The iPhone vs. The Business Card?
Last week I read an article on the FastCompany blog, wherein the author decries his eschewal of the business card in the name of efficiency and the environment. As a designer, I couldn’t disagree more.
You can read the post here. Basically, the writer describes an exchange where he is asked for a business card. In lieu of presenting one, he instead requests to collect his prospect’s contact information and writes it in his iPhone in order to follow up later via email. He then accepts praise for being cutting-edge and environmentally conscious.
But he’s missed the point.
If you see your business card as nothing more than a means to convey your employment data and contact information then it makes perfect sense to go without a card. Technology will continue to improve information exchange and make data transfer easier and more seamless. Right now you can download Bump, an app that allows users to trade their email, addresses and phone numbers simply by tapping their iPhones together. It’s remarkable. But a business card has the potential to convey so much more than your contact information. When creativity and design are employed, your business card becomes an unique, tangible expression of your brand. And every time you hand one out is an opportunity to make an inspiring impression on behalf of your product, service or organization.
Here are 100 examples of business cards that are creative, unique and completely unexpected.
There are far more creative and compelling ways to demonstrate your environmental consciousness than forgoing your business card all together. Alternative substrates, inks and environmentally-friendly printing techniques are all readily available. My business card is printed on recycled aluminum and it makes an incredible impact when I pass it out. I regularly get requests for extra cards because people want to share them with friends and colleagues.
Another example of business cards that exemplify eco-conscientious creativity are Breakfast Cereal Box Cards. These are randomly cut from recycled cereal boxes, then letterpressed on the opposite side.
Or this business card that is embedded with seeds and actually sprouts into a small house-plant when dipped in water.
Last month I met sustainability expert, Adam Werbach. I love how his business card communicates his mission and values simply by its size.
The author of the blog post describes the difficulty of graphic design and identifies hours spent agonizing over typefaces and paper stock. Here we would agree. The process of creating an inspiring and original identity system is not easy. It’s a challenging, time-consuming process that often requires a considerable amount of resources. However, this is exactly what talented, professional brand identity designers do. They will explore, experiment, refine and define a unique visual language, so that your brand (and your business cards) make an indelible impression with your audience.
So, although you may feel that ditching your business card is an impressive demonstration of your technological proficiency or your environmental consciousness, more than anything it communicates a lack of creative vision.
5 Comments view all
I think Mattson Creative needs a meat card. Nothing says ‘talented logo designer’ like a piece of beef jerky etched with lasers.
Even though I’m a designer, I don’t think I’m biased when I say that I agree with you that screaming for the death of all business cards because of the challenge they are to create is short sighted. It’s an illogical and unsustainable argument.
Because something is difficult to attain a level of quality on does not mean that the pursuit of it should be abandoned. I think that Greg Ferenstein is just throwing the baby out with the bath water here. Books are difficult to design as well, let’s stop writing them. News is hard to cover affectively so everyone stop reading it.
This comes down to the old argument of whether or not design is a worthwhile pursuit and whether or not it creates and adds value to that which it is applied to. I’d have been much happier with Greg’s blog if he had been more intellectually honest and just admitted that as his premise and underlying bias.
From what I can conclude from history and personal experience, a business card can be compared to paper. Paper has been around for centuries! Yet there are groups of people trying to limit the usage of paper because it’s not “eco friendly” and are hiding behind their environmentalist agenda to stop the “killing” of trees. Despite the efforts from environmentalists, paper has still and is still being used for multiple different mediums. It’s inescapable.
A business card is similar. It’s been used for decades and despite the best efforts and intentions of emerging fundamental environmentalists, the business card will continue to be used not only to sell the consumer, but also speak volumes of the company’s capabilities.
I would have to agree that the business card is a representation of the company at a glance. In conjunction, the website is the same.
Maybe I’m speaking to the air.
Thanks for the article,
Sky
I agree with the person who wrote this article, but he has not seen iBCard, the new application that is to be in the Apple Store by the end of this month. According to the developer the application will give you the ability to still create your own custom card and still be able to send it electronically.
The best of two worlds. Great image and still don’t have to carry it with you. and According to him it is only going to get better in part of Graphics Designs.
Mike,
That’s assuming everyone has iBCard, which will take awhile to catch on. Even then it will most likely only be on iPhone and probably Android devices. Even then it most likely will only be attractive to a small group of people. To others it would be more of a hassle to download the app, get it setup, and then get the iBCard from someone.
Besides, there is something about being handed a business card and holding it that is powerful. It can be an intimate thing that fosters trust and security between two people.