Business Card Design
Bilingual Arabic and English business cards for founders, sales teams and whole companies in the UAE, with QR codes that scan and print ready files for your printer.
A business card is still handed across tables at DIFC meetings, exhibition stands and networking breakfasts in Dubai. It is small, but it answers the question of who you are and how to reach you long after the conversation, and it tells the other person how seriously you take the details. We design business cards for founders, professionals and entire teams in Dubai and across the UAE, in Arabic, English or both, and supply files ready for your printer.
Cards usually belong to a wider stationery set. See letterhead design and envelope design for matching pieces, and the print design hub for every other format.
Size
There is no single international size for business card design in Dubai. The choice affects how the card fits a wallet, a cardholder and the printer’s cutting setup, so we fix it before layout.
| Format | Trimmed size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| European style card | 85 × 55 mm | A frequent print shop default; confirm with yours |
| ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 | 85.60 × 53.98 mm | The standard size for identification and bank cards; a card at this size slips into wallet slots made for them |
| North American card | 3.5 × 2 inches, about 89 × 51 mm | Useful when most contacts are US based; slightly longer and shorter than the European card |
| Square card | Often 55 × 55 or 65 × 65 mm | Stands out in a pile, suits creative businesses; does not fit standard cardholders |
| Folded card | Varies, folds to a standard size | Room for services or a map, useful for clinics and consultants |
ID-1 dimensions are quoted from ISO/IEC 7810:2019, a standard for identification cards rather than business cards. The other sizes are trade conventions, so always take the exact size and bleed from your printer.
Two languages
The most common bilingual layout gives each language a full side. The English side reads from the left, the Arabic side from the right, and both carry the same information in the same order of importance, so neither looks like an afterthought. The logo usually appears on both sides, or on the side you expect to hand over face up.
The harder decisions are about words, not layout. Names should be spelled in Arabic the way the person already writes them on official documents, and in English the way they appear on LinkedIn and email, so a contact searching later finds them. Job titles need real translation rather than transliteration, and company names need a decision on whether the Arabic version is a translation or the registered Arabic trade name.
QR codes
Business card design in Dubai gives a QR code less room than any other printed piece. That makes both the content and the placement of the code matter.
DENSO WAVE, which created QR Code, specifies a clear margin four modules wide on all sides of the symbol. On a card, that means no border, pattern or text touching the code. When that margin gets crowded, scanning becomes unreliable.
A QR code holding a full contact record encodes every character, which makes the pattern dense and hard to scan at small sizes. A short link to a contact page keeps the code simple, and you can update the page when someone’s number changes.
Scan the printed proof, not the screen, with at least two phones from different makers. Check the contact saves correctly in both Arabic and English, since some phones handle Arabic names differently.
Finishes
Special finishes are where business card design in Dubai becomes memorable, but each one imposes rules on the artwork. Foil and embossing cannot hold very fine lines or small type. Spot UV needs its own precise artwork layer. Painted edges only show on thick board. Letterpress presses the design into soft paper, which suits simple, bold marks better than detailed ones.
A common problem we see is a card designed with a delicate logo, then sent for foil, where the thin strokes fill in and blur. We design with the chosen finish in mind from the start, and prepare separate files for each process your printer runs.
For companies, the real deliverable in business card design for Dubai teams is not one card but a system. We design the layout once, then build a master template in which only the personal details change, with rules for long names, two line titles and extra phone numbers so nobody’s card breaks the grid. The same details and styling can then carry into a matching email signature design, so the card and the inbox look like one company. If the logo itself needs refreshing before cards are printed for everyone, start with logo design, and for companies setting up a full office kit, a company stamp design often comes next.
We move through Brief, Proposal, Create, Review and Deliver, and every card is checked against your spreadsheet before files are released. Send your team list and logo for a written fixed price proposal within 45 minutes during business hours, with no obligation.
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Include one if it opens something more useful than the card already shows, such as a contact page that saves to a phone or a booking link. If it only repeats your website address, the space is often better used for white space and a cleaner layout.
Many still do at meetings, exhibitions and networking events, and a card is quick when phones are busy or offline. A good approach is to carry printed cards and have a digital version, such as a contact page, that uses the same design.
Yes. We supply a locked master template and a simple data sheet for names, titles and numbers. When someone joins, the new card is produced from the same master, so every card matches.
It depends on whether you need a single card or a template for a team, one or two languages, and any special finishes. We send a fixed written quote, scoped to your brief.
It is a style choice. Some UAE cards keep phone numbers in the digits used on the English side so they can be dialled without confusion, while others use Arabic Indic digits for a fully Arabic look. We agree one approach and apply it to every card.
Sources
Fixed price, in writing
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