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Business Cards

Color Business Cards

Unless you can get really creative with the black-and-white look, color business cards are a better alternative.  If no one takes a second glance at your business card, it's not worth the ink or the paper.  The addition of color can greatly enhance the effectiveness and appeal of your business card, if colors are chosen wisely.  (More about full color business cards here.)

Why Color Business Cards WORK

Why add color to business cards, if black-on-white is legible and easy to comprehend, according to scientists?  It's because color adds impact and it attracts the eye. You still need to make sure cards are easy to read, of course, with enough contrast between ink color and background color, but that's not difficult to do.

You can use color on a business card to highlight information, which makes whatever is highlighted seem more important (such as using color to highlight your preferred contact method.) Color business cards appear more expensive. Color business cards are more visually interesting, some are miniature works of art! Color can help organize the information on a business card. Color adds emotional impact to a business card. Colors on a business card reveal the mood and personality of the giver. Colors assist in comprehension.

What Colors Should You Use on Color Business Cards?

Scientists have studied the effects of colors for years - there's even a scientific specialty called chromodynamics - and they've discovered that colors aren't just pleasing to the eye, they affect us emotionally and even physically.  Keep this in mind when choosing colors for your business cards.  It's a bit more complicated than you might have imagined.

For example, colors have personalities (yellow is seen as cheerful, idealistic, imaginative and intellectual) - but the word "yellow" is also associated with caution and cowardice.  Pastels on business cards are perceived as weak and frilly except when the business is about babies, summer, flowers or feminine interests.

Colors have associations, too, particularly in certain cultures. There are color associations to certain holidays and events (orange and black for Halloween), images (a black banana is not appetizing) and even entire industries (the red-and-white of a barber pole, the gray of a banker's suit).

Suggestions for Using Color on Business Cards

• Avoid using red and green together since many people have red/green color blindness and cannot differentiate between the colors.  (It also has strong associations with Christmas, at least in the United States.)
  
  
• Use strong colors in small amounts or it will overwhelm the card.
  
  
• Use brighter colors for emphasis, since the eye sees bright colors first.
  
  
• Use black or another very dark color for text on your card - it's easier to read and comprehend than colored text.
  
  
• Watch color intensity, too - bright or loud colors are seen as vibrant and often reflect youth or ethnic preferences.  Dulled tones indicate mature, established or upper-class tastes.

If your goal is maximum "bang for the buck" for your business cards, using color wisely can help you create a truly memorable and effective business card.