I’m a tutor. I help kids do well on standardized tests and/or with their schoolwork.
I’m making up business cards so I can expand a bit. I’m deciding on a design, and I’d love your input.
I’d like to advertise myself as someone who’s not typical of tutors and teachers, so I’d like to avoid the typical symbols of teaching and learning: no apples, mortar boards, books, pencils, etc.
The card would have my name, contact info (email, phone, and fax), and a list of the 9 major tests and subjects I work with.
I do a lot of tutoring in bio, chem, and environmental sciences. I thought that a card with a design of the earth or sky might work well. Maybe something like: this,this,this, or this.
But, then, maybe it would make sense to choose a simpler design, one that has no chance of competing with the text. Maybe something like: this,this, or this.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your opinion. Thanks.
Simple is the way to go. Id go with your second last example, white card with blue stripe on the left… Make your list of tests next to that. Info in the middle and then over on the right a cool 3d sorta molecular model. Choose an appropriate molecule to fit in a nice way. My 2 cents. Good luck with the business btw!
I like the second one for a picture or the next to last one for simple. If they’re cheap enough maybe do some of each and see if there’s a winner in terms of business.
I like the planet earth ones. I always end up with a stack of business cards I’ve collected and can’t remember why I’ve hung on to half of them. The black will stand out in a crowd of cards, and there’s a visual to jog the memory. The earth image is distinctly science-y, as opposed to the sky and clouds images, which, to me, are pretty generic.
For one thing, BCs are not the end-all be-all business tool they once were. Don’t put too much on them, in any sense of the word. Still very useful, especially in personal-service kinds of careers, but just one small bit among other fundamental identity and contact tools.
Include a QR code on the reverse that lets people load all your contact info in a click. It’s trivial to do.
The best background color for a business card is white, and leave plenty of white space. Beyond that, simple with a splash of color and for your business I would say a touch of whimsy.
Thanks to all of you for your advice! Thanks especially to NitroPress, for his suggestion that I put a QR code on the back of the card that lets people add my contact info to their files quickly. I hadn’t thought of that!
As it turns out, I don’t need a business card yet. I’ve already gotten a couple of referrals (yay!), and positive reviews are, apparently, circulating quickly.
When it comes time to get business cards, maybe I’ll get a sample of each design (simple white with small logo vs. Earth on a black background) and see which one seems to get more positive responses. (or I can give different designs to different families, depending on the general personality and style that family has.)
Thanks also, SanVito, for pointing out that black cards might look scruffy quickly. That hadn’t come to mind. I can test that out with a sample. And maybe I could get the black cards printed on black card stock, so black runs through the material and isn’t just an overlay of dark ink on a white card.
By the way, there is no reason to go with one- or two-color printing any more for much of anything. Four-color printing is much more cost-effective even if you’re simulating a few colors. Printing a dark-background card and coating it with anything from aqueous gloss to UV to laminate is very cost-effective.
