Graphic Design Ideas for Father's Day

Throughout the calendar year, there are big holidays that spring to mind when creating graphic designs for promotions. Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving represent major holiday promotional times, but with savvy planning, a promotion can be tied to a holiday in each month of the year. Father's Day is one such off-holiday that can be used as a springboard to sales every June. For inspiration, consider these graphic design ideas and concepts for Father's Day:

Tone

When you are launching a promotion tied to a smaller holiday, it is a good idea to link your materials and designs to the traditions and history of that holiday. Your goal is to accurately represent Father's Day by using images that will elicit the proper emotions. Father's Day hinges on expressing appreciation of a parent, so using images of fathers with young children is an obvious choice. Don't limit yourself, though. Depending on the product you are promoting, you might want to set a different tone; for example, if you're promoting security-related products you might want to market to baby boomer children who are caring for their parents as they age.

Colors

Father's Day is a masculine holiday - it's all about the man of the family. As such, when you are choosing the colors for your design, think about what you are marketing and who you are marketing to. Many promotions use darker colors such as blues and blacks, as they are seen as masculine colors. To change it up a little, you could tie in fresh greens and yellows to indicate the beginning of summer. Whatever color scheme you do choose, you should experiment with different variations of shades and hues to create a layered effect that will really pop off the paper.

Shapes and icons

Again, it is important to really know your audience and use shapes and icons that best represent that audience. Design shapes aren't limited to ink incarnations. You should consider incorporating die-cut promotional materials such as flyers and postcards that will help you stand out from your competitors. Some examples include sports or outdoor activities such as golf-shaped icons for dads who golf, fishing, barbeques, tools for handyman dads, etc.

History and tradition

Do some research to discover historical facts that you can relate to your audience. A great fact for next year is that the first Father's Day was on June 19, 2010, which means next year is the 100th anniversary of Father's Day. What things have changed since then, and what trends are timeless? Another example is that neckties are the no. 1 gift for dads, so a "do something different than a necktie" campaign could take advantage of this fact. The goal of your Father's Day design concept should be to enhance your message and stand out from the competition. Father's Day design themes aren't hard to come by; but truly original works that become marketing masterpieces are. Keep these graphic design ideas and concepts in mind when designing your next Father's Day promotion.