Thinking outside the box – business card designs which don't play by the rules & look great
Business cards are something which are often thrown in with any stationary and branding design order: A white rectangle, some text, a logo and maybe, if your feeling adventurous, a picture on the back. And often, this is the best route to take. White business cards can be written on, and simple text and a lack of pictures keeps costs right down in these credit crunch times. Also for some industries breaking outside the norm will show you up not as a free thinking genius – but as someone who just doesn’t know the industry conventions and looks unprofessional rather than unique. It all really depends on what you do and who you plan to give your business cards too. A simple case of the right design for the right client. There are however, times when breaking the rules is in the clients interests. Where money is no object and the business card is more than just a calling card of information, but more of an advert for the services provided, something truly creative and unique can be designed.
I have collected some examples of business cards (and should point out I own no copyright to any of these, the rights remain the property of the cards owners) and posted my favourites here. Many came from this blog which has large archive collections of inspirational designs by broad category.
These ones really strike me because they are the personality and brand of a business and the card’s holder themselves in such a small format. In some ways they are a mini flyer that embodies the services provided rather than being a business card at all. They are also all rather fun. Some completely ignore the standard commonly held design conventions for business cards, others just play with the idea and are a new take on the standard rectangle with text. The use of colour and often unique printing methods or simple die cut aspects seem to make such a difference in personality.
First up a rather subtly lovely design for an acupuncture therapist using holes int he card itself to create a stylish design and mimic the physical action of the therapy:
Next, a card for which I use the term loosely, for a chest physician, playing on the action of testing your lung capacity in a fun and unique way. Not the most practical of cards (as people with chest complains would have to stretch it to read rather than blow it up) but still a lovely idea in principle:
Another using the physicality of the card itself – a simple die cut hole for the camera lens makes a simple card just that more intriguing for a freelance photographer. It makes you want to pick it up and look through the hole to see the world from his point of view:
A Greek restaurant uses pieces of seemingly random broken traditional Greek china tableware to embody the idea of the meal and the tradition behind it in a fun and playful take on the business card:
An ornithologist’s card allows the user to mimic his action of bird watching & studies through binoculars in a fun and simple card:
I really love this one – a personal trainer tests your finger muscles with this stretchy unique card idea that reminds me of those horrid Stretch Armstrong toys people used to have, I can imagine people playing with this card and showing it to friends – a great form of viral ‘word of mouth’ advertising if ever I saw one:
A property management company show you how you can improve your lawn with this quirky card and gift in one. I really like this idea because it is not only fairly cheap, but also inspires the recipient to take some sort of action and look at their property and garden. Any flowers grown will also act as a reminder of the person who gave the card:
This custom stationary and book making company draw on the history of their industry as well as the bespoke nature of their services with this antique fan style card. The antique paper feel really gives the idea that this is an established and trusted traditional company, family owned even. Definitely small but professional and unique in what they offer. The shape would make it somewhat awkward to carry as the corners would bend, but I think in this case it is worth it as the card is a lovely item in itself, in fact due to it’s aged appearance such creases or folds may just add to the idea that this is a beloved old piece of paper rediscovered by the owner:
And the last card for now is for a yoga instructor – where you fill in the gap in the picture to create a fun yoga finger puppet of sorts. Memorable, and again very simple to do with just two die cut holes turning what would otherwise be a simple card into more of a familiar toy to the recipient. Yoga is a demanding activity and there are many providers around, the card would be likely to raise a smile and therefore people would remember the friendly face of the instructor fondly because of it making going to classes less daunting – a clever piece of psychology in a tiny card:
Links:
Quite a few of the cards came from this design blog’s collection
