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Cool business card designs, Part 2


Ivan's picture
Inspiration

After the creative business cards showcase received over a million page views, I decided to post part two.

These cards are also out-of-the-box ideas that most clients would love to have, but would never have the balls to actually use. Hopefully you will enjoy the ideas presented here as much as I did and will get inspired to create your own cool designs.

I would like to thank everyone who sent me their coolest designs!

gillette business card
Let's start with a cutting edge design. Literally.

rubber band business card
And if you managed to cut too deep use this rubber band to stop arterial bleeding.

bloody business card
Which brings me to this bloody cool design. You can play with this forever.

swimming instructor business card
When you're done playing, look at this concept where the card is in a small plastic bag to protect it from getting wet. Naturally this is done for a swimming instructor. Cheap and great.

clothes pin business card
You can make use of other inexpensive household objects as well to grab the attention and make sure you won't fit into the standard business card holder. Like this clothes pin "card".

condom business card
Ideally you would need to be relevant to the subject of your profession with your idea. Like this condom pack that is used by a divorce lawyer as his visiting card as well as distributed in bars as a direct marketing piece.

hair grip business card
Or this hair grip holder for a hair and make-up artist.

 business card
And if you really want to be remembered, give a whoopee cushion. It's certainly great fun on one hand, or I should rather say one cheek. Personally, I wouldn't want my persona to be associated with loud farts.

glasses business card
How about these silly glasses? While it will make my 2 year old laugh for sure, good luck with them on the board meeting.

plants business card
plants business card
You can stop cracking jokes and still remain playful by designing a card that germinates and demonstrates your abilities to create a great park in no time, as it is done for this landscaper architect.

tools business card
Another card that demonstrates a profession is the card of Kevin Mitnick, the famous hacker, which is essentially a lock picking tool set. He always said that the easiest way to get hold of a password is to ask the blond secretary for it in an authoritative tone, so I have no idea why he needs to break in anywhere.

designer business card
Another metallic card. This one is in the shape of a mini designer working hard at his desk.

actual size business card
One more mini person at your service any time you wish to pull him out of your pocket.

DJ business card
Let's look at more cards that refer to professions. Here is a card that resembles a Larry King microphone for a DJ.

Architect business card
Another done for an architect that features a ruler. Don't expect a Hundertwasser style building from this guy!

dictionary business card
This card demonstrates what the National Encyclopedia does. Explains what things are.

hinge business card
Great idea for a simple product. Demonstrate what hinges do directly with your card.

restaurant business card
Yes, it's been done too many times, but it still works. A card for a restaurant with a bite. I wonder if I should put ketchup or mustard on my card before eating it. I think I'll put both.

gift shop business card
A card for a gift shop with a ribbon and a bow of course. How sweet!

sandpaper business card
This sandpaper based card is made for a finishing school in India. What the hell do they teach at a finishing school? I wonder what came first. The client or the idea?

 business card
Talking about special paper, here is a card made of really shiny paper. Nothing modest about this one. Miss Hilton would love it.

puppeteer business card
More folding shiny goodness for a puppeteer.

 business card
If you can't think of an idea, you can still use a special material for your card and it will still make you stand out from the crowd. Like this one made of fine corrugated cardboard.

coffee business card
This card also uses special material, but in this case it's totally relevant. It's printed on rough textile that is similar to the material of the bags coffee comes in.

copy based business card
Traditionally cards are designed by graphic designers or art directors and copywriters are not part of the process. But you really should involve your writer next time. Check out this funny set of visiting cards.

sandstorm business card
sandstorm  business card
sandstorm  business card
sandstorm  business card
Another great copy based concept here.

honest business card
This simple copy based business card reminds me of my dad, who always said it pays to be honest. So, if you can't afford a talented copywriter, just be yourself and be brutally honest. I wonder what this guy's personal card says. I love you(r tits)?

playing cards looking business card
Talk about being broke. Don't print a card at all, just buy a pack of playing cards and write your contact info on it. You can also recycle train or parking tickets. Giving away ATM slips or used sanitary products are not recommended.

