The best business card designs can help you to stand out from the crowd.
(Image credit: Martyna Wędzicka)
The best business card designs can help creatives to stand out in the design world. After all, for a creative, a business card is a chance to show some of your skills from the first introduction, almost serving as a mini creative resume. The best business card designs leave new acquaintances and potential customers with a powerful impression of your identity as a design professional, making them a brilliant marketing tool that can showcase your style and help you stand out.
A standard business card based on the many business card templates out there is a wasted opportunity show your own personal style and skills, while a unique design can grab attention and make sure you're in the person's mind when it comes to hiring. As you'll see in the examples below, there are many ways to make a business card memorable, from clever presentation to creating a practical, useable object.
If your portfolio could also do with a little refresh, make sure you also see our guide to the best portfolio examples for inspiration. Meanwhile read on for our selection of the best business card designs.
Businesscards... these are mine... mini portfolio, because why not? pic.twitter.com/kyvHGBBEWyMarch 12, 2019
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We've said that the best business card designs can act as a brief summary of your work, and artist and illustrator Iris Compiet develops that idea further, turning her business card into a mini portfolio. Her card comprises an envelope containing an intricate concertina booklet depicting examples of her vibrant illustrations. It's a fantastic piece of PR and shows real attention to detail.
02. Lush
For best results, spread seeds then add lush. Genius
This clever business card design by Struck Creative doubles as a seed pouch, which is perfectly appropriate for lawn and property management company Lush. It provides all the necessary information in a clear and concise way, and also holds precious (and relevant) contents, meaning that the card is less likely to get tossed.
03. Gong Kantapon
Kantapon covered a poster of a woman in mini cards that passers-by could peel off
It can also be interesting to consider placement. New York City-based illustrator Gong Kantapon took an unconventional approach to get his business card noticed. Taking a leaf from informal street advertising, Kantapon covered a poster of a woman in mini business cards that passers-by could peel off and take away. It got everyone's attention by leaving people wondering just what would be revealed when the cards were removed.
04. Lego business card
These Lego minifigure business cards are customised to match their owners
Not only do the guys at Lego have an incredibly cool job; they also get an incredible business card in the form of a personalised mini Lego figure. It's been reported that the company does its best to match each employee's features, even down to their hair and accessories. The individual's name, email and contact number are printed on the figures' tops. Wonderful!
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05. Bon Vivant
Ad agency JWT designed this awesome cheese grater business card design for Bon Vivant
Business cards can even be made into practical, useable objects, to ensure they don't get chucked away. This business card for Brazilian cheese store Bon Vivant doubles as cheese grater – a perfect accessory for customers. Created by ad agency JWT, the clever networking tool proved extremely popular, with the owner having to limit who many customers could take. Complete with a protective sleeve, it's simply a grate idea! (Sorry, we'll get our coats...)
06. Cotton business cards
These business cards contain a hidden secret
These business cards from MOO may not look particularly out of the ordinary, but they’re made from the leftovers of cotton T-shirts. The company worked with Mohawk Fine Papers to reinvent one of the oldest methods of paper-making, collecting T-shirt offcuts to turn them into a pulp that's then dried and pressed into strong, flexible, naturally bright white paper. It's for premium business cards. Watch the video to see how it’s done.
07. Engraved
John T. Kim created this design by laser cutting and etching basswood
Business cards tend to be mass printed so each one looks identical, but not in this case. Created by laser cutting and etching basswood, these Engraved business each have a unique woodgrain pattern. New York-based designer John T. Kim started ran his design as a kickstarted project with an initial funding goal of $1,500. It ran for 30 days and raised nearly $24,000.
08. MODHair
This cool musical comb business card plays a rock theme
Another business card-cum-tool, this one encapsulates the brand's identity. Not only is this business card design for hair salon a useable comb, it also plays a classic rock song. The innovative concept was developed by Amsterdam-based designer Fabio Milito for MODhair , a rock'n'roll hair salon in Rome.
09. Bentply
This ingenious business card can be folded into a miniature armchair
What you see above is a neat letterpress business card and mailer for furniture shop Bentply in London that can be made into a mini plywood chair. The ingenious card was created by designer Richard C Evans and produced by Elegante Press in Lithuania. Just follow the instructions and the kiss-cut card can be folded into a miniature of the iconic 1934 plywood armchair designed by Gerald Summers.
