Why are there so many badly designed cards around?

Perhaps that’s a little unfair, as there are many well-designed cards being produced nowadays, but there is also a lot of rubbish. Commercial cards in Britain seem to consist of those which are thought to be humorous, badly designed traditional cards, and up-market classic cards, usually beautifully designed and constructed. And expensive. Good quality cards can usually be found in museums and art galleries, and there are a large number of charities producing cards which many see as a relatively easy way of both dealing with the problems of sourcing their cards as well as giving to charity. But they are not always well designed and many use inferior quality card which tends to diminish the enjoyment for the recipient.

Increasingly, I have noticed that people are designing their own cards. To some extent this is a response to commercial pressure providing the resources for card production, but it also appears to be the result of individuals having the confidence to assemble an idea they wish to put across. And I support this.

Do it yourself…

Most professional designers will design and/or make their own cards. I’ve been making them all my professional life having copied the idea from other professionals. My experience is that these cards are generally preferred by those to whom they are sent than shop-bought cards. Perhaps it’s the idea of the effort going into them being greater than that of buying a commercial card. There are some who prefer to receive bought cards, but I think they are in a minority. Where bought cards are preferred, I believe it’s for the words which some prefer to buy rather than bring themselves to write. Now, I’m not claiming my cards are well-designed, but at least they’re individual and range from relatively unsophisticated to sophisticated, depending upon the occasion, the recipient, the amount of time available and the inspiration.

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Form and format

I prefer to use an A4 format for greetings cards, with a two-fold design which has the advantage of keeping both the design and any writing on the front of the card. The card on the right is based on a photograph of a violet. It was selected for the strength of its colour, and positioned so that, when folded, there would be a strong focus on the yellow.

Another form I like for greeting cards is that of a paper bag. By folding and gluing an A4 sheet carefully, a bag can be folded and sent in a standard C6 envelope and which, when opened, will stand securely. I’m sorry that the first example seems to have been in the wars but it was one of the trials I always make and which tend to see quite a lot of handling over time.

This bag card is probably one of the first ones I made. Made from brown paper which I liked because of the character of the pattern of lines this paper had, there were two handles added from simple strips of paper folded and glued to the two sides of the top of the bag. Another trial version of this bag had the circle cut out to give a very different effect but was rejected due to the amount of work involved. For a single card this would not be a problem, but for multiple productions it would be onerous.

Here is a group of five of the many that have been produced over the last fifteen or twenty years. They are all made from 100 gms paper, though 80 gms would be just as good, the form having considerable rigidity in it. The designs are simple and are only envisaged as two-dimensional designs on the face of the bag. There is no reason why the design might not be continued round the sides other than consideration for the folds as well as the gluing that is required on one of the sides.

These small bags can even be used for containing sweets or a small present as in this illustration. This was one of a series made for a child’s birthday party. The picture on the front can be anything suited to the theme of the party. It’s not intended to have a long life and I tend to make them out of a lightweight paper, certainly no heavier than 80 gms. Heavier than this there are problems with folding. My favourites are bags made from brown paper with a simple graphic on them.

When the card is designed to be seen landscape rather than portrait, as is the case here, I prefer to glue and fold it at the bottom so that it will stand without sagging or collapsing with time. This type of construction is very rigid and has the great advantage of apparently adding to the quality of the finished article. The only disadvantage this type of card has is that there is only a front and back for display purposes, whereas the next three have a full A4 display area and, of course, can also be written on the reverse. As can be seen the card consists only of a part of a stylised photograph with simple lettering superimposed at the bottom. It really couldn’t be much simpler, the only problem being the selection of a suitable photograph.

One of the benefits of using photographs is that you can either select a subject which matches the interest of the person for whom the card is being made, or you can adapt photos of the person to whom you send the card, personalising it to make a unique card for their enjoyment. Hopefully. This card to the right, and the two cards below it, were designed to be folded twice and with the first fold carefully considered to ensure the optimal design balance on display.

