In this digital age, we always carry a smartphone with internet access with us whenever we go. The important role of business card, therefore, seems to be questioned by many. However, we still need business cards to introduce ourselves and our companies to customers. No matter how digitized our business and marketing strategies are becoming, these little cards are necessary.
When it comes to business card design, software like Photoshop is usually what we first think of. But do we really need Photoshop to create stunning business cards? Let’s figure it out!
Most common tools for business card design?
1. Photoshop
Photoshop is probably the most familiar design software, which has become the industry standard of graphic design for a long time. It’s so popular among designers that it has even become a verb, just like Google. So, you often hear people say “to photoshop this picture”. “To photoshop” means to edit the photo.
With Photoshop, you can create original artworks, modify colors of images, retouch different details on a photo, and so on. It’s a pixel-based software which lets you go into each pixel of the photo, which means you can get into the details of every little dot of colors of your image.
With all those amazing functions, Photoshop is certainly the most functional tool to design a business card. However, it’s not an easy-to-use software because it does take courses of training to be able to use it.
2. Illustrator
This is another software experienced graphic designers use on a daily basis. While Photoshop is a pixel-based program, Illustrator is a vector-based program. It’s often used to create vector graphics like logos, fonts, cartoons, sketches. It even allows designers to create complex illustrations which can later be used for films or videos.
Whatever designs you’d like to do, Illustrator gives you the freedom to do with the pen tool. Also, coming up with different shapes and then choosing appropriate colors for them can be done with Illustrator. Similarly, Illustrators help designers create, edit and change colors for cartoon characters. Drawings could be created from scratch by using the gradient tool and the mesh tool from Illustrator. Line tool and pen tool are really helpful when it comes to drawing maps, too.
Illustrator is undoubtedly a great business card maker as it allows you to create, draw and edit almost anything you want. However, mastering this software will be difficult without design skills and continued practice.
3. CorelDraw
CorelDraw is an innovative graphic design application packed with many features to help designers create beautiful graphics. It’s a vector-based drawing tool that allows you to turn your ideas into picture forms. As such, it’s often used to create logos, fonts and business cards.
The pick tool in CorelDraw helps you select the objects you want to highlight before applying other details like colors on them. It also allows you to move objects around or duplicate them. Irregular shapes can be created by using the shape tool included in CorelDraw. Crop tool, true to its name, can be used to crop objects. Simply drag and drop the objects to the areas that you wish.
Creating shapes like a circle, oval, polygon in your business cards to impress your prospects can totally be achieved by an ellipse tool and polygon tool in CorelDraw. For example, LiveSketch is an intuitive feature to unleash the creativity in you. Because it is a pen-based tool, it lets you instantly capture and save your creative ideas while they’re still in your mind.
So, do you really need Photoshop to create business cards?
Graphic design tools, which I’ve mentioned above, are obviously powerful when it comes to designing business cards. But this is just in case you acquire enough design skills to use them.
If you ask me something like “Can I create my own business card without having to use Photoshop?”, then my answer will be a big, fat YES. That’s because online business card makers, like DesignBold, is extremely useful, which helps you create graphics without going through constant training and practice.
In other words, you don’t need to be a graphic designer to use the tool as it’s very easy to use. Especially, DesignBold comes with a wide range of pre-made templates. Whether your business is in fashion, food, wedding services or creative services, there are various templates that you can choose from and customize as you wish.
Creating business cards, as a result, will be much easier and faster.
How to use DesignBold to create a stunning business card
Step 1: Sign up DesignBold
First of all, you should become a member of DesignBold to work on it. This sign-up process is completely FREE and only takes you a few minutes.
Step 2: Identify your business card type
A collection of business card templates for different business categories on DesignBold are easily accessible. All you need to do is choosing the appropriate template for your business industry.
Step 3: Pick the design of your choice
Now you can start designing your card by clicking the chosen template. The tool’s user interface is very friendly, so we believe that you will get familiar with it after several minutes.
There are various functions you can use on DesignBold. For example, “Upload” allows you to import pictures or any files you want to. Or “Search” lets you search for millions of photos available to use for your design.
Replacing background of your card can be done in just a few clicks of the mouse. There’s a wide variety of colors, including solid colors or color patterns to add an edge to your business card design. Inserting texts or using favorite font types in the color of your brand can never be easier.
Step 4: Download file to your computer
Once you’ve finished your design and your card is ready for download, simply click the “Download” button on the top toolbar to save your effort to your computer.
Conclusion
Business cards reflect your brand identity and say who you are. Therefore, investing in your business card is never a waste of time. But for those who don’t know how to use professional design software, like Photoshop, they can go online for other user-friendly tools providing pre-made templates. And DesignBold is such an excellent choice.
Thank you for reading!