.

Magnetic

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Ensure that people don’t lose your card by making it magnetic so they can stick it to their fridge or any other magnetic surfaces. This example is stylish, practical and includes relevant information, ensuring that it offers everything that a potential client would need to get in touch.

Fun

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The business card of notorious computer system hacker Kevin Mitnick is extremely effective as a means of reminding the recipient who Mitnick is and what his company actually does, adding a fun twist to the standard business card that we see every day. It’s unlikely that you would ever use the pop-out lockpicking tools in the card above to actually pick locks, though!

Brand reinforcing

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The Google business card cleverly plays around with the company’s own brand in its design and offers minimal personal information because whoever has been given the card can simply Google the name of the person who gave it to them and get the information that way. Thus, it goes a small way to increasing the amount of usage the search engine receives.

Creative


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Along the same lines as the lockpicking card, this example reflects the business in terms of custom fabrication and design, encouraging people to follow the easy directions to create the business card gun, but also being careful to leave all of the contact information on the gun once it has been created and not on the pieces that would be thrown away.

Practical

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Unlike the lockpick tools and plastic guns, this card is actually useful, with clear instructions telling people how to convert it into a ruler. It’s a genuinely practical twist on the business card design front, and adopting a similar approach could be the key to your business’s success.

Luxurious

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It may not be entirely practical budget-wise, but the idea of advertising a design studio called Walnut by placing individual business cards inside holders actually made out of walnut is an extremely effective way of showcasing the company’s design skills and remaining memorable. The care and attention to detail shown in the presentation of business cards is a good reflection of the company’s work as a whole, and will impress those who receive one of the cards.

Classic 

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Of course, you may decide that class and understatement is paramount for your business card. There’s nothing wrong with that – a simple, tasteful design can still make a significant impression upon those who receive it. Look no further than the classic business card comparison scene in the film adaptation of American Psycho to see just how to approach the conception of a card that says everything you want it to without shouting about it.

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• #business cards
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Published on: 10th February 2015