The birthday card to the right above and the architectural design below were obviously individually designed and based on photos but, as you can see from the middle photo, you can also take an old postcard and adapt it for your specific needs…

The detail of the classic device – a detail of a capital I photographed in the British Museum, London – has been carefully organised so that the first fold coincides exactly with the middle of the volute. I made the effect of carving a greeting into the stone but, on reflection I wish I had made the carving follow the volute rather than have it horizontally located. I should point out that this design was selected as the capital had the advantage of simulating the number ’6’ for somebody whose sixtieth birthday it was designed for. I also see that although it looks right close up, the lettering does not display well at this scale. Perhaps it should. This may be one of the results of making cards quickly.

I enjoy making cards for different occasions and have been doing so from the nineteen sixties. At the end of the year, usually a bit late, I used to make both Christmas as well as New Year or Season’s greetings cards to suit the different beliefs and ages of the recipients. Nowadays I try to design at least half a dozen around Spring and then put them away until October when I look at them again to see which are the most suitable. I used to prefer to make cards A6 in size if for no other reason than that I could get two out of each sheet of A4 card. My preference now is to have landscape cards though tall cards display better.

Here, drawn on a scrap of lined paper when the idea came to me, is an initial conceptual sketch on the left with the finished card to its right, the theme being ‘a partridge in a pear tree’. Below is a second version with a detail of the partridge’s head. The illustrations above and below were taken from a print-out as the originals were lost, though I have now re-drawn the lower illustration with a slightly more accurate partridge’s head. As you can see from the above sketch, the original idea always has more immediacy than the finished graphic.

The following cards partly illustrate the character of the cards I used to make at the end of the year which have to suit a number of different religions and a wide age range. They’re supposed to be thought out well before the event but are often made too hurriedly – and sometimes look it. Now I tend to use a different form and, perhaps, more photos than drawings.

The two illustrations to the right were designed to suit Christmas with a particular emphasis on appealing to the children of families; the two cards below were designed to mark the end of the year or the New Year making them suitable to a number of different religions.

All these cards were drawn in a drafting programme using a trackpad and finger – not the best way of drawing fine detail but having the benefit of being available wherever you tend to sit down with your laptop. However, it is surprising what can be done without a proper drawing tablet. Incidentally, the New Year card to the right was developed from letters intended to form a complete alphabet, but I have yet to complete that exercise. There always seems to be something more important to work on.

Here are six more Christmas and New Year cards, arranged in pairs, using simple design styles, and in contrasting styles. Again two of them – the top left and middle right – have been designed for the younger children of families. The cards are drawn in the same way as I described above and don’t, therefore, require a great deal of sophistication. The greatest problem usually is thinking up the ideas, though this applies to any card, in fact it applies to any kind of design work, particularly when there’s an imminent deadline. The middle left card, together with the lower pair of cards are more formal and not really suited to children. They illustrate an important point, the middle left being far more legible than the bottom left card.

It’s interesting for me to see how these cards appear on the website pages as, to a great extent, those which are most easily seen here are likely to be seen well when placed on display. Although cards are read in the hand when received, they are similar to posters in that they are normally viewed at a relatively small distance, so need to be able to work at both short and near distances.

Contrasting with those styles are three more Seasons’s greeting cards, each of them being designed to different proportions. Those above are A6 sized – 149mm high by 105mm wide – while these are a third of an A4 sheet – 210mm high by 99mm wide. That on the left is designed with children in mind, the central one is a calligraphic style, whereas that on the right is a more sophisticated style.

Having the cards arranged portrait has one disadvantage and one advantage, both illustrated here. In order to fit into a C6 envelope only two thirds of the card can be used if the card is designed in the traditional way, opening like a book with the design on the front cover and any inscription on the inside, as shown on the right. This means cutting and discarding a third of the A4 sheet, which sometimes feels a bit of a waste. However, if the card is designed with reverse folds dividing it into thirds, as shown on the left, the design can be located over two panels, both readable from the front, or at least from a slight angle – and the double fold has the added advantage of making the card more stable in draughts.