10. Greek
A brilliant design by Draft FCB for Greek restaurant
It might not be the most practical business card design – at least not for fitting into a wallet or a Rolodex, but this is certainly memorable. Developed by Cape Town-based creative agency FCB, this business card for a Greek restaurant plays on the Greek custom of smashing plates. Made from broken pieces of pottery, the 'card' features nothing more than the restaurant's name and telephone number.
11. Yuka Suzuki
Hair and make-up artist Yuka Suzuki sells her creative skills with these clever business cards
The hair and make-up industry is highly competitive, so it makes sense to stand out from the crowd. Yuka Suzuki's business card uses different coloured grips to create colourful hairstyles, and the owner gets some free hair accessories to boot. Neat.
12. Choko La
Clients get two treats with this business card: a great card and chocolate
A business card that comes with a chocolate is always going to be popular. In this case, another one from ad agency FCB, the chocolate wrapper is the business card. Again, we're not sure people will hold on to it, but they'll remember who gave them chocolate.
13. Techkeys
This business card design certainly ticks the 'innovative' box
This might be the world's geekiest business card design. Created by Techkeys, the printed circuit board doubles up as a computer keyboard thanks to an on-board re-programmable ATMEGA16U2. "Take home one of these as a project, keycap display, switch tester, or a shortcut to yours truly, TechKeys.us," the company says.
14. Martyna Wędzicka
A personal, handmade approach makes these business cards unique
Polish designer Martyna Wędzicka created gorgeous business cards that highlight her hands-on approach to design. The clear canvas allows Wędzicka to add a personal touch to each card with some nice doodle art.
15. Elfriede-Lilly Friedeberg
These letterpress business cards capture Friedeberg's aesthetic
The best business cards don't all use clever gimmicks. Sometimes it can be effective to simply provide a snapshot of your work. Elfriede-Lilly Friedeberg is a Berlin-based illustrator and graphic design student who creates colourful, cute characters and patterns. Packed full of pastel tones and handmade style, her business card designs summarise her style perfectly.
16. Doctor Zamenhof
These business card designs will make you drop your jaw in awe
The Spanish design studio Doctor Zamenhof aims to 'diagnose' design problems and prescribe remedies and solutions. Sticking with that medical theme, its team came up with a rather brilliant set of business cards that mimic tongue depressors. The stick shape features all of the design studio's contact information and certainly stands out from other business cards.
17. Vitor Bonates
Vitor Bonates combines work and play with these creative business cards
How cool is this personal business card? As a self-confessed lover of music and vinyl, designer Vitor Bonates based his card on classic vinyl records, replacing the track details with his own and completing the design with a sleeve to hold the record. It's a simple but memorable idea with a lot of personality.
18. BDH Millwork
Leftover wood from BDH Millwork provides the material for its innovative business card
Canadian advertising studio WAX came up with this sophisticated buisness card design for cabinet-maker Brad Haniak of BDH Millwork. On a tiny budget, the WAX team decides the idea of rubber-stamping Haniak's business card information onto pieces of leftover wood, something available in abundance at his carpentry workshop. It's a simple and effective use of something that would otherwise go to waste.
19. Powell Peralta
We love the design and attention to detail in these skateboard business cards
We're a little in love with these miniature skateboard business cards for American skateboard company Powell-Peralta. The design is very authentic, made of thin wood grip tape on one side surrounding a skull motif. Created by the talented bunch over at Jukebox, all it needs is a set of wheels!
20. Ritornell
This is one of the best business cards we've come across. Austrian duo Ritornell invites their audiences to bring along their private music boxes. So Katharina Hölzl designed these very special business cards with the aid of laser-assisted milling. They feature nine micro compositions consisting of circles, triangles and Ritornell's contact information applied to a long music box paper stripe. Just see the video above to see how they work.
Kerrie Hughes is a frequent contributor to Creative Bloq, and was once its editor. One of the original CB crew, Kerrie joined the team back in 2013 after moving from her role as staff writer on 3D World. Since then she's written regularly for other creative publications such as ImagineFX, Computer Arts and Digital Camera World. After a stint working for the police, Kerrie is back reviewing creative tech for creative professionals.
