What is there really to say about business cards? They’re just little rectangular pieces of cardboard with your name and contact information on them, right? If you think that’s true, then you’re missing the boat on what is probably your least expensive and most seen marketing material.

Business cards can be much more than just simple reminders of your existence. Typically, when you make use of your business card you’re handing it to someone. You probably have the opportunity to give a short “commercial” about yourself in the process. Where does the business card go from there? Often it stays with that person. Other times it goes in the trash. Sometimes, however, that business card goes for a little ride. It passes from one hand to another. Now, it’s in the pocket of someone who hasn’t heard your little “commercial”.
Here’s when a little sprucing up comes in handy. If you’re in a service business, a photo is always helpful. After all, you’re essentially selling yourself. Your logo is a must, no matter what. If you don’t have a logo, get one. It lends credibility to your business. There’s nothing wrong with a rectangular business card, but perhaps some design considerations could benefit you. I know a travel agent whose business card is in the shape of a luggage tag. How many travel agents do you know who are still in business? He relies heavily on networking, and his business cards get a lot of mileage. If you’re going to be using your business cards at a trade show, the design is especially important. Your cards will need to stand out from the many others that the show participants will receive.

These days, there are lots of options for business card designs. Interesting shapes abound. Some are magnetic so that they can easily stick to a refrigerator or a filing cabinet. Others open up to reveal a wealth of information on the inside. Don’t get too carried away, though. At a recent networking function, I received an extravagantly designed business card that was three times the size of a normal card. It was beautiful and very informative. I was interested in this person’s business. Unfortunately, the card did not fit into my business card holder or pocket. I didn’t really know where to put it, so I set it on the table with every intention of taking it with me. When I left the meeting, it slipped my mind and I forgot it. So, remember the function of a business card – it’s small, easily stored and simple to carry around.

Think of your business cards as itty bitty sales people. If they get dirty, throw them out. Stained, bent and crumpled business cards reflect poorly on your business - just like a salesman with coffee stains on his shirt would. A business card holder will help you keep them in pristine condition. Don’t cross out old information and write in new information. That’s sloppy. If changes need to be made, get new business cards.

A useful card from hairstylist Yuka Suzuki: yukamakeupartist.com

How does the back of your business card look? Blank? Use that space! It’s great for a bulleted list of your services or products, a brief mission statement, or even some short sales copy. Business cards with a map to your location on the back are a good idea as well. Make sure a person who anonymously receives your card remembers not only who you are and how to get a hold of you, but also how you can solve his problems. Let him know the benefits of doing business with you.

Given the low cost of business cards, there’s really no reason you shouldn’t use them more often as marketing materials. You may even be able to leave them at other places of business. Make sure you get the business owner’s permission first, though.

These tips probably won’t make or break your business, but they’re sure to make a difference with a few potential clients or customers. The small investment is well worth the potential return. 

Last week I was introduced to online color grabbing tools. Both are simple, fast online programs. You type in a URL of an online image, press submit, and the program delivers a color palette and the hex #s of the colors. These programs are useful tools for creating color families – especially if you have an image or logo that is an inspiration for key component for a design piece.

The first tool comes from http://www.degraeve.com/, The Projects of Steven DeGraeve. His goal is “to provide free, high-quality, web-based tools that are easy to use for all users.” His color palette genertaor can be found here: http://www.degraeve.com/color-palette/. My sample image is my headshot from our About Us page: http://www.rdesignonline.com/images/raffi-thumb2.jpg. I typed the URL of the image in the search bar, clicked  “Color-Palette-ify!”, and my result was this:

A blurry version of my original photo is shown (odd, because the photo itself is perfectly clear) and I get 2 color palettes – “dull” and “vibrant”. I might use the word “muted” or “subtle” instead of dull. It’s almost a CMYK palette vs. an RGB palette, simply because  CMYK colors are naturally more muted than RGB colors. Neither palette picked up on the color of the bricks behind me or suggested white as a color – the image does have a lot of white in the woodwork and silver chair.

The second color grabber I used was http://colourgrab.com/. It has the exact same premise – key in the URL of a photo and receive color swatches in return. Fast, free, easy. I used the same photo and got this:

This tool was able to pull a lot more colors from the photo, and also allows me to download an .aco file (an Adobe Photoshop swatches palette -  Adobe COlor file.) The tool is a bit more robust, and the black background makes the colors pop a bit more, but ironically the Adobe Photoshop swatches palette is incorrectly called an “Adobe Switch”. No bigee, but most designers will notice – and this tool does seem to be meant for designers. Because the results include a pie chart, I hoped it would show which colors are used most by giving them a bigger slice of the pie. In doesn’t, though. They call get the same size “slice”. The downside of this tool is that it does not display the image with the results, which I think would give the user peace of mind knowing the correct image was used to generate the color palette.

I normally play around in PhotoShop to develop color palettes for projects, but if you need some inspiration these tools are a quick fix. Do you have a favorite color grabbing tool? If you think we should design one that combines the best of both worlds, let us know. What features would you like to see added?