Top Business Card Trends for 2025
The graphic design world is also evolving as we get into 2025. New trends reflect modern aesthetics, technological advancements, and consumer values.
Business cards are no exception. Gone are the days when it’s just a simple piece of cardboard stamped with your name and address. Nowadays, business cards are sleek, stylish, and creative, with some even digitalized.
Looking for good business card designs for your small business, startup, or yourself? We got you. Today, we list the top business card trends to follow in 2025. Whether you want artistic business cards or professional calling cards, there’s surely a trend you can incorporate here.
Let’s get started!
Trend #1: Minimalist and Clean Designs
Minimalism reigns supreme not only in fashion, interior design, and lifestyle but also in graphic design.
This is why we expect to see more business cards with minimalism as its focus in 2025. These cards feature clean sans-serif fonts, monochrome or neutral tone color palettes, minimal illustrations, and abundant whitespace.
Why It Works: Minimalist cards portray a sense of sophistication, elegance, and confidence. They’re great for businesses that want to look polished and professional or for brands that target a more luxurious market.
HR Properties – Business Card by Muhammad Ali Effendy
Varos Construction Business Card
Trend #2: Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Cards
The push for sustainability is driving businesses to rethink traditional practices and opt for a greener option.
This green practice extends to business cards. In 2025, we foresee a rise in cards created using eco-friendly and biodegradable materials.
Want to make one for your business? Try the following solutions:
- Use natural materials like bamboo, hemp, cotton, or cornstarch-based PLA. Post-consumer paper, recycled paper stocks, or recycled textiles are also a great option.
- Use water-based, soy-based, or vegetable-based inks, as they are less toxic to the environment compared to traditional chemical inks.
- Consider using embossing or die-cutting for visual interest instead of inks or coatings, as these produce less waste.
- And if you must use coatings, use aqueous coatings as these break down naturally.
Why It Works: Ninety-two percent of customers are more likely to trust a brand seen as environmentally conscious. By opting for an eco-friendly business card, you’ll instantly convey your commitment to sustainability, show your brand’s values, and gain your customer’s trust.
Trend #3: Interactive and Digital Cards
With our increasingly digitalized world, it’s not a surprise to see the fast rise of digital business cards in the market. It reached an estimated total of 178.5 million market size in 2024 and is expected to grow to a whopping 381.7 million by 2033.
Many companies are shifting to digital cards because they’re less expensive and resource-wasteful. They’re also more convenient and accessible, and they allow you to directly link customers to unlimited information such as portfolios, videos, or Google Maps locations.
We look ahead to seeing more digital business cards with the following features:
- Quick Response (QR) Code: Adding a scannable QR code to your card that links directly to your website or social media accounts is an easy way to promote your digital presence.
- Near Field Communication (NFC): Similar to QR codes, NFCs are another great way to link to your online platforms. The only difference is that NFCs need to be tapped directly to your phones while QR Codes can be scanned from afar.
- Augmented Reality (AR): AR can be used to give your customers a more immersive and interactive experience. These are great for tech companies, game studios, or freelance animators as they can showcase their technological advancements and skills with just one tap.
Masculine, Bold, Blockchain Business Card
Trend #4: Pantone Color Trends
Are you familiar with Pantone’s Color of the Year? If you’re not, it’s essentially a forecast of the color that will be “trending” in terms of fashion, manufacturing, industrial design, graphic design, and other artistic ventures.
Once they announce the color, expect to see it across multiple industries soon after. And yes, we’re expecting to see business cards follow this trend as well!
The Pantone Color of the Year for 2025 is Mocha Mousse. If you want to use this color, we suggest:
- Pairing it with white for an elegant yet bold statement
- Combining it with other browns like beige, caramel, or copper for a beautiful monochromatic look
- Contrasting it with black, navy, or cranberry for a darker and edgier vibe
- Or go for lighter pastels like sky blue and mint for a sweet and bright look
Why It Works: Pantone carefully selects the color based on studies on cultural shifts, new technologies, socio-economic conditions, consumer behavior, and other relevant factors. Using this color in your business card ensures that you are always on trend and remain aligned with your customer’s ever-changing tastes.
