Unique Cinco de Mayo Design Ideas

Designing Cinco de Mayo promotions can be challenging for many graphic designers, especially those whose knowledge of the holiday is limited to the fact that its origins are in Mexico. That's why many Cinco de Mayo postcards, posters, brochures, banners and flyers have little relevance other than being drawn in traditional Mexican colors: red, green and white. The reality is that there are many aspects of Cinco de Mayo that lend graphic design inspiration so you can give your marketing materials a unique flair that gets noticed. Here are some unique Cinco de Mayo design ideas you can use to jump-start your spring campaigns this year:

The color of war

History is replete with stories you can use as a foundation upon which to build your graphic designs, and Cinco de Mayo is laden with history if you're willing to do the research. Simply searching the history of the holiday will yield enough information to write a book - and plenty of ideas for Cinco de Mayo flyer, postcard and poster designs. Start with the Battle of Puebla, where 4,000 Mexican soldiers fended off a well-armed French army of 8,000, to demonstrate that quality is better than quantity. Think about the colors and textures of war - the smoke, the bright flashes, the soldiers' armament - to conjure creative ideas for your Cinco de Mayo designs.

Get a die cut

One sure-fire way to design a brochure or flyer that stands out is to have it die cut into a striking shape that has relevance to Cinco de Mayo. You can accomplish this by having your printed brochure or flyer die cut into the shape of a Mexican fort, hat, instrument or other easily recognized symbol of Mexico. Complement your die cut with foil stamps to give your marketing materials even more pop that gets attention, draws customer focus and ultimately leads to more sales.

Draw a Cinco de Mayo logo

Creating special logos just for the holiday can be enough to attract customers' eyes and generate noteworthy word-of-mouth advertising. Much like Google often posts a unique logo for dates the company deems special, you can craft a logo that is exclusively printed in your Cinco de Mayo promotions. You could be bold or subtle. Redraw your logo in Mexican colors or place a sombrero over your traditional logo. You could also try a pair of Mexican guns or even align your promotions with contemporary Cinco de Mayo party celebrations by including a party hat or party beverage with your logo.

American theme

One little known - but highly important - fact about Cinco de Mayo is that it is perhaps more widely celebrated in the United States than in Mexico. Just as St. Patrick's Day celebrations are not limited to the Irish, Cinco de Mayo celebrations are not limited to Mexicans. Consider the many ways Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo and draw themes from the American party scene to capture what is perhaps the most popular, if not most true, essence of Cinco de Mayo in your graphic designs.