| Designing your card starts with who your prospects | | | | * Peace |
| are and what image your company wants to portray | | | | * Faith |
| them. Designing a unique card is not a bad idea; it will | | | | * Stability |
| help you stand out of the crowd. At the same time, | | | | * Melancholy |
| you have to be sure that your unique card will be | | | | * Trust |
| acceptable in your industry. | | | | * Loyalty |
| Before you start designing, you have to decide what | | | | * Wisdom |
| are the elements that will make your card unique and | | | | * Tranquility |
| successful. Would these elements be photos, colors, | | | | * Integrity |
| illustrations, variety of fonts, your logo, or a | | | | Red |
| combination of the above? | | | | * Fire |
| All the above elements have their advantages as well | | | | * Love |
| as disadvantages as outlined below. | | | | * Passion |
| Using stock photos: It is a good idea to use a stock | | | | * Energy |
| photo that is related to your industry rather than | | | | * Revolution |
| experimenting with photos you have taken (unless | | | | * Anger |
| you are photographer). You will be able to get really | | | | * Power |
| good quality images and your business cards will look | | | | * Debt |
| more professional. The disadvantages of using stock | | | | * Danger |
| photos of specific items such as clothing, people, etc, | | | | * Heat |
| the customer will associate them with your products | | | | * Warning |
| or your team and might feel misinformed if the | | | | Green |
| customer specifically inquiries about them. Remember, | | | | * Money |
| the objective of your business card is to portray | | | | * Growth |
| your company and its products. | | | | * Environmentally friendly |
| Using your picture photo: If you are in the real estate | | | | * Fertility |
| or insurance industries, it is very common to have | | | | * Envy |
| personal pictures included on the business cards. | | | | * Spring |
| Whether you want to use one or not it's up to you, | | | | * Freshness |
| but it is not recommended to do so in industries that | | | | * Stability |
| this practive is not common. The advantages of using | | | | * Loyal |
| a photo on a business card, is making it easy for | | | | * Healing |
| your customers to recognize you. A lot of people | | | | Yellow |
| have good visual memory and if they come across | | | | * Energy |
| you and some of your competitors, the picture will | | | | * Sun |
| help them remember you more than your name. The | | | | * Happiness |
| disadvantages of using pictures on the business | | | | * Cheery |
| cards, especially on those cards that will be mailed | | | | * Creativity |
| out not handed out after a meeting, is that the | | | | Orange |
| recipient might judge, or already form an opinion on | | | | * Joy |
| you and your service simply by the way you look | | | | * Sunshine |
| instead of what you have to offer. This could be | | | | * Creativity |
| good or bad, depending what the opinion that | | | | * Determination |
| customer have formed. | | | | * Success |
| Using Graphics/Clip Art: This can be the perfect way | | | | * Encouragement |
| to find an image that portrays your company or | | | | * Energy |
| service. These types of graphics are also a good | | | | * Autumn |
| alternative to the logo if you do not have one; | | | | * Construction |
| however, it is recommended that you do. The | | | | Purple |
| disadvantage is overdoing it and will make your card | | | | * Royalty |
| look very unprofessional. | | | | * Power |
| Using your logo: There are really not disadvantages | | | | * Nobility |
| using your logo and it highly recommended that you | | | | * Luxury |
| always use your logo. Make sure that your logo size | | | | * Spirituality |
| is proportional with the rest of the information. | | | | Brown |
| Including a really large logo will not make your card | | | | * Conservative |
| more effective. | | | | * Stable |
| Selecting your colors: The main advantage of using | | | | * Outdoors |
| colorful card is that they can easily stand out of the | | | | * Fall |
| rest, especially in a Rolodex setting. Colors also | | | | * Earth |
| portray messages and you can use color to portray | | | | * Organic |
| professionalism, creativity, or emphasize your | | | | The bottom line is that you can be different; your |
| message. Do not simply choose a color because you | | | | business card and consequently you can stand out |
| like it or if it looks good, but look deeper into the | | | | without crossing the line to being tasteless or not |
| meaning of colors. Here are some examples: | | | | taken seriously. |
| Blue | | | | Choose graphics that will stand out to first get the |
| * Sky | | | | card in the rolodex, and once there to be easily |
| * Sea | | | | stand out of the crowd and remind of your service. |
| * Water | | | | Create a catchy phrase that summarizes your |
| * Religious feeling | | | | business so that it will remind those looking your card. |