To sum up, and excluding the bag solution described above, there are around six alternative ways I use to create greetings cards from A4 sheets of card, the basic shapes being illustrated here. The first three, 1,2 and 3, allow two cards to be created from a single A4 sheet, 1 and 3 being portrait and 2, landscape. On the bottom row, 4 and 5 are portrait, 4 being the zig-zag folded type of card, illustrated immediately above, along with 5 which has a third of the A4 sheet wasted. The last type, 6, is the folded and glued landscape card.

There is another shape of card I use from time to time, and that is one governed by the width of a DL envelope, using the full width of an A4 landscape card, 297mm. This creates a card with the fold off-centred as can be seen in this old rough mock-up for a Christmas card. In essence it is the type 2 card shown above, but with the fold made approximately a third along rather than halfway, creating a card which displays the message on the right while allowing a part of the design to be hidden within the folded area or, as in this case, to create a three-dimensional effect for increased interest.

All these cards will all fit into one or other of the two most commonly sized envelopes, C6 and DL:

• C6 envelopes are 114mm by 162mm and will accommodate A5 cards which are 100mm by 149mm.
• DL envelopes are 220mm by 110mm and will take A4 cards folded into three along their shorter width, 210mm by 99mm.

But the benefit of making cards, almost whatever the standard, is that they appear to be appreciated by the recipients for the very reason that they are designed and hand made. It really is a pity that most people will buy from the ever-increasing range of commercial cards rather than have a go themselves. There are even a number of commercial kits that help people produce something original. It is noticeable that mantle-pieces often contain more than one example of a card at Christmas, which I find depressing.

This design was also drawn the same way as the others, on a laptop using the trackpad. As you can see it’s a relatively simple diagrammatic design, quickly conceived and executed within the constraints of the capabilities of the laptop, and really carried out as an exercise, although it was given as a card. Looking back at designs like this I can see a lot of possibilities for improvement so sometimes recycle ideas – but making sure that, if it’s another greeting card, I don’t send a similar one to the same person, of course. At least, I don’t think I’ve done so yet. I should also say that ideas can be seen all around and, while it makes no sense to copy designs, designers often derive ideas from what might have caught their eye, knowingly or unwittingly.

To the side is part of the design of an anniversary card I made a number of years ago. Having worked out the design I wanted, I took a photograph of the bottle in sunlight to ensure I had some interest in the shadow, and then applied the lettering, the colour taken from the shadow of the bottle. Again, it’s a simple idea which seemed to work at the time but that I now see can be improved upon, particularly in the selection of the font or its kerning.

This illustration was not a card but was an old sketch used in a number of different projects, some of them greeting cards. The sketch uses a single line to illustrate a camel and rider, and a marker run round the line a number of times using the overlapping of the marker to create a heavier, parallel line as a design feature. There are, or were, some types of marker which could be used to create a uniform colour, but not this particular proprietary type.

This is another rough design which came about in developing a greeting card, and was based on the design above. It was created using an electric typewriter, another example of using the technology of the day to produce an effect dependent upon it. I think there was an attempt to use the different characters of the typewriter, but it was not successful and there is no record of it. Nowadays there are computer programmes which will do this for you, and this design would benefit from this as it would also allow the design to be created at a larger size and then reduced.

The inspiration for this card was, as you can see, a camel which used to be a regular feature of greeting cards I used to make in the days when there were limited materials in the country in which I worked – combined with the need to produce these greeting cards quickly. Each was individually drawn in black ink on glossy card and was evidently used as a New Year card with the two years appearing at the ends of the line, the greeting being written on the inside of the card in the traditional manner.

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Three-dimensional designs

Finally, in addition to ordinary two-dimensional designs, I enjoy producing cards with a degree of three-dimensionality to them. They are more time consuming than an ordinary card, but can be more attractive. Because these methods do not lend themselves to multiple production, they tend to be sent to individuals and I keep no copy of them. The top card is a rough for a Christmas card design which was not developed, but which I keep around, just in case it sparks a better idea. The problem with it is its structural weakness but which was resolved by redesigning the tree holder to create a larger base.

