Why are there so many badly designed cards around?

Actually, that’s a little unfair, as there are many well-designed cards being produced nowadays. 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.

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.

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 carefully, a bag can be folded and sent in a standard C6 envelope and which, when opened, will stand securely. It can even be used for putting sweets or a small present in. I’m sorry that this 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.

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 cars 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 four more Christmas cards and New Year cards using simple designs in contrasting styles. Again two of them have been designed for the younger children of families. The cards are drawn the same way and don’t require a great deal of sophistication. The greatest problem usually is thinking up the ideas.

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.

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 the tree holder with 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. 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.

I made some three-dimensional models for it 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.

These two illustrations show a rough mock-up of another idea I had, and one of the finished roughs made to develop the idea. The finished result was again quite different but similar to the one on the right. This card was made about thirty years ago, before professionally designed three-dimensional cards were commonly made for sale.

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…

Most recent work

Here are five more cards recently designed. The first is an Islamic greeting card which reads ‘Eid Mubarak’ and has 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.

Below it is a more three-dimensional study which started off as a cube onto which the phrase ‘Eid Mubarak’ has been written and then recessed back following a set of self-imposed rules. It is one of a series experimenting with this form of sculpture and is not yet completed. When working on this kind of design I like to carry out preliminary studies and then put them aside, returning to them later.

The third is a birthday card designed on the basis of the old Victorian phrenology heads with 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.

This fourth 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. This lower group of four cards are rough designs for Christmas cards which, this time, I did sit on for a while in order to see which I thought would have presence. This I do by printing them off and leaving them around for a week or so while I get on with other things.

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.

Finally, cards for the end of this year. They may change as there are a couple of others which may be added or substituted, 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. Next year perhaps it will have 2008 and 2009…

The point 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.