Even in a digital world, business cards are an essential networking tool, creating meaningful relationships and promoting small businesses. They’re also surprisingly easy to make using Adobe Illustrator or other affordable, easy-to-use design tools like VistaCreate and VistaPrint. Our step-by-step guide will walk you through how to design business cards in Illustrator, ensuring your card leaves an impression for all the right reasons. Whatever design software you use, this article will help you design and print business cards that work for your business.
The fundamentals of business card design
Your business cards are often the first impression potential customers or partners have of your brand. A well-designed card should pass on essential information about your business, look appealing and communicate your brand identity.
What makes a good business card? Discover how to design a business card and follow the 10 golden rules for business card design.
Source: Business cards via VistaPrint
What to include on a business card
Ask yourself what you want your business card to communicate. Do you need your business cards to increase brand awareness, direct clients to your website or simply communicate your contact details? The best business cards are often the simplest, so decide what you want your business card to achieve and prioritize that in your card design.
Choose a template and layout that delivers your main messages. Important information should jump off the card thanks to font size, weight and positioning. But think of the card as a whole—does the eye flow naturally across the content?
Your business card layout should be uncluttered but clearly display the following.
- Your logo: The crown jewel of your visual branding
- Contact information: Name, email and telephone number so people can get in touch
- Your job title: So contacts know your role in the business
- Business website: Include a URL or QR code on the business card so people can find you online
- Business slogans: Taglines can enrich contacts’ understanding of your brand
Source: QR code business cards via VistaPrint
The reverse side of your business card is prime real estate. If your logo dominates the front, a QR code can happily live on the back, as can loyalty stamps or taglines.
Size and shape
Paper cards are a blank canvas that can be almost any size or shape you choose. This is your chance to make a statement and tell networking contacts who you are. Is your company sleek and professional or playful and unconventional? However, the size and shape of your business card will affect how much information you can include.
Source: Business cards via VistaPrint
Standard business card size varies from place to place: in North America, it’s 3.5 × 2 in. (88.9 × 50.8 mm), in Europe, it’s 3.346 × 2.165 in. (85 × 55 mm) and in Oceania, it’s 3.54 × 2.165 in. (90 × 55 mm). While rectangular cards are traditional, oval, leaf-shaped, circle or square business cards can all help your business stand out, giving your card design a modern, organic or innovative feel.
Source: Business card design by Rose ❋ via 99designs by Vista
Source: Business card design by Birendra Chandra Das via 99designs by Vista
Paper stock and finishes
Different business card paper stock and finishes are available, based on your desired aesthetic, as well as your durability, sustainability and budget requirements.
Business card paper thickness
Most business cards use cardstock, which is lightweight but thick enough to hold its shape with frequent handling. Cardstock is typically 300-400gsm (grams per square meter), but can easily go up to 600 or even 800gsm. These thicker, high-quality business cards are more durable and have a premium feel.
Business card paper stock and finishes
Popular stocks and textures include uncoated (light, easy to write on), matte (the shine-free, classic approach) and glossy (makes graphics pop), while specialist premium options like pearl, raised foil, metallic, ultra-thick and soft-touch are also available.
Source: Business cards via VistaPrint
Business card materials
To help make your business cards stand out, consider one of these less conventional materials…
- Recycled paper: FSC-certified 100% recycled business paper stock
- Plastic: Distinctive look and long-lasting
- Kraft paper: For an eco-friendly look
- Bamboo: 90% bamboo and 10% cotton for a thick and soft feel
- Hemp blend: Eco-friendly choice made from 30% hemp, 30% post-consumer recycled paper and 40% responsibly forested paper
- Linen: Woven with Italian cotton for a luxurious option
Kraft, glossy, linen and premium matte with gold foil business cards. Source: VistaPrint
Business card design tips
Business card design shouldn’t feel complex. Here are some golden rules to follow:
- Use brand colors and consider your business card color combinations carefully.
- Print your details using your brand typeface and at least 8pt for readability.
- Use white space and avoid cluttered designs. Less is often more when it comes to business cards—your logo and contact details should have room to breathe.
- Ensure the design fits within the dimensions of your chosen card size (we’ll explore artboards and trims in the next section) and ensure that your printer and software can handle your paper and designs.
- Consider how the latest business card trends might work for your brand—heavy imprints, custom-cut cards and scribbled fonts are popular right now.
Source: Business card design by Terry Bogard via 99designs by Vista
Source: Business card via VistaPrint
How to make business cards in Illustrator
Illustrator is part of Adobe Creative Cloud and needs a subscription and some design experience. If you don’t have either of those, consider a print-on-demand service like VistaPrint, which offers a range of appealing business card templates. Although these steps are specifically for Illustrator, most are transferable to other design software.
