Black ink on white card stock is the most legible combination of ink color and card stock color --- but unless you design something out of the ordinary, it's also a boring and completely "blah" look. 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.)
The Impact of Color Business Cards
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; it attracts the eye.
You can use color on a business card to highlight material, make it 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 downright beautiful.
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.
How to Select Colors for Color Business Cards
According to the scientific specialty of chromodynamics, 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 more complex than you might have imagined.
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, that are unwise to ignore. There are color associations to certain 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). There are cultural associations to colors, too.
Some Advice 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.
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 effectiveness for your business cards, adhering to the color business cards tips above will help you create a truly memorable and effective business card.