These very rough, and rather poor sketches to the side were made for a possible card based on the construction of a Maltese watch tower, buildings which are to be seen all round Malta’s coastline and which are dramatic in their settings. They might have been improved by not having been made as doodles during a meeting – but it’s also important to get an idea down when you think of it. It’s often easier to make some initial exploratory sketches before starting to cut and fold card, though the latter is, obviously, the next stage, though I no longer have those studies.

I made some three-dimensional models for the design which, though crude, showed me that this, too, would have relatively weak points in it. Some time I’ll look at them again and have another go at resolving their problems as I think there’s the germ of an idea there… These three-dimensional cards are now relatively common and, being professionally made with die stamps look good. But at the time I started they were unusual and seem to have been mainly produced by architects or graphic designers as one-offs. The whole area, of course, relates to pop-up picture books and origami, so it is understandable that some of the first well-designed cards seem to have come from Japan.

While I’m on the Maltese theme, here is a slightly different example, the upper illustration being a scan of an original card. The three dimensional designs below have a true three-dimensional character whereas this design was purposely made to form a triangular column. Two sides of the column illustrate a typical Maltese row house. One of them shows the manner in which they are, or were, typically considered to appear, the third side illustrates the additions which so many of them have accumulated over time, sometimes immediately on construction. The third side of the column bears a list of those elements. The card was designed to be sent to friends who were architects or designers though there was also a serious comment to be made relating to the manner in which architectural designs rarely take full consideration of the elements that are added to them by owners and utility companies. The two design faces were also used in seminars to illustrate aspects of the local architecture. The lower photograph is of the finished card, the inside of the column being the location of any message or greeting, and the photograph illustrating the stable construction of this tall card.

These two illustrations show a rough mock-up of another idea I had, made from paper, and one of the finished roughs made to develop the idea, made with card. The finished result was again quite different, but similar to the rough on the right. This card was made about thirty years ago, before professionally designed three-dimensional cards were commonly made for sale, but the idea went back to cards I saw designed by friends in the nineteen seventies. The lower illustration is of the rough card above right and gives a little better indication of the graphic design of the card. Looking at it again I can see that I should have also cut and folded out the dikka on the right to create additional visual interest, perhaps as shown on the rough model above left.

Here was another attempt to use a similar subject – this time, a wind tower – as a greeting card. This was an exploratory model to test how easy it would be to make a card that had a strong three-dimensional presence, would fold readily and be easily opened and, importantly, would be capable of reproduction as a seasonal greeting card. Against most of these parameters the model failed and I never got round to looking for alternative ways of making it or a similar design. Looking at it now I wonder if it would be suited to being made with only two sides…

This exploratory card was also made around the same time using fold-ups for both the man and the hawk on its perch to give the appearance of more depth to the card, and with the man increasing the effect by pointing towards the spray painting above the dikka. But I decided against this type of paper construction as I knew from long experience that the card I used to print onto has a tendency to turn up with time and not lie flat, a characteristic that is particularly important for the base of this type of card. Perhaps its time to try out the idea again.

These two roughs were also made around the same time and illustrate slightly different approaches. The rough design on the left is a straight cut-out, intended to bring depth to the card and, perhaps, best in a rough state to match the crude drawing style. The design on the right is a folded construction which has a couple of slits cut in it and then manipulated into a face. It looked a little too scary and I never got round to making a happier version. It’s yet another idea to try out again.

The two rough designs shown here represent a different type of cut card that can bring life to a simple design. The card on the left has the outline of a dove carrying a frond in its beak with a second image lying across the fold cut out with a sharp blade. The card on the right was a sketch made for the 1996 New Year and used a double slit to create a stepped plane. This type of card has been used to great effect commercially, particularly with designs having an architectural character to them. Another example of designs incorporating cuts can be seen above.

