2

I'm designing a business card for a client, and for the first time I'm going to use social media icons, such as Facebook/Instagram etc. I've been going through some of their guidelines and in the case of Instagram for example, they've stated the minimum size for the icon can be no smaller than 29px, which works out a little over 10mm. That seems like a ridiculously MASSIVE icon for a business card, to my eye anyway. I've looked at lots of cards on pinterest etc for comparisons and most cards that use icons seem to have them quite small...as in smaller than the styleguides suggest.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has designed a business card with social media icons and what sort of size did you make them? To my eye something more in the range of 5mm squared seems appropriate.

Improve this question
2
  • 2
    29 px is only about 10 mm if your document is 72 ppi. Print documents should normally be 300 dpi, which makes 29 px around 2.5 mm. Besides, Instagram’s requirements are for screen usage. Print is different.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Aug 7, 2017 at 3:52
  • 1
    When designing for print, just make it look right, as above that's for on-screen display, you don't design for print by the pixel.
    – Digital Lightcraft
    Aug 7, 2017 at 7:31

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

Since you already did tag this question 'indesign' we can all assume you are actually doing this in InDesign and not Photoshop. In which case forget about pixels and dpi and forget about the Instagram guidelines.

Just create a new document in InDesign, make it 9x5cm (most likely) or whatever size you want for your card, then download Font Awesome which already has 'vector' icons built in for social media websites. Type in the icons for Facebook/etc via the glyphs panel and make these any size you want so they work with your design.

Export to PDF when its done and don't overthink it.

Improve this answer
-2

First things first, you have to work with a document with the resolution of 300ppi.

Here’s an example of a business card of 9x5cm on Photoshop:

Here you can see the Instagram icon with 52x52 pixels, following the guidelines:

The professional print standard is 300ppi. This is used by professional photographers and any time a photo is printed in a magazine or other print publication.

DPI and PPI are used interchangeably a lot of the time, but are not the same thing. For example, you can print an image on your 300dpi printer at 72ppi, 100ppi, or 300ppi. Changing the ppi affects the size of the printed photograph. You can't change the DPI, since this is set for whatever printer you are using.

So probably you are not working with the resolution of 300 pixels per inch.

Improve this answer
2
  • "Anyone using Instagram’s assets should only use the logos and screenshots found on our Brand Resources site and follow these guidelines. Only those planning to use Instagram’s assets in any broadcast, out-of-home advertising or print larger than 8.5 x 11 inches (A4 size) need to request permission." https://en.instagram-brand.com/guidelines/general
    – King of Rome
    Aug 7, 2017 at 5:20
  • pixel sizees stared in a style guide have nothing to do with print.
    – Digital Lightcraft
    Aug 7, 2017 at 7:32

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.