In this day and age, almost every aspect of business communication is done through the exchange of emails and the internet. But among everything that went paperless, there is still one thing that remains necessary to be printed, and that is business cards.
The availability of business cards can help facilitate effective brand identity marketing, help convey professionalism, and become a form of pronto info. Therefore, it is vital that your business card is able to serve those purposes. To do that, you need to make sure you’re using the right font style and size for your business cards.
Worry not! In this article, we’re going to cover the basics and proper font guidelines for making the ideal business card.
Proper Font Size for Business Cards
In metric measurement, the standard business card size is 8.9 x 5.1 centimetres. For such a small space, you need to properly calculate the text sizes in balance with the amount of information you’re going to cram up in there.
Typically, business cards contain these pieces of information:
- Company name and/or logo
- Name
- Job title
- Address and contact information
Each of these blocks of information needs to have the right font size in order for the business card to be compact, professional and readable.
Common font size
Font sizes are measured in points (pt). The standard font size for printable documents is 12 pt. However, professionals recommend business cards font size to be around 8-11 pt. 10 pt is the ideal size. However, these standard sizes can be adjusted depending on the quantity of your content. If it’s too big, you’ll take up too much space; if it’s too small, it’ll be hard to read.
Size for specific contents
Deciding on font sizes for such a small medium is a tricky thing. You need to differentiate sizes in order to emphasise certain contents. However, experts recommend not to use too much variation. Too many font changes on one card will make things look messy.
Ideally, you can use two to three kinds of sizes. One for your name and your company name, another one for your job title, and the other for your address and contact information.
The most important content of your business card is your name and your company name. Therefore, these two need to have bigger fonts. We recommend using 11 pt for them. Then you can use 1 pt smaller for your job title. Or you can use the same size, but bold your name. And lastly, you can use 8-9 pt for your address and contact information.
Best Font Style for Business Cards
Now that we’ve covered the ideal size for your business card, let’s talk about font styles. When choosing a font, you need to prioritise legibility. With that in mind, you need to avoid calligraphy-style fonts, especially for vital pieces of information such as addresses and contact information. Using this kind of font can make your business cards lack clarity and readability.
Selecting fonts also affects your brand image. It is known that typefaces represent personality. For example, using a thick serif font might show professionalism and discipline. On the other hand, the use of a more “fun” font such as sans serifs could represent something more modern and dynamic.
There are many fonts available for you to choose from. However, if we’re going for legibility and popularity, here are three of the most commonly used font styles:
Scripts
Typically, script typefaces’ distinctive characteristics are their curved letterforms and connecting strokes. That’s why many designers refer to them as “handwriting” fonts. It can easily attract people’s gaze depending on the layout.
However, for that same reason, script fonts are not recommended for small texts containing detailed information, such as contact information. You can still make use of script fonts for your name or your company name—specifically content that doesn’t have a lot of words.
Serifs
Serifs fonts are arguably the most traditional font of all. It’s commonly used in books or newspapers because of its high legibility. You can distinguish serif fonts by the small divots on the end of their letters.
You can use serif fonts for every element of your business card content. For variations, you can always differentiate the colours, or give them italics or bold for emphasis.
Sans Serifs
Out of the three, sans serif fonts are the easiest to read. Unlike other fonts, sans serifs do not have those flourishing additions to their lettering. You can even opt for 7 pt size when you’re using this font.
Its straight clean lines are what shall make your business card look neat and professional, without being too buttoned-up. You can use them for small detailed content, or give them some bold and use them for names or titles.
In conclusion, these guidelines are meant for your business cards to serve their purpose, which is to enable your business partner to know who you are, what you do, and how to reach you. Therefore, the basics, such as font sizes and stylings need to be solid right from the get-go.
If you need any assistance in creating the ideal business card, Pisti Prints can be your solution. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