Trend #5: Custom Shapes
Many brands are tired of the basic rectangular business card. To make their cards stand out visually, more and more designers are experimenting with various shapes like hexagons, diamonds, or circles.
If you’re considering doing this, you can look into die-cut printing. This makes it possible for your card to have simple shapes like triangles or circles or even more complex ones like cupcakes, cats, keys, etc.
You can also go for something simpler, such as having rounded corners on your cards. This adds a little visual oomph to your card without spending too much money or time with a complicated shape. Not to mention, they tend to slide smoother in wallets, so it’s easier for your customers to keep.
Why It Works: It’s simple–unique shapes help you stand out. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and intrigued if someone hands you a flower-shaped card instead of a square one, right? They also allow for more creative expression, as the custom shape is more relevant and reflective of your brand’s product, identity, or values.
Fabrika Fotografa business card
Upmarket, Playful Business Card
Trend #6: Unique Materials
The materials for your cards are also getting a major upgrade this 2025. Instead of the typical cardstock, expect to see metal, acrylic, fabric, and other unexpected materials this year.
Thinking of getting on this innovative business cards trend? Some possible materials to use are:
- Metal: Metal doesn’t rip as easily as cardstock, giving you freedom for more intricate embossing and engravings. Metal cards also look more sleek and premium, perfect for high-end jewelers, luxury car agents, or real estate agents.
- Leather: Soft leather cards give an artisanal, stylish, or rustic feel. These are suitable for clothing brands, furniture designers, leather artisans, or photographers.
- Food: Yes, you read that right! Some businesses give out edible “cards” with their contact info stamped on a cookie, chocolate, biscuit, or wafer. While it may seem ridiculous since they can’t exactly keep the “card,” it works as a fun marketing gimmick.
- Wood: Wood allows a lot of flexibility for die-cuts, so it’s perfect for people who are looking to get more creative with their designs. Wood is also great for eco-friendly brands as it offers a more natural and raw appeal.
Why It Works: Just like with shapes, unique materials make you stand out. They also create a more tactile experience for your customers which leaves a stronger first impression.
Wooden Business Card design template
How To Choose the Right Business Card Trend for Your Brand
Now that you know the hottest trends for this year, how do you know which one is right for your business?
First, you need to identify and understand your brand identity. Are you creative and dynamic? Professional and businesslike? Luxurious and exclusive?
This is crucial to know since your business card serves as an extension of your brand’s identity. Your material and design choices will affect how your customers will perceive you. For example, a digital card is suitable for a tech or gaming company. While an embossed leather card is a better representation for a luxury watchmaker.
Next is to consider practicality. Let’s face it: we may all want a luxury metal card full of intricate laser cut-outs, but it’s going to be expensive. It’s not practical for small businesses or startups to go for premium materials since they may not have the budget or resources.
You should also consider the context in which people will use your cards. If you give out your cards to select customers who value quality and luxury, it makes sense to use premium cards. But if you frequently attend large networking events where you have to give out a huge number of cards, it might be better to stick to standard cards so that they are more cost-effective.
Lastly, while being aware of trends is important, don’t lose sight of your brand’s image and goals. You don’t need to follow every trend just to be “in.” If a simple colored card works for you, then you don’t need to change it!
The Future of Business Card Design
Business cards are anything but outdated. Even in our highly digital world, they remain a powerful tool for connection, with twenty-seven million business cards still being printed daily.
Incorporating the above trends in your card’s design can help you take your plain cards to the next level. Whether you go for sleek minimalism, experiment with the trendy color for the year, or embrace out-of-the-box materials, 2025 has something to offer everyone.
Ready to design your card? Head on to our business card maker today to get started. You can also check out our logo maker tool, email signature maker, or Facebook cover maker for all other branding assets you may need.
Get business cards that stand out with BrandCrowd today!