Last updated on April 13th, 2023 at 07:36 pm

Business cards have been around longer than you think!

At their core, business cards are just small pieces of cardstock with contact details printed on them. But few people realize that these ubiquitous printed cards have been around for centuries, their history reflecting developments in print and information technology as we knew it in the past several hundred years. The folks over at YouTheDesigner and UCreative gave us this fun and educational look at business cards, and how they evolved over the past 600 years!

The history of business cards is deeper and more multi-faceted than you might expect. The infographic below highlights some of the most important developments in this history.

 Special thanks to Patrick of Youthedesigner for coming up with this infographic.

Business cards have evolved significantly through the years, but the specific contexts with which they’re used have changed only a little. Even so, understanding which popular trends in design applies to your brand can help you significantly when creating your own business cards.  Visit our post for some stunning business card design ideas or learn more about popular specifications for business cards, and other popular print products.

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