These three cards were made thirty or forty years ago. The card on the right was another attempt to bring a three-dimensional effect to a card by creating strong shadows within an architecturally organised cut and fold exercise. The central photograph was for an anniversary and was designed to be suspended with the illustration on the left hanging from it. Both methods are a useful way of constructing a slightly unusual card for a single occasion but would be time-consuming create in large numbers.

The few designs on this page are unusual in having been kept. As a general comment it is worth pointing out that many exploratory designs are discarded. But it is worth recording much of what you work on as you never know when you might think of a better way of developing an old design, or find a more apt reason to use one. This file, and others, contain some of my older designs, but regrettably none of the explanatory sketches. I now keep one example of every card I produce, but still throw away sketches as I don’t have the space to keep them.

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Paper folding

This small group of folded paper envelopes might be considered as origami, and are not particularly complicated examples at that. There are much better examples all over the Internet – where their folding patterns can be learned – but I have included them as, from time to time, I find it useful to accommodate small cards or gifts in these or similar folded paper constructions.

The first two examples were made from pieces of folded A4 paper and, while the first example, particularly, is not sealable and permits views into the envelope, they appear to create an interest for those who receive them, perhaps because of their obvious geometrical appeal. With double-sided tape at their backs, they can also be used as rosettes on a present, perhaps made with paper coloured differently on both sides to create a more attractive design. The lower of the two examples is opened by pulling on two of its opposite corners, whereas the first does not have that mechanical capability.

This group of greeting cards were made using the first of the folding patterns illustrated above, and were constructed in the days before computers, using a typewriter to create the greeting. Laboriously, each was typed having first worked out where the words needed to be in order for them to be displayed when the paper was unfolded, and then the design was folded. In retrospect they did not have the presence of a traditional card and might have benefitted from having a ribbon or decorative string attached in order that they might be suspended. I must have had a lot of time on my hands in those days…

The third example is another example of simple paper folding, but this time using paper which has been folded in order to create a pattern and not to form an openable container. It was used in a study looking into the possibility of constructing a fabric quilt, but which I found also made an interesting paper study when two forms of the square were used together, spinning in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. There is a little more written about it on the page looking at design studies.

This final illustration of a paper container shows the construction of a triangular envelope. Actually, this is not really an envelope at all but a folded letter and, at one time, was a relatively common way of folding letters to give a degree of privacy in the mail. They were particularly used by Russian soldiers in the First World War with the advantage that they could be readily opened for censoring. While it is possible to use them today as single-sided letters, they have a potential use as a quick greeting card or message, though are best suited to being fabricated from 80 gsm weight paper – a fairly common weight of paper – rather than from card due to the problem there is in tucking in a heavy paper or card to make the final fold.

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Implements

Nowadays there are a number of proprietary implements for use in the making of greeting cards. I prefer the more traditional kind, but it’s obviously a matter of taste. There are a couple of things which will really make your life easier. The first is a good cutting board. Card cutting boards deteriorate rapidly and tend to lead the cutting knife away from the straight edge and are not recommended. A self-healing cutting board is best, and it should be as large as possible. They usually come with a plain side and a side marked with a measured grid to enable you to make right angled cuts relatively accurately, or to centre designs.

To cut card you will need a good straight edge which, obviously, should be longer than the longest cut you are likely to make. In my case the longest cut will be the long side of an A4 sheet. Add a little for overlap and this will suggest an optimum length of about 15¨ or 40mm. The material from which it is made should obviously be hard and accurate as well as relatively high in order to avoid the blade moving away from the card. This is important as I use surgical knives which are extremely sharp, the reason for their use being that they make the cleanest cuts of the card. It is also relatively easy to slide up the straight edge and across your fingers.

Which brings me to technique. It is really important to take the time to learn how to cut with the blade at the same angle. This should enable you to cut an accurate straight line as well as avoid chewing up the straight edge and cutting your fingers.

