Are you bland?

I didn’t think so. What about your business card? Yeah, I thought so.

As a not-bland person, you should have a not-bland (spicy?) business card. But if you’re like 99.7 percent (my unofficial estimate) of the professional population, your business card blends into the corporate landscape like gazelle in the veldt.

While a gazelle has a good reason to blend in (that whole predator thing), your motive is stand out—to be more like a zebra. (Yes, zebras have predators too; the analogy isn’t perfect, but you get the idea.)

Not everyone has the leeway to remake their business card, but for those of you who do, ask yourselves this: does my card stand out (in a good way)? Does it reflect my personal brand? Is it really boring?

I’m not suggesting you color your card purple, fill with bubbly lettering and adorn it with pink polka dots—unless that reflects the personal brand that works for you. (Hey, you never know.) Your card should complement your brand.

And while you're looking at your own card and weighing a possible redesign, resist the tired (and false) notion that you have to be bland to be considered "professional."

Think there’s no room for creativity in a business card? Check out this site.