Business Card Designs You Will Remember

One can expect to receive hundreds of business cards over a career. That number increases to thousands if you live in Japan. Yet for all the shoe boxes that you will likely fill, few cards will evoke the memory of the person who gave it to you.

There are a few types of cards I received over the years which truly stand out. Here are some examples of what made them memorable.

Make it very thick

It’s difficult to ignore something if it is the largest item in your wallet, so simply supersizing your business card is one way to make it memorable. At the same time, it can be like wearing an unusually large necktie: tasteless if done wrong, but very sharp if done correctly. You don’t want to be remembered as the tacky guy.

The thickest business card I received was fortunately very well-designed. The depth is just over 1cm, making the card almost 3-dimensional. It is for a luxury concierge service. The red edges, gold-on-black copy, and velvet texture actually reminded me of the venue that clients might visit.

Make it really small

A key benefit to a small business card is accessibility. You don’t need a card holder and neither does the recipient, allowing you to carry and distribute your card in non-business situations. It also allows you to keep information brief and get right to the point. This is great if your business isn’t of the suit-and-tie variety.

The small business card I received is from a fitness instructor. It’s a plastic material, so he could even carry it around in gym shorts. In this situation, it doesn’t matter that the information is minimal. There are no job titles or departments to speak of. All you need to know is, “I teach fitness – here’s my number”.

Put a circuit board in it

This is an idea that hasn’t fully taken off yet, to the best of my knowledge. It’s a bit complicated. The card, when plugged into a USB port, creates a low-voltage circuit for powering a LED lamp. Some assembly is required: you have to cut away the part that goes into the USB port and attach the lamp.

What makes this a great design is that it does what the business does. It is from the Information Science department at Tokyo University, which as you might guess does technology. I don’t think that any recipient of this card has ever tried using it to power anything, but just looking at it reminds you how creative and technically adept the cardholder is.

Make it eadible

“Memorable” is perhaps not the best word to use for a business card which has a shelf life. But if you can inform people of your business while giving them a sample of your work at the same time, you’ve killed two birds with one stone. I was able to digest all pertinent information (pun totally intended) within a few seconds of receiving the card. All it had was the name of the bakery, the location, and the logo.

The owner of this card is the only business represented here which actually developed me as a customer. I actually dropped by the bakery the next month, as it located near the exit of a train station I frequent.

Sorry, I don’t have a picture of this business card on account of having eaten it.