Business cards can say anything you want them to—literally. When there are so many options available, why wouldn’t you spend time on your design to make sure it’s telling your story?

Your business card can be represent to tell about who you are or what your business or many thing. Whether you’re looking for your first job after getting your online degree or are starting a business, there are a million ways to show who you are and what you do on 3.5 x 2 inches.

Be loud:

Bold designs are eye-catching. So are bold phrases. Grab the nearest English major you can find and enlist them to help you come up with a short phrase to describe either yourself or your business. Truck companies might go with something like “Always moving forward,” to describe both their philosophy and their jobs.

The design itself should make use of high-contrast color and large graphics. You should be able to hold your design at arm’s length and easily see the company name or your personal logo. Don’t be afraid to use bright colors to set your business apart. More formal companies can make use of one bold color against black, white or gray to add visual punch.

Be clean:

Minimalism has been trending for the last ten years or so for a good reason. Simple and clean designs are easier to read and easier to look at in general. The last thing you want to do is have a business card that no one can read.

A good rule of thumb is to have one image (whether it’s a logo or a photo) and only two types of font. Use a mix of serif and sans serif to break up large text, or a mix of bold titles and regular text in the same font. With such a small space, you may find your design looks better even with just one type of font. You should also only have two or three font sizes. A wide mix of text size can look just as messy as having several different fonts.

Be a show-off:

Use your business cards to show what you can do. If you’re a designer, the logo itself will speak volumes, but you can also put a design on the back that you’re particularly proud of (be sure to cite the date and which client it was for).

Businesses can cite their philosophies, list major achievements or clients, and talk about what they’re good at. Never lose an inch of advertising space.

Be different…every time:

Business cards have evolved from the stuffy letter pressed versions of yesteryear. Printing companies have, too. Moo Cards are a great example of that.

The folks at Moo Cards will print a different design on the back of every single business card, for no added cost. Personal cards can have entire stories on the back of them or different projects. You can literally have an art gallery in your wallet full of your work.

Make customers interested in picking up (and distributing) your business cards by telling your history across the different cards. Include some nice subheads so they have some clue of what’s going on, of course!

Any good marketer will tell you that to be considered interesting, you have to give people something to be excited about. Let that process begin the minute you introduce yourself and hand over 3.5 x 2 inches of yourself.