Cultural Diversity Over Business Cards
I had a few occasions to think about the business card designs. When I discuss with graphic designers from US and Europe, they often say “I like it when business cards are thick,” and this is where already their culture collides with the Japanese one. And the business has not even started at this point!
As About.Com’s Desktop Publishing section describes, thickness of a paper is associated with authority and seriousness:
“Heavy weight paper can lend an aura of importance and seriousness not
found in flimsier products. This is especially true in business cards.
Often thin paper screams cheap desktop printing even without the telltale perforations from some perforated business cards papers.”
Western business cards can often reach up to 350g/m^2. On the other hand, standard Japanese business cards hardly exceeds 200g/m^2, almost half of the Western standards.
Why the difference? According to many Japanese, this is a matter of respect. They say their ‘humble’ business cards should not occupy their customer’s business card holders too much. And certainly, the fact that it is almost a ritual to exchange business cards in Japan, I would say it is also a matter of frequency of use and amount that you need to carry.
The lesson is, that if you would like to adopt the local cultures completely, whether you are an American coming to Japan or a Japanese visiting US, it takes more than just printing double sides with two languages on each side.