metro ticket business card
If you like the idea of tickets and have the budget to get it printed you can simply copy the design.

 business card
Or fake a pack of chewing gums. It will be most popular with the Singapore customs officers.

 business card
And while away send miniature postcard-like business cards to prospective clients.

 business card
If you feel royal send cards that look like letters stamped with wax .

portfolio business cards
While you're at it, why don't you introduce the whole company at once. Give your client a whole portfolio of cards.

collection business card
Or you can make the client come back for the next piece of your corporate puzzle.

collectible business card
If you'd rather stay away from such a frankenface, simply create a series of cards with different designs on their backs and give a new one to your partner for every new assignment. Works great with clients with obsessive compulsive disorder.

dots business card
Your partner may not have OCD, but have you tested him for color blindness? You may try to do just that with this card that reveals the cardholder's face reproduced with an inkjet printer sporting a stunning 1dpi resolution.

matryoshka business card
Be careful, a card says a lot about their owner. This clever folding matryoshka doll card for example suggests multiple personality disorder.

medicine business card
To cure these conditions, how about offering a pack of pills?

sundial business card
Going back to fun foldings, here is a card that can be turned into a sundial. It's been created for an antique watch collector.

toy car business card
Another interesting folding will be liked by modelers. Fold a toy car and keep it on your desk.

confusing business card
Please don't overdo these folds. Daniel who? Mr Castor what? This one simply confuses the hell out of me. Great way to intimidate your client into never calling you again.

moire business card
This one is stripy.

Update:

Self promotional pencil used as a business card for a proofreader. Notice the enormous eraser.

P3's picture

Great!

This is always my favorite thread. Thanks! With paper you can be much more creative at a cheaper costs (dies, manufacturing methods, etc.) but if you require plastic, run some ideas by our team at www. plasticprintingprofessionals. com . If I knew how to post images in this thread, of plastic card concepts, I would (help?). Cheers.

spigot's picture

Thanks Ivan

Not sure where you find all these, but they are great, and offer some good inspiration.

~ spigotdesign.com

Ivan's picture

Some of them were sent to

Some of them were sent to me, others I found all over the internet.

mikejohn's picture

Nice Thread !

This is nice informative thread! Ivan work is so nice but you Ivan plastic card concepts is very usefull for erveryone so keep work on it!
________________

Mike
MM Printingblue

Pete's picture

Ok, so how about...

A nice follow-up post that lists printers that will do these kinds of jobs?

Would also be great if the people behind the card designs themselves could come forward and reveal their resources...

____________
work with pete!

ImageMakerGraphics's picture

Custom Business Card Printing (specialty cards)

First of all, Thanks for the great posts Ivan! I'm always impressed with the creative talent in the ether.

There is nothing to really "reveal" about printers that can deliver this type of work, the vast majority of these cards can all be made with nothing more than a quick search in your local phone book for commercial printers. Now you may have to visit one or two before you find someone you are comfortable working with, but this is a very important relationship for any designer to establish. A good commercial printer will have contacts with all the specialty houses in town, the bindery, die cutters, paper, & ink suppliers. They will be able to work with you from the end product on back, telling you what is "do-able" or not, and may help you save a buck or two and a lot of headaches. These types of projects are always best done locally and in person. (if at all possible)

A few comments suggested the cards may be "too creative" or "somehow unusable". I would totally disagree! These cards do exactly what they intended to do, STAND OUT. Do you have to assemble them, nope, do you have to play with them, nope, do you have to read the whole card, nope, But you WILL remember them. That is the sole intention of those types of business cards. The business card clients spent at the very least several hundred if not several thousands of dollars to conceive, design, and produce those cards, they knew full well what the purpose was.

Another way to look at it is this. When a company goes "full-out" with business cards like these, they can bypass an initial brochure because the level of talent and creativity displayed in the cards sort of delivers a big part of the message.

I guess what I am saying is no one has a rolodex full of business cards anymore. The main goal of a business card is to get your prospective client to bring your card back to his/her office and get your info into their computer, or if they don't need your services, to get them to pass your card on to someone else. What better way to get people to talk about your business than to show others your "cool business cards".

