The term “cool” is rarely used when discussing business cards. Its interesting because business cards are extremely popular – almost every professional has them – yet most people overlook the opportunity to make them cool. Historically, the “cool” things are usually the most sought after and impactful. This is true whether it be for clothing, electronics, automobiles, or pretty much anything else. Shouldn’t your most important networking tool be as cool as you can make it?
Lets think about what makes a business card so called “cool”. There isn’t a one size fits all answer to this question, but generally two things come to mind. First, creativity is a big factor here. A creative business card would be defined as something that is not ordinary by any means. This would include production techniques, shape, size, etc. Secondly, novelty would be the other main factor. Novelty would be described as how a business card utilizes culture, utility, and user experience to make an impression. We have had the opportunity to work on some pretty cool business cards at our shop in NYC. I thought it would be nice to blog about what makes business cards cool.
Knowing what makes business cards cool is important, but the real challenge is understanding how to implement those ideas. This part is really difficult, but I will go ahead and give an example of what I consider to be a cool, creative, and novel business card. One of my favorite business cards was a divorce attorney’s cards. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of this card, but its simple enough to describe. These business cards had a tearable perforated line which divided the card into 2 pieces (left and right). Since this individual was a divorce attorney, it was fitting that the card could be separated. That business card design was creative and novel. It tied culture, comedy, and originality into a simple package. The coolness of this business card was so apparent that I frequently see photos of this business cards floating around the internet. Talk about free marketing?
At the end of the day, one of the most important principles in business is being able to distinguish yourself from the crowd. Even something that seems as insignificant as business cards can still provide a ton of value if they are done the right way. If you need further inspiration, just hop on the web and search for creative business cards.
