We’ve all seen them, and maybe even use them on a regular basis, but have you ever wondered where the practice of distributing business cards comes from?
Most trace the birth of the business card back to 15
th century China. The original business card was actually called a ‘visiting card’ and would be distributed with the intention of scheduling a meeting with another person.
Fast forward 200 years to 17
th Century Europe, when the business card really took off. Self-promotion became such an important practice that people’s success or failure in society depended greatly on how well they promoted themselves.
Today’s practices are not too far removed from that of old. People carry around business cards looking to promote themselves and their company. It’s one of the ways people you meet remember you and has so many different ways for prospective clients to contact you. Contact options you can add to your business cards far exceed the possibilities of even 10 years ago. Outside of the standard phone number, fax number, and email address, you can add things like QR codes that can be read by anyone with a smartphone and a QR code reader. These codes take you to a personalized web page with all the information anyone might ever need. Needless to say, if you don’t stand out from the crowd, you are going to lose out on opportunities that may be critical to your profession.
AlphaGraphics is equipped to fulfill all your business card needs. From a clean, basic layout to embossed, foil stamp and magnetic stock, you’ll find what you’re looking for at AlphaGraphics.
For more information regarding your next business card design,
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photo credit: Clive Andrews via photopin cc