Cool Design Ideas for Greeting Cards

It can be challenging to come up with cool design ideas for greeting cards, mainly because so many graphic designers have already tackled this medium and there are already so many variations on similar themes on the market. If you stray too far from an expected theme, your greeting card designs can lose effect; similarly, if your greeting card designs look like everyone else's you won't get anyone's attention. Finding a balance between established themes and originality is key, and when you combine your design prowess with proven print marketing techniques you can be inspired by the following cool design ideas for greeting cards.

Illustrate your point

Illustrations are a designer's savior, because you can always manipulate tried-and-true thematic elements in creative new ways without risking significance. Excellent examples include caricatures of famous people or holiday characters, such as Santa Claus and St. Patrick's Day leprechauns. You can also play with colors to make a four leaf clover into a logo for your company or vise versa. Illustrations are never held to the limits of photography; though the two can go hand-in-hand when you combine them in a powerful graphic design program such as Photoshop or Illustrator. Thus, when it comes to greeting cards your opportunities are boundless if you're a good illustrator.

Foil stamps

A really cool accent to use in your greeting cards design is the foil stamp. Sparkling, bright, yet elegant foil stamps turn heads and draw people in for a closer look. They also help to establish credibility and a sense of prestige. You can use foil stamps as official seals, as outline accents for your text or graphic elements, as entire greeting card covers or as graphic dividers in your greeting card designs.

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.

Design greeting cards for personalization

Personalization is one of the most powerful ways to earn a response from your greeting cards, even if it's a simple thank-you card in return. When you set out to create your greeting card design, 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 personalize 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.