Why we still need a business card

Most of us, whether we do business in Braeside or Brussels, have an online presence comprised of at least a Facebook account, a Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile and a personal website, but as Michael Silverberg points out,

“You also probably have a business card. No matter how much of ourselves we incarnate in ones and zeros, few of us seem willing to dispense with this relic of the offline world.”

Michael Beirut, a partner at Pentagram, agrees:

“Almost every piece of printing I knew and loved can be replaced by something digital today. Corporate brochures and annual reports: online. Letterheads and envelope sets: email. Magazines and books: iPads. However, sooner or later you still need to meet someone face-to-face, and at that moment, it’s nice to have a business card.”

A business card exists in the material world and requires two people to be standing in the same room in order for it to be exchanged. A business card doesn’t require electricity in order to be able to read it. Business card printing is easily available and designers will be happy to guide you through the design process so that you can create something that generates the image you are trying to project.

“They are as personal as underwear,’ says Bierut. ‘Some like to sport something stylish or unusual. Others are uneasy with anything other than something straightforward in plain white. Either way, as the rest of the world goes virtual, the business card will endure.”