3 Design Tips for a Successful Business Card

Let's take a walk together through my business card and branding re-vamp. Within these 3 useful tips, you'll learn how to communicate what your company is all about through simple and clear design techniques.

The green business card is where I started. I wanted to adjust the design, colour pallet and overall look to more accurately fit who Inkling Publishing is today. With my new book on the horizon, a re-brand was definitely needed. My first step was determining what I wanted to convey.

Tip # 1 Brand Identity

• Brand identity is everything. What do you want customers/clients to feel when engaging with your company? What is it that you offer? Asking yourself these questions will help you determine what your design direction should be.

I wanted to convey that I create children's books and that I'm an established publishing company. My brand attributes are playful, energetic, friendly and informative. My clients are mostly indie authors who are publishing for the first time, so it's important to me that all the design related to my business is inviting and not overwhelming.

Let's talk colours. The colour was the biggest transformation in my revisions. When thinking about your colours, revert back to the questions you asked yourself in step one.

Tip # 2 Exploring Colours

• What colours do you think inhabit the characteristic's of your brand attributes? A helpful tip in choosing colours is to think about a feeling that could be connected to your company. What do you want poeple to feel when engaging with your brand? Colours are very feeling based so don't be afraid to follow your heart on this one.

For example, my books that I publish are playful, bold and adventurous. To me, those attributes feel like a deep, bright blue.

Let's get a little technical now. You've chosen your colours and identified your brand. How will we ensure that your design is legible? The best way to create a readable card is to assess the spacing.

Tip #3 The Importance of Spacing

• Give everything room to breathe and most importantly, consider what you want people to see first. Nothing should be overlapping or confusing to read.

A subtle but important change from the last revision to this one, is the spacing. I wanted people to pick up my card and see "INKLING PUBLISHING" first and my contact info second. Then if they wanted to keep looking, they could read my small tag line. To do this, I ordered my information from most important at the top, to least important at the bottom. I also utilized scale and boldness.

Hello winning card design! After hours of micro-adjustments and brand identity questions, I've landed on the best design for me. The last step in my process was balancing out the shape and flow so that everything feels consistent and clean.

Consistency and legibility are really important factors in design. When you've determined your brand identity, colour pallet and order of important information; take a step back and ask yourself if it's legible. Do you feel overwhelmed by the design or does it makes sense for your business? Then, you can play around with scale and spacing to masterfully bring everything together in a clear way.

Pretend your business is a person, how would you describe this person? Think about a design that would emulate their characteristics. Below is a list of brand attributes to help you get started on your business card.

• playful

• loud

• peaceful

• bold

• studious

• classy

• energetic

• crafty

• stylish

• approachable

• friendly

• nostalgic

Best of luck with your design! Send design inquires to inklingpublishing@outlook.com

Check out this blog post for more design tips.