First impressions are critical. You can make quite the statement with black business cards. A well-designed business card lends legitimacy to your business and can make you stand out from a sea of competitors.

Some individuals may argue that black is a sad and boring color, however black is often used in business cards by graphic designers today.

Why do designers choose black?

Black radiates professionalism, power, and confidence – three characteristics that are critical to any business. It also looks great when combined with almost any color because of its versatility.

The color black can have several meanings depending on context and culture.

In Western culture, black can suggest power, sophistication, or mourning.

In Eastern culture, it can suggest health and prosperity.

After you have finished reading this post, you will have enough information to create a set of quality business cards for yourself or your clients.

Black Business Card Design

Sometimes you need a little inspiration to get you going. Here are several great business card examples to stimulate your visual cortex.



Printed by Oubly

Printed by Oubly



Designed by Alexa Wright

Designed by Ayoob Ullah

Printed by Oubly

Designed by Maarten Serneels

Printed by Oubly



Printed by Oubly

Designed by KB Design

Designed by Uno

Designed by Fuse

Designed by Alpis

Designed by Atelier

Designed by Michel Valois

Designed by Sweety & Co.

Designed by Rayz Ong

Design Tips

Now that you’ve gotten a chance to look at some designs, here’s out top 5 tips for effective design.

1.Use Good Design Principles



Keep all of your essential design elements and text within the safety zone. You can use one of our design templates to help you make adjustments.

Be sure to set your resolution to 300dpi for best image reproduction.

Don’t forget to set your design software color setting to CMYK.

Many designers also find it helps to use a grid to lay out their cards, as this can help you to achieve the right hierarchy of information as well as ensure your alignment is sound.

2. Avoid Common Pitfalls



There are some common pitfalls to designing business cards that it helps to be aware of.

Avoid using a straightforward border.

During the trimming process, the paper will naturally shift. Your artwork might move 1/16” in any direction.

This made more apparent if your design has boarders.

3. Use Special Finishes



An instant way to add impact to your business card, and make it stand out from the crowd, is to use a special finish.

Special finishes include the likes of foil stamping, spot-UV and debossing can add significant cost to your print.

While adding finishes might be a little more expensive, what they offer, however, is the opportunity to make your card more tactile, visually impressive and memorable.

4. Ensure Your Text is Readable



This is a pretty vital element in business card design. You wouldn’t want your clients to have to strain their eyes to read your website address or email. This might seem obvious, but trust us we have seen this common sense tip thrown out the window countless of times.

Make sure your text is at least 8 pt, in a clear readable font and in bold color.

8 pt might look great on your monitor, but the printed results might be fuzzy and smudged. It’s just best to stay away.

You could also try to accentuate your name or important contact information by making it slightly bigger or bolder than the rest of your information.

5. Keep it Simple



Keep your card clean and uncluttered by being thoughtful about what information you include, as well as how you include it.

The same applies to font color. A white font color works very well and contrasts nicely against the black background.

Black Business Card Printing Tips

Black is a challenging to print. Without the right calibration and proofing, printers might produce a shade of dark gray or dark blue.

When designing your business card we highly suggest you use a rich black for the background.

You can use the following CMYK values.

C : 60 / M : 40 / Y : 40 / K : 100

So, why can’t I just use 100% black? To understand why rich black is a better solution than 100% black, we have to understand the printing process.

Your artwork is broken down to Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, CMYK. As each color is laid down over the previous color, it creates the images and colors you see in your design.

Blah, blah, blah … so what does this have to do with rich black?

100% black is made up of just the black ink, and nothing else. Rich black has a little of the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, thereby creating a deeper, richer black.

100% black looks dull and flat compared to the deep and elegant look of rich black. It’s the little things like using rich black that will make your business card look great.