Thanksgiving Graphic Design Ideas

Want to create compelling Thanksgiving postcards, brochures, stickers and flyers for your clients? Of course you do. But how can you create original and eye-catching designs based on a centuries-old theme without mimicking the competition? Here are a few Thanksgiving graphic design ideas and concepts that will have you gobbling up the competition - whether you're printing postcards, brochures, stickers or flyers.

Tone

It's important to set the tone of your clients' promotions immediately so you can both grab attention and make sure that attention is targeted. Are you designing a thank you postcard expressing your client's appreciation for the past year's business, or developing a mailed advertisement for a full-scale Black Friday sale? Many businesses invest their dollars in charitable endeavors such as food drives around Thanksgiving, so make sure their charitable efforts are mentioned in their promotional pieces to boost PR.

Colors

Falling leaves, fruitful cornucopias, turkeys, football and other Thanksgiving staples can serve as inspiration for your color schemes, but that doesn't mean you're limited to these things alone. You can try the deep reds, oranges, yellows and browns of the leaves, or the greens, reds, purples and yellows of cornucopias for traditional Thanksgiving appeal. Alternatively, try adding a splash of your client's signature colors to a turkey's beard or a Pilgrim's hat for aesthetically appealing quirks.

Shapes and icons

Everything from Squanto's head dress and the Pilgrims' hats and bonnets to turkeys and footballs can be used as Thanksgiving-related shapes when designing postcards and flyers this time of year. You can incorporate shapes into the foreground or background of your design or, for even more attention-grabbing power, have your flyer or sticker die cut into one of these easily recognizable shapes. No matter what shapes or icons you use it is important to make sure they match up with the overall theme and message. A Pilgrim would serve well in a postcard for a 'pioneering' software firm, for instance; while a cooked turkey could represent a competitor's current deal.

History and tradition

The Pilgrims didn't discover America, but the Puritan values they brought with them still have strong veins throughout the nation. In short, their plight is a sense of pride and preservation that offers many opportunities for drawing correlations between your clients and these symbols of American spirit. Other traditions such as cornucopias stem from the Pilgrims and can be used in your direct-marketing designs. Take some time to do some research into Thanksgiving history to find inspiration for your next great Thanksgiving design. Thanksgiving is a day of values, which is why many of these tips and tricks play on those values to help persuade customers to take the next step in the purchasing process. Understand your target audience, market directly to them, and incorporate relevant and eye-popping design concepts to create a well-rounded piece that yields a great return on investment.