If you ask ten people, "What is the purpose of a business card?" you will get several answers.

A business card is:

• Simply a plain card with a company's name and contact information.
• A teaser—something to fire the imagination of the person holding the card.
• A portable advertisement for a business.
• A  mini-brochure—designed to give the viewer a snapshot of their business capabilities.

Ideally, a business card will make a great first impression, communicate with the person who receives it who you are, what you have to offer, and will provide your contact information—long after you have given it out.

For those of us who "collect" cards at business networking events, meetings or through referrals, there are some cards that just stand out and make us want to keep them for a long time, even if we never re-connect with the business card owner.

Design Approaches

How a business card is typically used will determine the design approach.

If a business card is intended to be given out to the public or a more general audience, a simple but colorful design may be in order, and four-color process printing may be a cost-effective way to print large quantities of cards.

If a business card is to be given out to other company presidents and CEOs in high level meetings, a sophisticated and elegant design approach may be in order. For this audience, embossing, foil stamping and use of textured card stock will be appropriate.

So Much Information . . . So little Space

A business card is exactly 2 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide. Or if you are considering a vertical card, the card is 2 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall. Either way you use the space, it's not very large.

In some respects a business card is like a billboard along the highway. You only get a few seconds to view the billboard and while the billboard is gigantic compared to a business card, distance from the viewer means the billboard cannot have a lot of small text or a confusing design—there's just not much time for it to be thoroughly examined.

Communicate Instantly

While a business card can be examined again and again by the recipient, business cards given out in a meeting or at a network event may be viewed for a second or two.

Care must be taken to design your business card so that all information is readable, and attractive.