If our favorite ten business cards of 2022 still leave you wanting more, here are a few more ideas to help with the inspiration you seek.

Experimental Materials

Crafting a Green World

If cardboard, plantable paper or plastic weren’t enough, consider using other nontraditional materials for your business cards. Many business card design companies offer lightweight metal or wood options. Both of these are sure to last longer and feel better in the hands of a potential client.

Business cards can also be made from recycled fabric, broken pottery or even cookies. Who doesn’t want a free cookie once in a while? Just make sure your prospective customer has another way of remembering your info once digested.

Smart Business Cards

QR Code Generator

In a digital world of websites, email and contact apps, paper business cards can seem outdated. You can, however, use the paper to take your prospective customers right to your online platform. Thanks to the pandemic, QR codes have become ubiquitous; a barcode any smartphone can scan will take clients right to your website.

NFC, or near-field communication, is another possible addition to smart business cards, offering the same functionality as a QR code without the square. Most smartphones released after 2017 have built-in NFC scanners that can detect NFC tags. These NFC tags can easily be embedded in standard business cards. Once picked up by a prospective customer’s phone, an NFC tag can take future customers or clients straight to your website.

Functional, or Not: Cards

WebFX

The line between functional business cards and hilarious gimmicks can be a tough one to find, but even the silliest of business cards can still get the job done. Functional business cards can have serious longevity if your customers can actually use them. Even business cards that aren’t actually cards—for instance, combs, toothbrushes or pens with contact information printed on them—are more likely to be kept around much longer. A less-functional gimmick may be fun for a moment, but may be quickly forgotten.

Consider printing your business card with a to-scale ruler on it so when your customer needs to measure something, they have to look right at your name and phone number. Better yet: print your business card information onto a handy bicycle multi-tool, guaranteeing your prospective client will be silently thanking you from the side of the road.