Business Card Designs- Ideal Sizes and Dimensions of a Business card

Imagine yourself at an event. Look around. Do you see people exchanging business cards? What else do you see? These business cards exchanged are all (weirdly) of the same size; there ought to be a reason? Let’s get started!

If we talk of a standard size of a regular business card in the US, it is 3.5 x 2 inches which makes it similar to most of the credit cards we carry. In the system of metrics, this translates to 88.9 x 50.8 millimeters. While the standard size of a business card in the UK and most of Europe is 3.3 x 2.1 inches or roughly 85 x 55 millimeters. 

As you design your card you might want to factor in an extra of 1/8 inch as the “bleed area” around your design to account for any cutting mistakes that may occur.

But not just because everyone else is doing it around you, you have to. There could be benefits while choosing a different size or shape for your business card. That means, in a sea of rectangles, your business card will stand out. This makes it more likely to create a lasting impression on those carrying your card. 

Haven said that there could be a few negatives of thinking outside the box. 

Here are a few points that we accumulated for you to know about business card sizes and dimensions.

1. The standard business card dimensions

At the mention of ‘business card,’ usually, the image of a standard business card pops up in your mind. Of course, this means the affordability of printing. There would be a wide range of printing services to choose from that means you could shop around and get the best deal available.

The other benefit is that the world is geared toward the dimensions 3.5” x 2” for a business card.

Whenever you handover a standard-size business card to a potential customer the person is likely to add it to the small stack of previously-collected cards. You might also have new contacts of a business card holder or an app that could scan your business card. Elsewise if these dimensions do not match the generic, your card might end up in the trash just because it doesn’t fit the holder. 

If you hold a business outside the U.S. it’s important to keep in mind the standard size of that region. 

Here are a few standard business card sizes of different countries:

• Canada and US – 3.5” × 2”
• Japan – 3.582” × 2.165”
• Ireland, Austria, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Slovenia, Portugal, Turkey – 3.346” × 2.165”
• Australia, Denmark, Taiwan, Sweden, Vietnam, New Zealand, Norway, India, Colombia -3.54” × 2.165”
• Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia – 3.543” × 2.125”
• Iran – 3.346” × 1.889”
• Sri Lanka, Argentina, India, Montenegro, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Latvia, Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa – 3.543” × 1.968”

2. C for classic, C for classy

A credit card is slightly shorter and wider compared to a standard business card, at 3.375” x 2.125”. A credit card-sized business card will easily slide handily into a slot in the consumer’s wallet. That’s not only convenient for your potential customers but you too. Only thing is to make sure you have at least one or two of your business cards on you that’s ideal for those who run into someone or during your travels too. 

Nonetheless, the two downsides are that it might not fit into standard business card holders and might stand out slightly in a stack of cards that maybe could be considered a good thing.

3. Work it cleverly

A business card that might be slightly large compared to the credit card-sized business cards may stand out. A business card with dimensions 3.5” x 2.5” means they’ll jump out of that stack of cards your associates are collecting. 

The biggest benefit of a chubby business card is its extra room and the tendency of popping out of the stack of other business cards that make it ideal for the business owners to squeeze a great deal of information into that tiny space. Or, could be accommodated with a larger graphic. If not an extra real estate image on the card, you could choose to incorporate plenty of whitespaces to allow your message to stand out.

4. All over the board

It is understood in today’s time that to stand out, you need to think outside of the box with your business card be it the dimensions or spacing. Custom sizes have no shortage, including the popular square design, that usually is 2.5” x 2.5”.

Printing is the biggest issue with custom-sized business design. Track down a printing service that offers the size you need and the one that fits your budget, before you choose a designer to put your business card together.

The size that has become popular recently is 3.5″ x 4″, that folds to 3.5” x 2”. This business card dimension gives you a lot of space for your brand messaging and also handily fitting in standard business card holders. Always make sure of the printing before you choose any of the card sizes. 

5. Spice Up The Shapes

The other way to stand out other than the size is the shape of the business card even if that means a small change like rounded corners. This can help your business card pop out without the negatives of having odd sizes tailored.

Consider many custom-shaped cards that are available if you want to stand out. It may require you to visit the printer that the designer visited while creating a card. For instance, a writer may choose a typewriter-shaped card, while a coffee shop might go with a card that’s shaped like a cup of coffee. The more creative the better.

Final Takeaway-

Business cards are most definitely the most important and direct way of connecting to your consumers. A business card may vary from different sizes as per the region or of different shapes. One could choose to customize their business cards to stand out of the rest cards in a cardholder.

FAQs: Business card size