Breaking out of the business card mold
Author: Jenna Weine
November 8, 2009

Business cards are easily lost in the confusion of life or the competition of a conference. With everyone handing one out, one of the most important characteristics of a business card is its ability to set the cardholder - and the organization - apart from the pack.

Doing so does not necessarily require fancy or expensive graphics, either - it may just require some creative, outside-the-box thinking.

Chuck Green of Logic Arts Corporation, author of The Desktop Publisher's Idea Book, calls this kind of approach "jolt thinking."

"Jolt thinking questions the basic premise - the what, why, and how of doing something," wrote Green on his blog. "It challenges you to examine your mission, strategy, and execution of a project. How? By answering three basic questions: What is the purpose? Why is it done the way it's done? And how can I do it most effectively?"

Using jolt thinking, Green came up with a few alternatives to the standard business card format.

If one of the main purposes of business cards is to get people to keep them around, why not give them a good reason for doing so? Information cards - ones that have convenient reference information such as calendars or industry-specific data on the back - increase the likelihood that the recipient will continually refer to the card.

If not used for information, the back of the cards still should not be ignored. Are you constantly writing on the card before handing it over? Consider printing a lined "notes" section on the back. The reverse side can also display coupons or a billboard-format advertisement, Green advised.

Although person-to-person interactions are still standard in the business world - and for good reason, as studies have shown that people prefer human interaction in sales situations - it may be limiting to hand out business cards only after meeting someone. Green suggested printing a percentage of business cards on adhesive paper and sticking them anywhere from mailings and product samples to brochures and booklets.

No matter the format, an important detail to consider when designing a card is the cross-promotion of your business's website. It is a digital age, after all, and cards that direct recipients to a well-designed website will likely impact the business's bottom line through online sales conversions.