It’s strange, really, how the tiniest things end up being the things that stick. You can go to a huge conference, shake hands with fifty people, sit through panel talks where someone’s showing twenty slides full of “important” information… and then, a week later, what you actually remember is something random. Like the guy with the bright green shoes. Or the woman who told you about the time she accidentally ordered five hundred coffee mugs with the wrong logo. Those little moments just hang around in your brain, like they’ve rented a small corner for themselves.
That’s kind of how I feel about business cards. I know, I know—half the people reading this are thinking, “Who even uses those anymore?” But here’s the thing: because fewer people are using them, the ones that do really stand out. We’re so used to swapping contact details on our phones, or saying “Just email me,” that an actual card feels… solid. Real. Like you could lose your phone and still have that connection sitting in your wallet or wedged in a notebook somewhere.
I’ve still got a card from a designer I met years ago. Honestly, I don’t even remember her full face anymore (sorry, if you’re reading this), but I remember the card. Heavy, matte black, with gold foil letters that caught the light just right. Every time I find it in my drawer, I think, “This was nice. This felt different.” And that’s kind of the whole point, right? You’re not just passing along your contact info—you’re leaving a little piece of yourself behind.
Of course, how that “piece of yourself” looks… that’s where it gets interesting. Some people want clean, minimal, just name and job title in tiny letters. Others go all in—bold colors, unusual shapes, quirky fonts that make you tilt your head. I’ve seen square ones, vertical ones, even one shaped like a guitar pick. Not saying you should go wild just to be “different,” but it’s worth thinking about what actually feels like you.
And here’s the nice bit: you don’t have to hire a fancy design agency or figure out complicated printing yourself anymore. You can jump online and print business card designs that are totally custom—play with fonts, test out colors, even add little graphics or icons. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get it right. You might design something, print it, and then realize, “Hmm, this doesn’t actually feel like me.” That’s fine—go back, tweak it, do another run. It’s not like in the old days where you had to order 1,000 at once and live with them for the next five years.
What I like most about business cards is they do this quiet, background work. You hand one over, the person tucks it away, and then… nothing. For weeks. Months, maybe. And then, out of nowhere, they’re cleaning out a bag or flipping through a notebook, and there you are again. Maybe they reach out. Maybe they recommend you to someone else. That little card keeps working long after the conversation’s over.
So yeah, while everyone else is busy sending connection requests that get buried in a feed, there’s something nice about giving someone something they can actually hold. Something they can keep. Something they might stumble across at exactly the right time.
And who knows? That tiny rectangle of paper might just turn into the start of something big.