For gluing I use a glue stick though I’m aware of a number of alternatives. Essentially the glue should be relatively flexible and fast drying. It is also important that the glue is easy to remove from the cutting board or wherever you carry out the gluing, and it should be of a character that will not damage the artwork of the finished card.

Finally, for clean-up you will need a good quality, soft, white or colourless eraser to clean up any marks on the artwork. Oddly enough, white bread also works well. But whatever you use, always test the materials you use in order to ensure they will cause no damage.

Even more finally, always work with clean hands and equipment…

Because of the way I cut cards with a scalpel, I have to be extremely careful to concentrate at all times in order to avoid injury to myself, or to damage the set-square I use as a cutting guide which has a soft plastic edge. It is far better to use a metal cutting edge. Whatever you use, develop the habit of keeping your fingers away from the edge of the guide as you run a knife along it.

The first photograph, above, shows the tools used for cutting as well as half-finished cards that have been folded and glued but not yet trimmed. There are easier ways to manufacture cards but, where I want a full bleed effect, the un-printed part of the card needs to be trimmed away. The other need for trimming is that paper rarely goes through my printer exactly the same way each time. This means a small amount of trimming is required to tidy the card’s edges.

The middle photograph shows the work half way through with the printed cards on the left awaiting processing and the finished cards on the right. The lowest photograph was taken looking down, and shows the finished cards lined up and checked for numbers. There is then just the business of writing, addressing and stamping and posting them. The one lesson I re-learn every year is that it̻s never too early to being the process…

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More recent work

Here are another group of cards recently designed, the first three for an Islamic audience. They illustrate different approaches to this character of design, but are relatively simple in concept. All three are designed to be Islamic greeting cards and read ‘Eid Mubarak’, the first having a small figure looking at what is, essentially, a maze. The calligraphic style is very simple and I believe it’s now correct as the previous example had an error in the lettering which has been kindly corrected. It is a very much simplified version of a kind of calligraphic study that is common in Islamic design.

Here are two three-dimensional studies, which are two of a number made based on a similar sculptural concept. The first started off conceptually as a cube onto which the phrase ‘Eid Mubarak’ has been written and then the surrounding backgrounds recessed back following a set of self-imposed rules. The face of the lettering is coloured in order to make it stand out from the sculpted form behind it.

Compared with the design above, the second design is a development of the first in that the calligraphy takes the form of a three-dimensional line that wraps around the surface of an invisible cube giving the words more of a three-dimensional form. In this case I have not coloured the lettering in order that the form should take more importance. When working on this kind of design I like to carry out preliminary studies and then put them aside, returning to them later.

This is a more two-dimensional approach to the design of Eid cards and was developed from something I saw, I think related to an exhibition. The card, obviously, reads from right to left so I have placed the strongest colour, red, at the back of the four lines, and then repeated them in gradually cooler colours, moving down and off to the left. This may seem counter-intuitive but seems to work better than reversing the selected colour system. There is more work to be carried out on this some time.

This next card is a birthday card with its design based on an illustration of an old Victorian phrenology head on which there are subjects written on it suited to the recipient. I’m likely to use the same idea again and, hopefully, improve on it with, of course, a revision of the phrases on the side. One simple way of improving this static type of design is to introduce a shaded background which will enliven the card as can be seen in this fourth card which was designed for a two-year old who likes hens. I’m not that happy with the lettering and should have spent longer on it. Remember not to leave projects to the last minute. Perhaps it’s a bit too sophisticated as it relies on somebody reading it to the child, but at least the colours attract and the cock is recognisable. Maybe I should just have used a cardinal number…

So, I should learn from this: the important thing to bear in mind when you are designing greeting cards, is to recognise the event and the particular characteristics of the person or people to whom you are sending the cards, and to design with these in mind. It also helps, incidentally, to make your design and sit on it for a few days while you think how it might be improved. In other words, always leave yourself enough time to change, develop or substitute designs.

