How to Set Up a Personal Reference Card

Get personal by handing out reference cards.

Office workers have an easy way to hand over their contact information -- business cards. This doesn't mean that there's no way to co-opt the business card format for personal use. Make a personal reference card to hand to potential new pals, hiring managers, babysitters and other people you come in contact with. You get to decide everything from what information to include on the card, how to decorate it and the card's size, plus choose from software programs that may already be on your computer.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Publisher
• Digital picture
• Windows Paint
• Adobe Photoshop

Instructions

With Publisher

1. Open Publisher and click the "Business Cards" button under the "Most Popular" section. Publisher doesn't have a personal reference cards section, but you can double-click any of the business card templates and quickly transform them to a personal one. Once you double-click a card, it opens in the Publisher workspace.

2. Click into the main text box, usually the name placeholder, and the text becomes highlighted. Type the cardholder's name. Click into other text boxes and type personal details such as your blood type, any allergies, medications used and who to contact in a medical emergency.

3. Click the "Insert" tab. Click "Picture." Browse to a head shot or favorite photo and double-click the image to add it to the card. Drag it into place, such as in the top left corner. To resize the image, click its corner, press the "Shift" key and drag the corner toward the middle.

4. Click the "Page Design" tab. Scroll through the options in the "Schemes" section of the ribbon to change the colors and designs on the card to match your personal tastes. This step is optional.

5. Click the "File" tab. Click "Save As." Type a name for the personal reference card and click the "Save" button.

With Paint

1. Open Paint. Click the "Paint" button and select "Properties." Type new dimensions for the personal reference card into the "Width" and "Height" boxes, such as "7" and "5" for an index card size. Click the "Inches" radio button. Click the "OK" button and Paint resizes the card working canvas.

2. Select a color from the "Colors" section; choose your favorite color or one that goes with your preferred theme. Click the "A" icon in the "Tools" section and click the card canvas.

3. Choose a font and text size from the menus. Type your name. Press the "Enter" key and type another line of information, such as your address. Continue to press "Enter" and add more lines of details such as a cell phone, email address and website.

4. Select a new color from the "Colors" section, one that will not obscure the font color. Click the "Fill with color" tool, the tipping paint bucket on the "Tools" pane. Click anywhere on the white canvas to give your card a background color.

5. Click the Paint button. Click "Save As." Enter a name for the card and click "Save."

With Photoshop

1. Open Photoshop. Click the "File" menu and click "New." Type "MyRefCard" into the "Name" box. Enter dimensions for the card in the "Width" and "Height" boxes, such as "3.5" and "2" respectively. Select "inches" from the dimensions drop-downs. Click "White" from the "Background Contents" menu. Click the "OK" button to open the canvas.

2. Click the "File" menu again. Click "Open." Browse to a picture to use for the card and double-click it. Click the "Select" menu and click "All." Click the "Edit" menu and click "Copy."

3. Click back to the "MyRefCard" canvas, click the "Edit" menu and click "Paste." When the picture appears, drag it into place on the card. To resize it, click the "Edit" menu, select "Transform," click "Scale" and shrink it to fit.

4. Click the "T" icon on the "Tools" pane. From the toolbar at the top of the screen, choose a font, text color and size. Click the card and type the card details, such as "Rose's Cat Sitting Service." Press "Enter" and continue to type details, such as "Free First Appointment" and "All Licenses and Certifications."

5. Click the "File" menu and select the "Save" option.

References

• Microsoft Office: Publisher 2010 Features and Benefits
• Windows: Using Paint
• University of Washington: Type Tool