8 Effective Types of Business Cards for Different Types of Businesses

What if you could carry the key to a successful business inside your wallet?

Business cards are an effective way of networking and growing your business. However, when a business card is bland and boring, it can actually be a turn-off to the people you give it to.

It’s important to match different types of businesses to different types of business cards. Here are 8 of the most effective card designs around!

1. 3D Printed

Most of the example cards on this list are ones you must have professionally made. However, thanks to 3D printers, you can also design and create your own cards at home.

With different 3D settings, you can simulate other card types through things like raised lettering. But our favorite part of this is adding an iconic element to represent your business.

Let’s say that you are a local musician. You can 3D print a card that has basics like your name and phone number, but you can also include a punch-out guitar pick on the card.

It’s fun and functional and guarantees they won’t forget who you are!

2. Varnished Cards

Sometimes, the best methods of standing out are the oldest. For example, you can make your business card stand out by making it nice and shiny!

Through varnishing, you can create cards that are glossy like a professional magazine. And thanks to spot UV printing, you can mix and match the glossy elements non-glossy ones.

Such a card is perfect for a publisher. It helps to show a potential client just how good you can make the final product look!

3. Classic and Simple

With all these fancy new methods, you might be wondering: what’s wrong with the classic business card? The truth is that nothing is wrong with it as long as you know how to keep things simple.

For example, people don’t like information overload on a card. If it looks like you squeezed a couple of dense paragraphs onto a tiny card, folks are likely just to throw it right away.

All the classic design really needs is your name, website address, e-mail, and phone number. And, of course, an eye-catching image.

This “simplified classic” design is perfect for a consultant. It points them right to your website, which helps further convince them to hire your services.

4. Hidden Depths

Every now and then, “simple” doesn’t cut it. While text overload is always a bad idea, you can use custom-printed cards to add lots of hidden imagery.

For example, you can design a business card that is actually a miniature brochure. The front may still have your basic contact info, but the inside can “hide” several slick images.

We recommend this for a photographer or other creative type. It lets a potential client preview your work long before they check out your website or send you an e-mail.

5. Embossed

The next kind of business card we recommend is embossed. These are also sometimes called letterpress business cards.

As the name implies, such cards have text that is raised up, giving them an embossed look. You can also have text that appears to be sunken into the card: these are what is called “debossed” cards.

Such a card is great for someone in website design or coding. It shows that you know how to give even the simplest of things (from websites to business cards) a touch of elegance and class.

6. Custom Shapes

So far, we have focused on the traditional rectangle shape of the business card. Even when you add different bells and whistles, such cards still retain the familiar look, touch, and shape of a business card.

However, it’s possible to print cards out in just about any shape. And this can be a great way to get a business card that accurately reflects who you are and what you do.

Here’s an example: if you’re a financial analysis, you can have business cards that look like rising values on one side and falling values on the other. You can even helpfully label one side “buy” and the other “sell.”

If you design games, you can make the card look like a piece of pixel art. Ultimately, the only design limit is your imagination.

7. QR Code

In most cases, the business card has one purpose: to get someone to your website. And with QR codes, you can make this easier than ever!

With such cards, you usually have the typical contact info on the front and a QR code on the back. Customers can scan the QR code with their smartphone’s camera feature and it instantly takes them to a particular site.

This is a really great option for someone like a social media influencer. You can make clients accessing your latest posts easier than ever!

8. Laser Cut

Want your business card to look different from all the rest? Then you’ll want to print it out in a different way.

For example, you can now have your business cards laser-cut. And this process actually gives you several cool options.

For example, you can have it cut into unique shapes to represent your business. Or you can stick with the classic rectangle and use the laser-cutting to create eye-catching geometric images.

The cards look and feel like no other business card. That’s why we think it’s perfect for designers. As a bonus, a designer can showcase their own work on the card itself.

9. From Card to Art

When you hand someone a business card, you usually have one, simple thought: “I hope they don’t just throw it away.”

You can reduce the odds of this happening by creating cards that fold into certain shapes. A local pianist might hand out a business card that can be folded into a cute, 3D piano.

It’s not easy to design, but this is really worth it. By turning your card into interactive art, you make it likelier people will keep it around.

Types of Business Cards: The Bottom Line

Now you know how to match types of business cards to the right business. But do you know how to make your own business more effective and efficient?

We specialize in helping small businesses achieve their full potential. To see how we can help your own business grow, check out our forms and templates today!