These were the greeting cards for the end of 2007. They were a couple of changes as there are a couple of others which were added, but this set are designed to have cards which may appeal to a range of ages as well as those who don’t celebrate Christmas and those who do. Two are based on my photographs, as is the camel but developed more graphically, the robin and Christmas cards are drawn, and the turkey was developed from a found image. Some cards are serious, some are supposed to be amusing, relying on the accompanying words, and the central one is simple calligraphy with 2007 on one side, 2008 on the other.

This lower group of eight cards – the four above and these four to the right – are rough designs for Christmas and New Year cards for the end of 2008. The top left of this group of four is designed to stand with the 2008 and 2009 faces displayed and the logo and address etc. on the back. Last year’s version of this card is shown at the bottom of the page. This time I did sit on the top four for a while in order to see which I thought would have presence. My habit now is to print them off and leaving them around for a week or so while I get on with other things. The lower four are still waiting a decision, though I can see already that I’m likely to use only three of them.

Using a common drawing programme, this card has a simulated film strip incorporating five photographs I took last year, four of them appearing immediately below. The simulated film strip is overlain on a typographical message, the pair of them curved to represent a religious symbol. It may be a little complex but there is always a problem designing cards for a wide group of recipients, some of whom expect a decidedly ‘Christmassy’ card, as they term it. Snow, a seasonal greeting and a religious sub-text should do it.

Here is a group of cards made from photographs incorporating snow scenes. All of the photographs were made in the north of England and were taken in an unusually cold snap in Spring rather than in Winter – not that the season is important… But illustrations with snow are traditional at Christmas, so it makes sense to use them for some recipients. None of these have a message on them, that is the purpose of the back of the card though, for certain recipients, I will sometimes add the more traditional wording they expect of a card on its face, carefully positioned and subordinate to the photograph.

The selection of an appropriate font, its size, colour and placing is particularly important as it would be in any designed item. I tend to make the selections based on the character and age of the intended recipients. The examples to the right are a quick illustration of the range of consideration the designs might go through, though I still prefer to leave lettering off the front of a card. Although it is not illustrated here, it is worth considering at this stage whether to have the design as full bleed, or whether to give it border and, if so, what colour and width.

The greeting cards for the end of 2008, shown above, were manufactured by the usual manual methods, the only problem being the number that are needed each year. Making a card for a birthday or similar event involves only a small effort and inconvenience. But making cards at home means that there is a process has to be developed and followed. This I find to be the most boring part of the process.

This photograph is of some of the cards designed for the end of 2009. There are about fifteen altogether which sit around waiting for me to go through the process of selection, amendment, refinement, reselection and then printing. At the most, five or six will be selected. As I must have mentioned previously, I like to have them sitting around for a time so that I can give them better consideration based on the different groups of people who will eventually receive them. In some cases a single card will go to a single person, but two or three of the cards will be selected to go to the majority.

This first pair of cards have been designed for young children and, therefore, I have traditional themes for them. While children might not understand the Roman lettering of the year hanging on their antlers, I hope they will recognise the stylised reindeer with his glowing red nose. The snowman with its carrot nose, coal eyes, glasses and old hat, scarf and boots is a regular theme and is a useful standby if all else fails.

This pair of cards represent another easy style to produce. They rely on simple lettering designed as cut-outs with a drop shadow to create a three-dimensional illusion. There are many different ways in which such designs can be laid out but their advantage really is the speed at which the designs can be produced, perhaps added to with related graphics such as holly. Perhaps I shall have one of those next year…

There is always the tendency to think of Father Christmas as a theme for the end of the year as children really do appreciate him, perhaps because of the association with presents. Here he is trudging through the falling snow, a pine forest behind him and a single yellow star to light his way. I was going to add lettering on the front but think it better without. As I have not yet made them yet, I can always change my mind.

