If your business is planning on implementing ID cards for security purposes, you certainly aren’t alone. More and more companies are taking steps to ensure only authorized personnel are allowed into their buildings by using secure ID cards from brands like IDSecurityOnline. But how can you go about designing a great ID card that will not only be effective, but also attractive? Check out a few helpful design tips below.

Choose the Orientation

You could choose from landscape orientation or portrait orientation when designing an ID card, and this will be the first step in the design process because it will give you a clear idea of where the elements of the ID card could be placed. You might find the graphical elements work better in one orientation versus the other, or you might be able to show your client both options because they both work nicely. However, you should bear in mind things like how the ID card will be displayed by a user, if and how it will be scanned, whether it will be placed on a lanyard, and where the most important information will need to be found so that it won’t get rubbed off over time.

Stick with Simple Design Elements

An ID card isn’t exactly the right time to get really fancy and creative with your design. Instead, it is best to keep things simple and straightforward. You don’t want to set up a complicated design that consists of hard-to-read fonts or too many images that make the card difficult to decipher from afar. Rather, you should only stick with including the elements that need to be there, such as the company name and logo, the photo and full name of the staff member, along with the person’s role in the organization, and the expiration date of the card, if there is one. If the card will be scanned for security purposes, you will also need to include the appropriate barcode.

Consider a Double-Sided Design

Many ID cards are only single-sided, so you need to include everything on the front of the card, without any information or design elements on the back. However, your client might request a double-sided ID card if there is more information that needs to be included on the card. In this case, it is best to keep all of the most pertinent information prominently displayed on the front of the ID card. Anything that is considered secondary in terms of level of importance could go on the back. And, of course, if the card needs to come with a magnetic strip for scanning, it could be placed on the back so that it doesn’t get in the way of the design on the front.

Hopefully, these tips will help you design a fantastic ID card for you and any client that comes your way. As ID cards become even more common than they already are, you might find yourself designing quite a few of these, and once you get the hang of things, you will be able to efficiently design a card that satisfies every customer.