Best Regards

ImageMakerGraphics

The Ad Mad's picture

wow again!

I agree, I love this thread!

Strong concepts and cheap costs makes everyone one happy!

The Ad Mad

dolph lundgren's picture

Meh

Some of those are really fantastic. Most, in my opinion, are "too creative" for their own good, especially the cards of those on this list that are designers. I'd be much more inclined to go with a designer with a clean, simple design on their card than something obnoxiously flamboyant that requires me to fold things or whatever. While it may leave a lasting impression on me, it also makes me think they are trying way too hard to get someone's attention.

Of course, maybe they are just fantastic designers who would be the right person for the job. Guess you can never tell. I stand by my statement that a business card should be just that, however.

I love the swimming instructor's concept. I think that is a terrific idea without going way overboard (no pun intended). The Miller|Hull Architecture one is great, too. Finishing out my top three is the postcard one. Clever wording, good concept. Honorable mention goes to the Sandstrom Design cards.

onegirlcreative's picture

Thanks Ivan!!!

This round is definitely better than the first. Thanks for sharing.

suzanne maestri-walters :: graphic designer :: www.onegirlcreative.com

dreamweaverx's picture

HERE'S A GREAT SOURCE FOR PRINTING BUSINESS CARDS

I love all the cool ideas and designs in your post. I thought the people who visit this post might like to know about www. premiumcards. net

It is an online print shop specializing in business cards and postcards. They don't do a lot of these hand made or super custom jobs like the ones on this post, but they do high quality, full color on high grade card stock at VERY reasonable rates.

Check out the site. www. premiumcards. net

MixiBoi's picture

Copy

Amazing how creative people can get, even when they are broke....

I guess I can stea...err.."borrow" some concepts.

maepaulino's picture

I like the first 4 or 5

I like the first 4 or 5 business cards... but the rest... I don't know they're somehow, unusable right?

http://www.tech-hive.com
http://www.lastleaf.org

nathanblair's picture

My card is so boring

Wow, these make my business card look pathetic. A card always has seemed so simple to me, but these designs have made me realize that I could do a lot, lot more with mine.
http://theutahrealestateblog.com

crackberry's picture

Ouch

I would hate to receive the razor card... just the shape of it freaks me out. I think my personal favorite would have to be Kevin Mitnick's not only because of how it's really unique and makes him stand out, but unlike alot of these... it its IN YOUR WALLET which is where it will end up going. I would hate to have to carry some of the other ones around. Form over function a wee bit.

desi9ner's picture

The sky's the limit..

The sky's the limit it seems for business cards. Some are totally impractical, yet great marketing pieces. If I had $5 to spend per card I may look into doing something great like these. They're all pretty dang good! Good finds Ivan!

Utah Web Design

mameseer's picture

my business 'cart'

Since I spend a majority of my time developing software for the classic video gamer, I figured why not take my business card to the next level...hence my business 'cart'.

These are authentic working Atari 2600 game cartridges with custom labels. It definitely took some time assembling these but I'm extremely pleased with the outcome. In all, I have 15 different business carts (games). Of course I can't take credit for the wonderful art of the original games, but I'd like to think my modifications are true to the original design. And I must say gamers love the prospect of a free game!

Maximus Arcade

mindsoul's picture

WOW...

There interesting collection, i collect my self business cards, but this are totally extraordinary. Very inspiring and creative.

benjancewicz's picture

Hinge

Hinge is a design company.

www.zerflin.com

juhaniemi@drupal.org's picture

What a great collection.

What a great collection. These are great for inspiration. Thanks. :)

Splotch's picture

Cool business card designs, Part 2

I like the ACTUAL SIZE CREATIVE business card. Very simple idea but effective.
Nice find. Keep them coming!

- Splotch Studio: graphic design and web design, Australia

http://www.splotch.com.au/

Foffi.com's picture

GREAT COLLECTION!

I realy like Playing Card Design!

Thanks!

Http://www.foffi.com
Quality Printing and Design