This card may not make it this year. It was a stand-by last year. This year I amended the design slightly and printed this so that I could have a leisurely look at it, but am not fully convinced that it is good enough to warrant inspection, though the colour will certainly catch the eye. Perhaps if I add something to it, such as snow or that useful standby, the holly leaf with berries, its appearance might be improved. Decisions, decisions…

For the 2010 season, the greeting card selection followed the same process as in previous years with a number of designs being produced and, for that year, ten selected to suit the various types of people to whom cards are sent at the end of the year. The major difference from previous years can be seen in the majority of cards being tall or portrait. The reason for this was time – it takes far longer to make the landscape cards than it does the portrait cards. The former require four folds and gluing with, often, trimming due to the printer not always moving the card through in a consistent manner. Portrait cards require only two folds. Note that there is also a small A6 card bearing a stylised robin. This allows two cards to be made from a single sheet of A4 card.

At the end of 2011, the same process was undergone with around twenty-five rough designs being produced in order to select a small number suited to the different characteristics of those to whom they would be sent. These next three illustrations are of some of those cards, showing how there seems to have been a distinct lack of originality, in my defence a state brought on by the lack of time and the need to do something quickly. What should have happened is that designs might have been created throughout the year enabling a more relaxed approach to selection from what would hopefully have been a better range and quality of designs. However, these designs are placed here to illustrate the manner in which the process of design and selection takes place. These are neither the finished designs nor the final selection.

The top two of the first group of rough cards use the Helvetica font, the numbers having been composed of written numbers in the top left one, and with written greetings in the top right and bottom left – the latter of which uses the Cooper font – and the bottom right example being an attempt to intertwine the outlines of the four numbers. The different characters of design and font have been reinforced by the use of colour and a notional drop-shadow.

The second group are here to illustrate how different approaches need to be made in order to create a degree of diversity to match the diverse individuals to whom cards will be sent. The top left is an amalgamation of an old woodcut with greetings behind them; the top right is a photograph of duck footprints taken last winter; next is a suggestion to rearrange the words into a well-known phrase or saying and, bottom right, a rather poor example using the outlines of a word.

This variety of approach also applies to the five vertical cards where a geometric study has been developed to produce an interesting panel design which can be used with any greeting, the second is constructed on a written message so is message specific, the third and fourth obviously relate to Christmas, while the far example refers only to the New Year. There is, perhaps, only a single example that might suit being sent to a young household, that mixing ‘Happy Christmas’ with a woodcut. There’s also a sixth card that’s not illustrated here as I thought it a little weak.

The lower photograph is of the selected designs, printed, folded, glued where necessary, in the correct numbers and awaiting writing, envelopes, addresses and stamps. It’s about this time that my enthusiasm for making greeting cards flags significantly. They’re more fun to design and make, than fill in and send…

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Other sources

There is another source of card material which I use from time to time; old illustrations. There should be no copyright problems if they are used individually for friends and family and if there is no commercial use. There are some beautiful old graphics which can either be used as they are or, as in the case of the upper two cards, with my own tag lines. The lower two are cards I have set aside for emergency, when I will find something to add to them in order to produce a personalised card for a friend or relation.

The lower card was designed in the same way, using an old graphic illustration with a custom tag line. It’s a relatively easy way of producing a card for an occasion which can’t be found in the selections provided in the many card shops selling cards for most occasions – but not quite the one you really want….

At the top of the page there is a design based on an initial drawing of the ‘Cutty Sark’, the famous clipper which, in 2007, was severely damaged in a fire at its dry dock in Greenwich, London. The same technique I used there has been used for this design of a cat. The technique is simple and lends itself well to designs where there is a simple silhouette, creating a dramatic design which will stand out from cards around it.

And this is, obviously, a card based on a photograph, a technique I often use. The image has been posterized into six levels which, at the time, I thought the optimum. At this scale I think it might be better at four levels. The make of the camera was amended to read ‘Happy Birthday’ in a similar font to the original but, of course, a smaller size. I had thought of using the lettering around the lens to write a message, but decided that at that size it would be too small to read well, so the greeting is on the reverse.

The key thing to bear in mind is that each card should be crafted to suit the character of the recipient as well, of course, as the event.