# Business card design: small canvas, big impression [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/business-card-design) A business card is about the size of a credit card and gets looked at for a few moments. That is enough room for a name, one way to reach you and a back that people remember. ## The short version - A standard US business card is 3.5 × 2 inches, which is 1050 × 600 pixels at 300 dpi. - The common European card is 85 × 55 mm, about 1004 × 650 pixels at 300 dpi. - With a 0.125 inch bleed on every side, a 3.5 × 2 inch card becomes 1125 × 675 pixels. - A strong business card design keeps the front to a name, a role and one or two ways to get in touch, and lets the back carry the brand colour. - Keep all text at least 3 to 5 mm, roughly 0.125 to 0.2 inch, inside the trim edge so nothing is cut off. Good **business card design** comes down to restraint. The standard US card is 3.5 × 2 inches, 1050 × 600 pixels at 300 dpi, and it only needs your name, what you do and one or two ways to reach you. Put those on one side with plenty of space, give the other side a single confident colour or gradient that runs off every edge, and the card will feel considered before anyone reads a word. The rest of this guide covers sizes, bleed, layout and the print file. ## Business card sizes and dimensions There is no single world size. The US and Canada use 3.5 × 2 inches, most of Europe uses 85 × 55 mm, and Japan uses 91 × 55 mm. Ask your printer which one they cut before you design, because the shapes are close enough to confuse but different enough to crop your margins. | Card | Trim size | Pixels at 300 dpi | With bleed | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | US and Canada | 3.5 × 2 in | 1050 × 600 | 1125 × 675 (0.125 in bleed) | | Europe and UK | 85 × 55 mm | 1004 × 650 | 1075 × 720 (3 mm bleed) | | Japan | 91 × 55 mm | 1075 × 650 | 1146 × 720 (3 mm bleed) | Pixel sizes rounded to the nearest pixel. The bleed is trimmed away; it exists so colour reaches the very edge after cutting. - US 3.5 × 2 in: 1050 × 600 - Europe 85 × 55 mm: 1004 × 650 - Japan 91 × 55 mm: 1075 × 650 The three common cards to scale. The US card is the longest and slimmest shape; the European card is noticeably squarer. ## What to put on a business card A card is a reminder, not a brochure. Its job is to help someone remember who you were and find you again. Pick the one contact route you actually answer and make it easy to read; everything else is optional. ### Crowded - Logo, slogan, address, two phones, email, website and four social handles - Type at 6 pt to make it all fit - Three colours of text - Words pushed to the edges ### Clear - Name, role and one or two contact details - Body text at 8 to 10 pt, name at 12 to 16 pt - One text colour plus the brand colour - A wide margin on every side Type size matters more on cards than anywhere else in print. Below about 7 pt, thin weights break up and phone numbers become hard to read in dim light. If the information doesn't fit at 8 pt, there is too much of it. Our guide to [brand fonts](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-fonts) helps if you are still choosing a typeface. A QR code can replace a long list of links, as long as it leads somewhere worth landing: a booking page or a portfolio, not a generic home page. Print it in dark ink on a light, quiet area, keep it around 2 cm across or larger, and scan a printed proof with two different phones before ordering the full run. ## Designing the front and the back Most memorable cards split the work. The front is quiet and practical: name, role, contact, small logo. The back is where the brand lives: a full colour field, a gradient, a pattern or the logo alone in a lot of space. Because the back runs to every edge, it also hides small cutting errors better than a white card does. The front of a business card with a name, the role Architect and contact details on a calm gradient The front: one name, one role, two ways to get in touch, and room to breathe. The back of a business card showing the single word Okafor on a rich full bleed gradient The back: the same Mark at full strength, with the studio name alone. A gradient back works well because it reads as colour from across a table and as texture up close. Keep it to a small family of related colours so it prints cleanly, and avoid fine light lines that press variation can lose. These are dependable starting points: - Ink to sea glass: `linear-gradient(135deg, #10202e 0%, #1f4e5f 55%, #7fb7be 100%)` - Plum to apricot: `linear-gradient(135deg, #3b1f2b 0%, #8c3b4a 50%, #e8a87c 100%)` - Brass light on espresso: `radial-gradient(circle at 80% 20%, #e9d8a6 0%, #9a7b4f 45%, #2b2118 100%)` - Paper to sand: `linear-gradient(160deg, #f4efe6 0%, #e6d5c3 60%, #c9a98a 100%)` Four card backs that hold up in print: deep grounds and muted colours, no neon, no thin highlights. If you want the back to be something no other card carries, that is what a Gradiently Mark is for: a crafted gradient and material background with exactly one owner, checked so nothing else looks too close. Claim one and the same look carries from your card to your website, posts and email header. The idea is explored further in [a signature look](https://gradiently.design/guide/brand-signature-look). ## Preparing a business card for print 1. **Set the page at the trim size** 1050 × 600 pixels for a US card, or a custom size for the European and Japanese cards. 2. **Run the back past every edge** Colour must extend into the bleed so no white sliver shows after cutting. See [print bleed and safe margins](https://gradiently.design/guide/bleed-and-margins). 3. **Keep text inside the safe area** At least 3 to 5 mm, roughly 0.125 to 0.2 in, from the trim. On a card this small, a few millimetres are a large share of the page. 4. **Check the colour in CMYK** Very bright screen colours print duller. Our page on [RGB vs CMYK](https://gradiently.design/guide/rgb-vs-cmyk) explains what to expect. 5. **Export a print PDF with crop marks** Send each side as its own page in one PDF, front first, unless your printer asks otherwise. > **Dark backs and fingerprints** Large areas of very dark ink can show scuffs and fingerprints, especially on uncoated stock. A matt laminate helps; so does a slightly lighter ground. In Gradiently, the business card size is in the Studio's size list, and Pro exports a print PDF with 3 mm of bleed and crop marks. For more on gradients on paper, read [printing gradients](https://gradiently.design/guide/print-gradients). ## FAQ ### What is the standard business card size in pixels? A 3.5 × 2 inch card is 1050 × 600 pixels at 300 dpi. With a 0.125 inch bleed it is 1125 × 675 pixels. ### What size is a European business card? 85 × 55 mm, which is about 1004 × 650 pixels at 300 dpi before bleed. ### What should go on a business card? Your name, your role or business and one or two ways to contact you. A logo and a website are optional; long lists of social handles rarely help. ### How much bleed does a business card need? Usually 0.125 inch in the US or 3 mm in Europe on every side. Always check with your printer. ### What is the smallest font size for a business card? Around 7 to 8 pt for body text is the practical minimum. Thin or condensed weights need to be larger.