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Designing full colour business cards to good effect in your business

Full colour business cards can be a thing of beauty, or a visual nightmare! For those of us who remember the coming of word processing software and the paint and design software landing on desktops, we no doubt recall the garish and overwhelming results that popped up everywhere!

Loved they may have been by their creators, but the blinding effect on others of normal eyesight had viewers of such material running for cover.

So let's work our way through this topic of full colour business cards and find the path of flair balanced with dignity.

If the design of your business stationery is the result of professional input, then it's unlikely you will have a significant problem unless you have browbeaten your designer somewhat!

With your focus on what your full colour business card is supposed to achieve for your business, you have ensured that it is pleasing to the eye, is easily read, and incorporates factors that represent the image you want your business to convey.

One area to pay attention to is the potential loss of readability as the text colour blends into the background colour and tends towards the invisible.

It is essential that you view your design as though you had never seen it before. Or, get an associate to cast an eye over your business card design, and give you an honest opinion of its clarity.

Whereas you know what is on your business card and automatically adjust to see what you expect to see, a fresh pair of eyes will see what is actually there!

A full colour Business Card

A full colour business card should be designed with caution.

What can we learn from this full colour business card?

Although the full colour business card on the right doesn't overwhelm with colour, there are none the less some features we can take note of.

Please keep in mind that I am analysing this business card, and not criticising it. So this is an exercise to help you determine if you should employ similar elements on your card, or avoid them.

The colour combination of blue and yellow (with just a touch of other colour) is very effective.

Firstly, I would like you to consider the necessity of having your business name in large type. Surely, it's the message on the card and not the business name that will encourage business transactions. Likewise for the phone number. Nobody is going to read the card and say… "What a lovely phone number!", are they?

No, a genuine client will read the card and then look for a means of contact based on the selling message on the business card.

With the top and bottom areas reduced, you have more of this limited space to use for your message.

Next, take a look at the two lines of yellow script on the card. Do you find them difficult to read?

Human nature being what it is, you and I tend to take the path of least resistance… if it's hard to read then we probably won't bother! So those lines are a waste and are basically unnecessary clutter. A further point to consider is the reading skills of much of our population, including residents from overseas. Why make it difficult for them to read your business card message?

I suggest too, that those particular lines of text add nothing that is not expected of that type of business, and is therefore just verbal fluff.

Moving on we could also say that listing all the brands of motorcycles is unnecessary as that is also a given unless the business specialises in a particular manufacturer or two. To list all the major brands is taking up space that could be used to better advantage.

Because a wrecking business can't be expected to provide every part for every model of the makes handled by the business, we can safely assume that a buyer would phone ahead to enquire about availability. So we can safely trim the list of makes from our sample full colour business card too.

Now we can get down to work! We have reduced the size of the lettering top and bottom, taken out three lines of text, and are now left with the reasons why someone would come and do business here.

  1. Wrecking Most Late Models
  2. All Types Of Repairs
  3. Quality New & Used Parts
  4. New & Used Tyres

Can we make those four selling 'hooks' more appealing? What do you think?

  1. Guaranteed Used Parts For Most Late Models    (Why repeat 'wrecking'? That's what the business does!)
  2. Repairs: Mechanical, Electrical and Cycle Parts    (Be specific as to what service you offer)
  3. New Parts From Top Manufacturers    (Provide reassurance of the quality you sell)
  4. Your Brand of New Tyres: Used Tyres From Stock    (You do buy in those new tyres for customers, don't you?)

What you want to do is to remove the "I wonder if they…" from the mind of your prospect by giving them that information on your business card (and other business stationery) to the extent you can. Then you don't waste their time nor yours answering unnecessary phone calls.

What now to make your full colour business card pull more business?

So far you've arranged an impressive colour scheme that ties in with your business image. You now have a tightly focussed selling message that is customer friendly, so we only have to attend to the reverse side of your full colour business card.

Unless you have selected a coloured stock for your card, the reverse is likely to be a nice, crisp white area waiting for your stunning invitation to buy! At the initial printing, or with later overprinting, you can add specific offers that span a reasonable (seasonal) time period, and that you can guarantee supply of. Perhaps a free service call, an update of information, a seasonal product, or even a permanent initial offer or discount for loyalty.

Your full colour business card has done all the hard, and expensive, work of getting into the prospect's hand. Every extra sale you can make from now on to that same person is a free bonus. So your message is angled at getting them to return again and again to transact more business with you. If you keep that in mind, what you print on the reverse of your business card will encourage loyalty and impress in the client's mind the value of doing business with you.

Thanks for reading. Please bookmark this page so you can refer back to it, and then enjoy looking around the rest of my site. I wish you a prosperous business future.


Table of Contents

One Colour Business Cards.
Business Cards don't necessarily need to be complicated. A single colour card could be ideal for your business. Just make sure it enhances your business and doesn't cheapen it.

Two Colour Business Cards.
Adding a second colour for more options. A two colour card allows you to include more of the personality of your business. Keep it clean and readable for best results.

Full Colour Business Cards.
With the full colour Business Card comes the need to use caution. Don't get carried away and produce a spectacular but overwhelming business card. Confusing and difficult to read is not your goal!

Photographic Business Cards.
Having your photographic image on your business card conveys a feeling of trust. We are naturally drawn to look at faces rather than other images. Adding an element of activity can also work well.

Die-Cut Business Cards.
Great when the shape of your Business Cards immediately conveys the identity of your business. These can be very effective, but consider where it will end up! You could have a problem if it doesn't fit in the usual card file.


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