Posts by Robert Barber
Is it time for a new standard size for business cards?
For as long as I’ve been designing business cards (lets just say several decades) 3 1/2” x 2” has been the standard format. That worked perfectly when everyone had one phone number and email was not even an idea. But, now everyone has many phone numbers, sometimes very lengthy email addresses and job titles that are often six to eight words long. No one uses fax machines any more, but everyone still has fax numbers on their cards.
What’s the poor designer to do? Fitting all this vital information onto one side of a little card is challenging at best. Making it look good has become nearly impossible. Hence the contortions you often see these days: cards printed on both sides, vertical cards, single-fold cards. Any of these solutions might fit the needs at hand and look great, but they will never provide a standard that everyone can match.
Where did the current standard come from? Could we create a new standard? Do we need a standard?
People used to attach business cards to their Roll-A-Dex cards. But, Roll-A-Dexs have gone the way of typewriters. Some people file them in acetate sleeves which are standard sizes, so that would be a problem. Serious salespeople even have business card scanners but I assume there is some wiggle room there in the size they will scan. And, of course, people have fancy cases and folders in which they carry or display their cards. Luggage tags have been designed around business card size.
Who wants to go first to challenge all those reasons for the status quo?
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