Analyse the brief & Research and develop ideas
What am I being asked to do?
design the cover and the message inside a range of greeting cards.
At least three cards, can be unrelated or working as a serious or talking about the same topic.
I need to be creative and find topics that hasn’t been manufactured yet. Exploring different topics.
Base the dimensions on an envelope I have.
optional - including an envelope design, explore pop ups or other forms of cards.
Must Include
3 cards at least
cover design
message inside
optional - including an envelope design, explore pop ups or other forms of cards.
What are the Keywords for the design
sentiments
big personal landmarks
events
obscure
celebrations, congratulations, thanks, regrets and condolences.
sporting
relationship
care
Who are the Target audience
a girl who is looking for a greeting card for her girl friend or best friend
What message do I want to pass
Me to you greeting. Something sarcastic, witty, and have a wink to it.
Primary Research
Greeting cards history and background
finding out information and crucial tips about designing greeting cards. what make them attract audience and purchase them? why people use them?
I don’t have any envelope or greeting cards in my house, so I will have to find out diementions online
what designs are there for pop ups and envelopes? and would I chose to use it?
what formats of greeting cards are there and what can I explore apart of pop ups and envelopes
Look for greeting cards inspo
look for special events and explore what topic should I come with
Secondary Research
Greeting cards history and background
starting as Chinese new years and ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls.
Later on Europeans used it for Valentines day greetings and it got quite popular (1400’s),
later for Christmas too (1843),
Easter greeting cards in Europe and US (1849)
and later on got established as an industry on 1940’s (predecessor of today’s Greeting Card Association).
finding out information and crucial tips about designing greeting cards. what make them attract audience and purchase them? why people use them?
I started researching about greeting cards and what is essential to make a good one. What is essential in order to make it sellable. and what is crucial to have in the design. here are some tips that I found important. I marked the keywords of what I would want to consider when I design.
The ideal greeting card is a seamless marriage of art and verse.
The successful card designer needs to create an image that’s eye-catching enough to capture the customer’s attention, yet reflects the tone and emotion of the card’s message.
Try to envision your design in terms of how it is likely to be displayed for sale. A vertical layout is most often used for greeting cards, and many cards are displayed in racks, where the bottom half of the card is not visible to the customer. Focus attention on the top half of your design, which is what the customer will see.
Pay attention to different design styles and the publishers whose cards hold special appeal to you.
The visual design of a greeting card is first to capture a customer’s attention, but the words will make the sale. More than three-fourths of card purchasers base their selection on a card’s text and the special me-to-you connection that those words create.
Spend time in card stores and the card aisles of various retailers reading cards. Concentrate on the me-to-you voice of greeting cards, and how the words work with the imagery to set the tone, emotion and impact of a card.
greeting cards are an expression of sentiment, mood, joy, empathy and the entire range of human emotions.
most people carefully pick through the available greeting cards until they find just the perfect card for the situation and the recipient. Sentiment and mood, yes, but greeting cards also express personality – and understanding of personality.
be sure to leave room to write a personal note and signature on the inside panels
You'll also want to make sure your greeting cards are printed on thick 14-point C1S glossy paper stock, which is coated for a high sheen on the outside and uncoated for easy ballpoint pen writing on the inside. If you don't need (or want) to personalise your greeting cards, you can print them on super-thick 16-point C2S glossy cover stock (which is coated on both sides) or 13-point recycled matte cover stock for premium, professional sheen.
I found some more different designs I can go for such as -
Simplicity, Multiple hues, Illustrations and photos, Custom sizes, High-gloss, UV coating, Eco-friendly, Foil stamps etc.
from all this information that I gathered I made a list of important things to consider.
I don’t have any greeting card envelopes or greeting cards in my house (and it is head to get hod on in Bali where I live), so I will have to find out dimensions online
Most common greeting cards sizes -
5 by 7 goes with an A7 envelope.
4 1/2 by 6 1/8 goes with an A6 envelope.
4 1/4 by 5 1/2 goes with an A2 envelope.
I tried to find everything I have at home, postcards, envelopes and other inspiring things for designing greeting cards. I live in bali, so greeting cards are not so famous around here and It's not easy to find.
