First impressions count as we were taught in school — the same applies to the art of branding. Depending on the nature of business in question, more often than less, one of the first collateral a person would interact with in a brand would be the business card.

Business cards are exchanged during formal introductions as a convenient memory aid. It helps businesses establish a professional presence during such meetings. It also serves as a remote, tangible marketing tool for the business. They can also be free to grab at the countertop as patrons enter a shop. The business card would eventually be that one collateral that can be taken away. While carrier bags or folders may have a subsequent functional use, many business cards may not see the light of day again once they are set aside in a drawer, hence the need for it to be memorable in its short interaction time with people.

While a brand can be physically or emotionally experienced in different ways as a whole, business cards are meant to stand on its own. Like movie trailers which attempt to introduce a film’s plot within a short duration, business cards seek to do the same by displaying key brand information using visual elements such as colours, typefaces, patterns, images, shapes, and graphics — all within a palm-sized space.

In a day and age where the digital frontier is becoming more prevalent in brands with the rise of apps and elaborate interactive web experiences, the business card remains one of the essential brand identity items for its ability to express tactility. Paper choice and thickness suggests the business’ regard for quality and its willingness to spend.

Good business cards should not only look good, but serve a particular purpose. With a goal to leave a lasting impression, some businesses would opt for special production techniques, unconventional materials, or fancy printing effects and thoughtful designs to enhance interactivity with the holder. Others keep the design simple and communicate through a clever choice of graphics, catchy lines and meaningful quotes. The choice of which depends directly on the intended brand persona — be it clever, witty, bold, dynamic, exciting, muted, rustic, futuristic, classy or modern.

Sometimes, brands like to produce a series instead of a standard design throughout. They can vary elements such as colours, brand patterns, work examples or even handmade elements such as stamped graphics. These variations could also form a larger picture, or to have that ‘collect-all-4’ effect.

Being ‘over the top’ and experimental should only be done if they help express an idea or mirrors what the business does. The truly interesting ones can form part of a memorabilia collection. But when going this route, some solutions might border at being highly impractical to produce or carry around.

At ACRE (A Singapore-based Multi-disciplinary Design Office), we address problems with a pragmatic approach. As when business cards ought to stimulate and smooth the way for conversations, we planned it in such a way that our names are set prominently on one side of our cards, and contact details, company website and location on the other. Besides our portfolio of works, we feel we are best represented by the very people behind them — our team members. As such, it introduces the team member upfront; the conversations that follow will do the rest.

The role of the business card will stay relevant in future. Although its primary role of information exchange is more often replaced by digital mediums, it’s other role of communicating brand visuals and professionalism over a tactile medium remains.

Print is far from dead.

This piece is written by T Y Zheng, Creative Director of ACRE — a Singapore-based Multi-disciplinary Design Office as a foreword for “Nice to Meet You Again — Visual greetings on business cards, greeting cards and invitations”, Published by Victionary in 2015.

Nice to Meet You Again is available here:
Victionary Shop
Amazon
Book Depository