Different Sizes and Dimensions That Suit Business Cards

A critical part of graphic design is business card design. Designers operating in this field need to consider certain key critical design considerations with sizes and dimensions being one of the major parameters. If you have closely observed, you have come across business cards of almost the same size and dimensions. Business card sizes differ in different countries. In the United States, most standard cards measure 3.5 x 2 inches. Dimensions of most credit cards are also usually of the same size. If you translate it into the metric system, this would be 88.9 x 50.8 millimetres. On the other hand, business cards in the United Kingdom and major parts of Europe measure 3.3 x 2.1 inches, which translate to 85 x 55 millimetres in the metric system. If you are a business card designer, then you may want to keep an additional as bleed area or buffer around your design in order to safeguard it from cutting errors.

Understanding business card dimensions

So how big are business cards? What you should note that is that there is no specific rule with regard to size of business card or there’s nothing that you can define as a standard business card size. So this means that you can go your own way and create your own business card dimensions. One most important aspect to remember is your business will feature your contact information. Thus, you have to be extra careful about the alignment and fitment. When you choose to create your own business card with unique dimensions and colors, you would make your business card stand out from the crowd. However, when you think outside the box, you may need to take special measures to ensure that you address the downsides well and reap the benefits of unique business card design.

1. Standard Sizes

   
   
   

   Whenever you think of a business card, the image of a standard-sized business card would come to your mind. The best part of keeping a business card of this size is to benefit from the affordability of print pricing. You will get a lot of options to choose from, which means that you would have a great opportunity to get the best deals. Most people opt for business cards measuring 3.5” x 2”. When you give a standard-size business card to your acquaintance, he/she is most likely to keep it in his/her card-holder than already contains other cards of similar dimensions. So if your business card is not of the standard size, your card will be most likely to be discarded just because it won’t fit in that card-holder. However, you need to note that the definition of standard size varies from one country to the other. For example, standard-size business cards have a dimension of 3.5” x 2” inches, or 8.9 cm x 5.1 cm, in the USA and Canada, whereas in Japan, the measurements are 3.582” × 2.165” inches, or 9.1 cm x 5.5 cm. The standard card-size is 3.346” × 2.165” in France, Ireland, Belgium, United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Italy. This size can be considered as an international standard of measurement.

2. The Classic Size

   
   
   

   There will be a future when we would use only our smartphones and smartwatches to pay vendors. But till now, plastic money still rules the payment scenario as we continue to pay by credit or debit cards. Cards of classic size measure about 3.375” x 2.125” and this is a bit shorter and broader than the standard business card. Cards of classic size are handy and you can carry them conveniently in your purse whenever you travel and hand them over to people who you meet during the course. It won’t fit inside the regular card holders, but it would get distinguishingly noticed in a pile of standard-size cards, which is a good thing.

3. The Chubby Cards

   
   
   

   Chubby business cards measure 3.5” x 2.5” and they are larger than credit cards. So these cards will also not get accommodated in the regular card holders and would stand out. With a chubby business card, you would be able to make the most out of the extra space and include a lot of information including elaborate visuals. You may even choose not to crowd up the additional space with a great deal of information or visuals, but you may still use the extra space to highlight your messaging further.

4. Custom Card Sizes

   
   
   

   Modern businesses use new-age cards with unique design elements to stand out from the crowd. Square-shaped business cards are quite common and popular and they typically measure about 2.5” x 2.5”. However, if you are looking to create a custom-sized card, you must note that you might have to face printing-related issues. So before you get a card designed to a custom size, you must find a printing service that would be able to deliver cards of your chosen size at a budget-friendly price. This is quite crucial because you would definitely not want to have a design that cannot be printed. These days, custom cards measuring 3.5″ x 4″ are becoming quite popular. Such cards can be folded to 3.5” x 2”. With this size, you would not only get adequate space to put your brand messages across, but you would also be able to fit it in normal business card holders. It is equally important to make sure that your printing service provider would fold your cards on your behalf. Otherwise, you would need to spend time folding your business cards yourself.

5. Cards with unique shapes

   
   
   

   Playing around with sizes is not the only way to make your card stand out. A change in shape may also add an element of uniqueness to your card. For example, you may make your card have rounded corners to make appear unique. The best part of having a standard-size card with rounded corners is that you will be able to make them fit easily into a card holder while making it appear a bit different from the other cards. Custom cards would give you an edge over your competitors and allow you to use your business card as one of your most powerful branding tools. With custom cards, you will have endless possibilities for branding. For example, if you are the owner of a coffee shop, you may go for a coffee-cup-shaped business card. Similarly, if you are running a car-rental business, you may go for a car-shaped business card.

Standard Business Card Dimensions around the World

The standard dimensions for business card printing differ from one country to another. For example, in the United States and Canada, the standard size can be 3.5” x 2”. However, for other countries, it might not be the same.

Here, 3.5” x 2” is the finished size. But, it may also contain a bleed area that can be trimmed out later. The bleed area is a safe space usually left out to be trimmed down during the business card design.

Now, let’s take a look at the standard business card sizes in various countries.

Conclusion

You may choose cards of diverse shapes and sizes, but finding the right designer and creating the best design are critical to ensuring the effectiveness of your business cards. You can apply creativity on cards of standard sizes to create extraordinary designs and make your card stand out. This way, you will be able to find the best printing deals and create a card that your acquaintances would love to keep.

You may come across several online printing services that would offer you a do-it-yourself option, however, with this process, you would not be able to create unique designs and end up creating something that is so similar to what your competitors have produced in the same manner. Online templates are less customizable and you can do very little work with them. So this best way to design a customized business card is to hire professional graphic design services that specialize in designing business cards. Your business card designer would work closely with you, ensuring that you get what you are looking for and deliver custom designs in a print-ready format. You can even incorporate your brand’s persona in your business card so as to be able to strengthen your branding campaign and create a mark all along the way.