I did remember a series of 3 greeting cards I really loved and captured when I was traveling to Kuala Lumpur. I felt related to it because I always love to hide from the world underneath my blanket. I know that greeting cards for me is not about the impressive embellishments but the wittiness and simplicity - If it made me stop and take a photo of it or even buy it by just a simple illustration and text - Its a winning design in my eyes.
what designs are there for pop ups and envelopes? and would I chose to use it?
Envelopes -
I explored possible designs for greeting cards envelopes, since from my knowledge - most of the time - the envelope is plain white or plain colour. sometimes the paper of the envelope is more fancy or glowing.
I searched online for possible envelopes for greeting cards and possible designs.
https://www.envelopes.com/envelope-sizes
I really liked the I idea in this design, there is something very festive and very personalising and very earthy.
I would have to see how my ideas develop and see if it possible or appropriate for my design to add something similar.
Another idea I have in mind in case of envelope design is to add a part of the illustration on the outside. For instance, If it is a face of a woman on the greeting card, add her lips on the envelope.
Pop ups -
I explored some pop up greeting cards, which are fun and playful, but I never felt too related to them, and for this project I wanted to go for something more modest and minimalist. Something that the message will be so witty and sharp that I wont have to shout it out with a pop up.
what formats of greeting cards are there and what can I explore apart of pop ups and envelopes
forms of greeting cards -
Design oversized greeting cards
A traditional five-inch by seven-inch greeting card design is appreciated, but an oversized 13-inch by 17-inch greeting card design is talked about. Oversized greeting cards can't be ignored - they're practically guaranteed to be opened and read. They mean more, and they generate free word-of-mouth advertising for your business. They're different, which says you're different from the competition. With so many virtues to designing and printing oversized greeting cards, the relatively low investment to do so can pay huge dividends.
I actually really liked the idea of making an oversized greeting card, but then I realised it would be really hard to get envelopes for it and stores racks are not always as big and can accomodate it.
Folded vs flat styles
Greeting cards come in either a folded or flat style. Folded greeting cards commonly has one centerfold which creates the middle section, and has the advantage of being more easily displayed as they can stand on a surface such as a desk, sideboard or bookshelf. Flat cards, as the name suggests, is two-sided like a postcard and do not have a fold.
After I did all this research, I run across a “Skillshare” course about designing greeting cards (for submitting to big companies).
These are the steps I’ve made and what I’ve learned -
Market Study
There are 2 themes for greeting cards - Everyday and Seasonal. According to this assignment the brief demands to find a special life event - which means the theme for this assignment must be either a special everyday event but most likely would be seasonal.
going to check greeting cards in stores or online, and use 6 questions to identify the design and check what is trending and working.
6 questions -
THEME
MEDIA
IMAGRY
COLORS
TEXT/TONE
EMBALISHMENTS
Brain Storming
Select 3 ideas for each theme, and them pick 1 and develop it.
In this case I need to find 3 ideas only form Seasonal theme, pick one and develop this idea. I would like to make it as a series of the same idea but different design.
Media
Traditional - water colour, gouache, ink, acrylic, mixed, collage
Digital - photoshop, Illustrator…
Photography
At that stage I’m not sure yet what exactly I would like to use, but I have a feeling of using photos I’ve taken - and making them as water colour via photoshop can be playful and fun.
Specifications
convert the final into digital files
most commonly AI or PS
Files should be as layered as possible
at least 5X7 (plus beed) created and scanned at minimum 300 dpi
work even larger if you want to use it for different products
CMYK for printing
Incorporate Text
refer to research for appropriate tone
If not a writer or copy writer -keep it simple
Use a font or hand lettered text (easy to read, matching the design)
Embellishments
foil
glitter
gems
laser cuts
tip ons
fabric
die cuts
pull tabs
spot Iv
stickers
pop ups
deboss
emboss
hologram
Presentation
Design mock ups
Formatting
high resolution
low res pdf/jpg (8X10 72 dpi RBG)
https://www.skillshare.com/classes/Become-A-Greeting-Card-Designer/774800337?via=logged-in-home-your-classes&autoPlay=1
Now I will have to take my research onto the next level.. Looking for inspiration, analysing cards, brainstorming for ideas etc..