It’s the first impression that stays on!

I’ve often wondered about the lifecycle of a business card (or a visiting card, as the case may be) and suddenly, I find the same thought in a novel I am reading, where the protagonist follows a business card as it moves from her pocket to her dresser and then stops to linger in her thoughts.

I think of the many business cards I have received, some that were tucked into the folds of my purse, some that disappeared into the sleeves of my wallet, and some that found themselves stacked neatly on my desk.

Of course, no business card in my pile of cards looks similar to the ones I used to receive some years ago, because like everything else in the city, the business card has changed too.

I have just received a business card, which looks like it has been spun out of fine gold. A well-known doctor offered his business card which included his entire career graph and information on his many gold medals.

A lovely lady at a party distributed business cards that had a calendar embossed on the back for ready reference and at another social event I met another young man who handed out his business cards which had jokes printed on them, that could make you smile all day.

But where do business cards actually go, I wondered? Do people preserve them, admire them or bin them? Do they really make a long lasting impact?

I call up Manjusha Maheshwari, my savvy and stylish friend, who is also an image consultant, for some answers. “A business card offers the best first impression,” she says. “It is therefore important to design it carefully. It is like your personal identity.”

Gone are the days, when a logo and an address, were the only points of reference in a card. Today, it is that little extra touch that makes a card special.

According to her, a beautiful and creatively designed card will always be preserved, especially the ones with a few artistic touches.

Across the world, business card trends have changed. In some cities, the visiting card has morphed into a CD, while in other places, the three dimensional and eco-friendly cards are hot and happening.

Some come with magnets, some are like gold tablets, some have gilded edges and funky lettering. I also discover, that visiting cards (or calling cards, as they were once called) were first seen in the 1400s in China, but they became popular in Europe first, when wealthy Europeans would adorn their visiting cards with their family coat of arms.

My young college friend Preethi, who has no visiting card yet is waiting for the day when she can create one for herself. She has her own ideas…her business cards will be golden and full of holes to resemble a wedge of fine cheese if she becomes a chef, made out of leather if she becomes a handbag designer, and woven out of patchwork fabric is she becomes a couturier. “I feel a business card should be so special that no-one will want to toss it away,” she says.

The more I look at my own collection of cards, I realise that each card takes me back to a time, a place, a special moment. The way a card is handed over is just as important too.

And, while creativity is important, it’s the memories of a dazzling smile and a pair of friendly eyes that will perhaps remain the best business cards of all.