Love It or Lose It: 2014 Business Card Design Trends

When it comes to leaving a lasting impression in the business world, it can often be something as small as your business card that gets you in the door or makes that important initial connection. Business cards come in all colors, shapes, sizes, dimensions and even textures. As we round out 2014, here are some of the business card design trends that stand out from this year, including those that worked and those that didn’t.
 

1. Sustainable Material: Love It.

This is a trend that started before 2014, but continued throughout the year, and it makes sense. With the ongoing push toward sustainable practices in the business world, using sustainable materials (e.g., recycled paper or other material etc.) to create your business cards is practicing what you preach.

2. Getting Social: Love It and Lose It.

Love it. Social media isn’t going anywhere, and if you’ve been avoiding it, it’s time to surrender and embrace it. Include your most relevant social media channels on your business card, based on your industry. Is LinkedIn the best network to connect on in your line of work? Perhaps it’s Twitter?

This leads to the ‘Lose It.’ Don’t list every single social network you’re on. Be selective and choose the most relevant or important. Listing your Facebook page, Twitter handle, Snap Chat name and everything else will clutter the card. Your contact information—the whole point of having a business card—will get lost in it all.

3. Minimalist Design: Love It and Lose It.

Love it: Any good designer will tell you that white space is a good thing. It keeps the card simple and straightforward. Choosing to go for the minimalist look forces you to select the most important information to include—but the information you choose can also lead to the ‘lose it’ of this trend.
One reason some may want to ‘lose’ this trend is because you may not include enough, or the right contact information by trying to go for the minimalist look.

4. Different Shapes and Sizes: Love It.

Oval, die-cut, oversized… the customization available allows you to showcase skills or special traits of your business in a unique way. If you’re with a construction company, how about a die-cut backhoe-shaped card? A recruiter or headhunter could benefit from an oversized card that stands out from the stack of cards a potential candidate receives. Don’t fret about the actual creation of something different and unique like this, either. The options for size and shape on a printed card are endless, especially when it comes to printing in Dallas.

5. QR Code: Love It.

You only have so much space on a business card, and as mentioned above, too much text or content can clutter up the card, running the risk of your contact information getting buried or lost. The solution, when you have more information to include than space on the card allows, is to use a QR code. This code allows you to include an icon that, when scanned with a smartphone, takes you to a digital portfolio, landing page or other place online related to your business.