The ubiquitous business card is an indispensable tool for professionals. Everyone wants to leave a positive first impression every time, and having a well-crafted card is one of the best ways to do so.

Typically, business cards are sized to conveniently fit in a pocket or wallet. The standard size for business cards is 3.5" by 2".

The most common shape is a simple rectangle with square corners, though if a custom shape would help a business card tell a brand's story, it is something worth considering.

Design

A professional business card should be simple and clean, displaying essential information in an easily digestible and intuitive format without overcrowding. Information on the card should include at least name, email, and phone number. Those with brick-and-mortar business locations usually include website and mailing address.

Material

Thin paper makes even a well-designed business card seem cheap. When a professional reputation is potentially on the line, premium paper is well worth the additional cost.

Processes

Most professional business cards have a layer of UV coating done to give an extra element of luster. Additionally, the cards can be embossed with a logo or name to give texture and depth.

Effective branding tells a brand's visual story in such a way that people understand the message without having to think about it too hard—ideally without thinking about it at all.

The quality of communication is a make-or-break aspect of just about any business in any industry. It pays to be consistent and persistent

If even plain visual communication goes a long way, visual communication that is always aligned with the brand as a whole goes the whole nine yards.

A subtle yet incredibly powerful way to brand your communications is by establishing a styleguide for your brand and applying it to custom stationary items that are used on a regular basis.

• Letterheads
• Printer Paper
• Envelopes
• Notebooks & Notepads
• Report Covers
• Folders & Tabs
• Pens
• Other Office Supplies

Design

The design should not only fit the form-factor of the item on which it will be printed, but it should be in line with the brand's overall visual identity. And, as always, simple is usually better.

For some creative professionals who work within the visual medium, such as designers, graphic artists, and photographers, prints are both the brand and the product. As such, the quality of each print reflects the quality of the brand.

Even individuals and organizations that don't make money directly from them, high-quality prints can be used to reinforce brand quality and consistency. When the décor at a place of business is aligned with the visual identity of that business potential customers and clients will take notice, consciously or not.

The wall or display is your oyster for artistic prints. The range of practical sizes for artistic prints depends on the print's intended purpose and display location.

The smallest practical size will be around 4" x 6", which is a common size for personal photo prints. Prints on this end of the dimensional spectrum are great for use in smaller spaces or to be combined with other prints to create a larger piece that fills a larger space.

For those wanting to go big and with the space and brand that calls for it, our state-of-the-art large-format printers can print a single piece up to 4 feet (48"). The only constraint on length is the length of a single roll of material.

The most common and practical shape is rectangular with square corners. Other shapes will (likely exponentially) add to the complexity and cost of the print.

As with size, the best material and mounting method for a print depends heavily on its intended purpose and display location.

For example, a photograph of an expansive landscape with deep, dramatic colors would look best printed on high-quality photo paper and either mounted inside a frame or on a surface such as wood. (See slideshow to the right to see what this might look like).

Choose from a variety of materials on which to print and mount the piece:

Material

• Photo Paper (Matte or Gloss)
• Canvas
• Vinyl
• Metal (Aluminum)

Mount

• None
• Frame
• Foamcore
• Wood Panel
• Wood Frame (Stretched Canvas)
• Grommets (Vinyl Banners)