Step 1: Create your artboard
Select ‘File’ then ‘New’ from Illustrator’s top menu. On the pop-up form:
- Select one artboard or two if your card is double-sided
- Set the profile to print and choose your units (inches or mm)
- Set size to ’Custom’ then choose your width and height, based on your preferences and region
- Choose CMYK color mode (best for print) and set the raster effect to determine resolution—300ppi (pixels per inch) is suitable for a quality business card
Source: Business cards via VistaPrint
Step 2: Add your guides
The new document settings also allow you to choose from standard Illustrator templates, by clicking the template option. Guides are vital for ensuring your image displays in full. You can set them manually (although settings vary in different versions of Illustrator) by bringing up the ruler (via the ‘View’ menu if it isn’t already present), right-clicking to choose the correct units, then clicking on the ruler and dragging it into the document. Use the ruler to set up your trim and bleed lines and critical margin.
The bleed extends past the printable area, ensuring background colors and patterns print to the edge of the card and no white border is printed. The trim line is where your card will be cut and is positioned around 0.125 in. (3mm) from the bleed. The critical margin is a line 0.125 in. (3mm) from the trim line that marks a safe zone within which key design elements should be placed so there’s no danger of them being cropped.
Step 3: Add your design and logo
- You can make a logo in Illustrator or using the free AI Logomaker by VistaPrint. Use layers to organize your design elements and the ‘Align’ panel to ensure everything is lined up.
- Add text with the ‘Type’ tool or import your design and logo from another application via ‘File’ > ‘Place’. For optimal scaling without compromising on quality, make sure your logo is in a vector format (AI, EPS or SVG).
- Check that the design sits within your guides and you’ve matched brand colors exactly. Don’t forget other elements such as QR codes.
Source: Business card design by ultrastjarna via 99designs by Vista
Step 4: Get ready to print
Once your business card design is laid out, it’s time to get it print-ready:
- Select all, then convert all fonts to shapes (outlines) via ‘Type’ > ‘Create Outlines’. This ensures they’ll print as shown, avoiding any issues with font substitution.
- Export your file as a .pdf with a high-quality print preset. When saving as a PDF, select ‘Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities’ to facilitate future edits.
- Check your settings (such as bleed) by clicking the ‘View pdf after saving’ pop-up.
Some office or home printers can handle cardstock, but check your printer’s manual. Alternatively, send your card design to a professional print-on-demand service.
Choose the right design software for your business card
As this step-by-step guide shows, Adobe Illustrator can be used to create great business card designs. But it won’t be the best option for every business. Illustrator requires a costly subscription and some design smarts, especially if you want to create anything out-of-the-ordinary. Services with printing expertise and experience meeting small business needs can take the stress out of designing and printing cards and open up more ambitious designs, whether you’re using rounded corners, adding raised foil or embossing the text.
VistaPrint offers hundreds of business card templates and intuitive customization tools that allow you to change fonts and print graphics on the front and back before choosing your finish. VistaCreate has a bespoke free business card maker where you can choose from customizable templates or upload your own designs. If you’re looking for totally custom business card designs, collaborate with a designer via 99designs by Vista.
FAQs
How do I create basic business cards in Illustrator?
Set up your document with the correct dimensions, using the ‘Ruler’ tool to create the card’s shape. Then either import an existing design or add text with the ‘Type’ tool, adding your logo and any other visual elements. Finally, save your design in a print-ready format like PDF.
How do I add my logo to my business card design in Illustrator?
To add your logo, either copy and paste it from another Illustrator file or use the ‘Place’ command (‘File’ > ‘Place’) to import it into your business card document. Once placed, you can resize and position your logo using the selection tool.
What is affordable software for designing business cards?
There are many inexpensive options for designing business cards. Apps including Canva and VistaCreate all have free tiers with a good range of tools. VistaPrint’s business card design tools are also free to use, you just have to pay for the printing and shipping. You can always use VistaPrint to play around with your design before finalizing your business cards.
What are the best file formats for saving business cards in Illustrator for printing?
The best file format for print-ready business cards is PDF but check with your print provider for their specific requirements, as they may prefer other formats like TIFF or high-resolution JPEG.
How can I ensure my business card design looks professional when printed?
To ensure a professional look, use high-resolution images (300 dpi or higher), choose legible fonts, maintain consistent spacing and alignment and double-check your contact information for accuracy. The paper stock you use can also significantly impact the final look and feel of your business cards.
