Your business card is an essential element of your professional identity. A successful card will attract people's attention, clearly demonstrate the work you do and the personality of your brand, and allow you to shape the impression you give of yourself.
It isn't just the design you need to think about - also consider the material, size and shape of your card. Using different paper stocks, or even plastics or metals can be very effective.
If you're working in a collective or starting to employ other designers, you could also think about making everyone's cards different - like the example of Dave, who provide stickers so that each employee can personalise their own card.
We spoke to a range of freelancers, agencies and creatives and asked each one to explain the design of their business card and how it helps their business. They all agree, first impressions count.