Make better connections with a student business card.

• Name: Make sure your name is prominently featured on your card. You don’t want a crucial piece of information to be a challenge to find.

• Job title: While you may not have a current role at a company, make sure to mention your industry or field, like engineer, writer, accounting specialist, graphic designer, data scientist, photographer, etc. That will help someone remember who you are and why they have your card. Students can also list their college or school, expected graduation year, and major(s) and minor(s). Be careful not to use any college or school logos that might be copyrighted or make it appear you are an employee rather than a student.

• Contact information: List all the ways that people can reach you. Your phone number and email address are must-haves on any business card. Make sure you list only email addresses you use regularly. You don’t want to send someone to a channel you rarely check and miss a good opportunity. To that end, make sure to use a personal or professional email address that features your name, not a funny nickname. Do not use a university address that may phase out after graduation. Information like your home address or grade point average can be omitted. They are unnecessary for a card where you must save space for the most important contact information.

• Website: If you have a portfolio site or a professional blog that showcases your work, add it to your business card. This gives people you network with a direct line to view your work.

• Social media: If you have a professional Twitter handle, Instagram account, or YouTube, Facebook, or LinkedIn page, you can feature one or two on your card. Don’t overload the card with URLs. A readable, simple design is better than a crowded one.

• Professional photo: Some business cards feature a professional headshot. This can help people connect your name to your face.

Quality control is key.

To create an impactful business card that represents you well, take these considerations into account when designing and printing your cards.

• Font style and size: While stylish font choices may help you stand out, legibility should be the number one priority. Font size is an important part of readability too. If you need to make your font extremely small in order to fit all your info onto the card, that’s a sign you need to prioritize which info you really need so you can increase the font size.

• Color choices: The color palette you choose can help make your business card distinct, but make sure legibility reigns. You don’t want bright yellow neons that are hard to read on a white background. Also, color choices should reflect your specialization and desired field of work. Bright colors that pop could be perfect for an aspiring artist, but might not be a great fit for a recent accounting grad.

• Paper quality: A flimsy card can get bent, folded, and ripped before it’s quickly discarded. Do a test print on a few card stocks to find one with the right sturdiness and weight. It might also be worth investing in a card holder to keep your business cards crisp. Folded corners on a card you just fished out of your pocket are a small drawback that’s easy to avoid.

Jump-start your business card with InDesign templates.

It’s easy to put together a slick business card with InDesign templates from Adobe Stock.