Immensely thick, impossibly glossy and impeccably white business card design is often thought to be a mark of quality. Business card design is quite a unique format, where creativity is celebrated and quality is not always tied to pricing. There is an art to business card design that is not easy to define, capture or reproduce. With that in mind, do you really need to pay for fancy business card design? Can a cheaper card have just as much impact on your potential clients ... and should you really just focus on your base business offering rather than silly trimmings like business cards? We explore the darkest corners of the issue today.

Baseline Quality Matters

You'll need to read all of the following advice with the caveat in mind that a certain level of baseline quality is essential. Business cards printed on 80gsm Reflex in a home inkjet will only hurt your business! The base quality markers you should be looking at for business card design and printing are:

• Professional graphic design

• 130gsm card

• Professional printing

First Impressions

Many businesses end up spending a small fortune on their business cards because they worry that their potential customers will see them as low quality if they have an 'ordinary' business card. If your business's unique selling point is the quality or longevity of your product or service, then you should certainly have a business card to match.

However, if your business philosophy is to provide a wide selection of goods at low prices, a fancy business card design can create a disconnect in their minds. If you want to be seen as approachable to the ordinary person, the corrugated-cardboard thickness business card with the gold leaf embossed lettering will actually hurt your business image, because it doesn't appeal to your audience.

It is also worth remembering that it is human nature to pay far more attention to other humans than to little pieces of cut up paper ... so exceptional conversational skills and personal ability will do much more for your business than an extra $1000 spent on business card design!

Interesting Doesn't Have to Mean Expensive!

As far as business cards go, the quality and creativity that goes into your graphic design can be far more important than the fanciness of the materials or printing processes! Go to Google and check out the results for searches like 'coolest business cards' or 'best business cards' and you'll find that not a single one of them is printed in embossed letters on thick white card ... there aren't even any full colour ordinary graphic design ones! Every one of them is completely unique, helping make the business it represents memorable in a confident and often quirky way.

Think about using:

• Custom cutting forms to create different shapes for your business card design

• Perforated pieces

• Non-standard sized cards

• Cards that have a purpose other than contact details - for example, discounts, matchbooks, maps, etc.

• Handmade three-dimensional cards

• Scratch-off foil coverings for your details

• Printing on translucent or glittery plastic

But most of all, think about setting yourself apart with your business card design. It is better to be first than it is to be better!