42 Unusually Brilliant Business Card Designs [PICS]

In today’s tech-oriented world of short attention spans it is more important than ever to make a compelling first impression. A brilliant business card that speaks to your profession, serves some unusual function or that transforms into something else can be a great way to grab attention and inspire those you meet. Organized by category here are 42 extremely creative business card designs. Some of these are old, some new, but all are still amazing examples of out-of-the-box thinking in business card design.
1) Constructable Designs - Business Cards You Have to Build

A card with some assembly required forces the recipient to spend more time with it - which is a good thing if you want to avoid getting lost in the shuffle. Some of these designs are fairly simple and create simple forms or reveal messages when distorted while others are virtual toys or art projects in their own right.

2) Organic Designs - Calling Cards You Can Watch Grow

What could be a more dynamic way to leave your mark than handing out something designed to actually grows and changes on its own over time? These can be used to advertise landscaping services or other plant products or simply to leave a lasting (and evolving) impression on the recipient.

3) Pragmatic Designs - Calling Cards You Can Actually Use

Instead of sticking people with another flimsy piece of paper to lose in their wallet why not give your business card a secondary function? This can be as simple as making a clothes pin, a bottle opener or a ruler or as extravagant as giving out entire USB devices with your information printed on them.

4) Professionally Themed - Designs that Speak to Your Occupation

The message on a card design doesn’t necessarily have to be the print on the paper - it can be much bolder and embodied in the crafting of the object itself. Examples include: dog tags for an animal adoption program, a map that folds out and leads you to a map shop, fake medicine for the ‘brand doctor,’ and a head-hunter’s business card you are instructed to eat after reading in case your employer were to catch you with it.

5) Creative Designs - More Cards that Don’t Fit the Mold

Of course not every business card is going to fit neatly into a category - and all the better for those trying to think outside of the box (after all, you don’t really want to copy everyone else right?). These designs range from simple to complex, artistic to obscure, but offer a bit more inspiration for those of us still sorting out what we want.

Sources: Flickr, AllGraphicDesign, IFTK, FinancialHack, BoingBoing, CreativeBits