Unique Design Ideas for Rack Cards

Rack cards are the mini-billboards of the hospitality industry, deployed with perhaps more efficiency than any other marketing medium. The reason is simple: visitors' centers, rest areas, hotels and restaurants are havens for the hospitality industry's target audience - tourists. By design, this means rack card marketing is simple; however, getting noticed enough for potential customers to take a closer look - and then to take action - presents a challenge precisely because rack card marketing is so efficient. There's a ton of competition just waiting to steal your business, which is why your rack card design is of utmost importance, and why you should read on to learn the following unique design ideas for rack cards.

Top-centric design

Some racks are designed to feature the entire face of rack cards without being hidden by those in the row before, but many others are not. When it comes to rack card marketing, some of your design will invariably be buried underneath another's at one location or another. To counter this you need to create a top-centric design that can grab attention with just the few top inches of your rack card. Use a colorful headline, an intriguing photo or some other attention-getting device to entice readers to pull your card from the rack for a closer look.

Big photo

Some designers try to fit as many images on their rack cards as possible, but doing so loses focus for mood and expectations. Instead, focus on one main image and pepper a one-sided border with smaller photos, or place smaller photos on the back with a tag that indicates more can be seen on the back. This technique will invite your target audience to pull your card from the rack so they can see the back.

Illustration

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but an illustration says whatever it wants. Use your artistic prowess to create unique and invigorating rack card designs that can't be ignored. Your illustration can be based on an existing photo, an ideal or emotion, on fun, or just about anything else as long as it captures the essence of the experience you are promotion.

Oversized design

The standard rack card size is 4 inches by 9 inches, but you can rise above the competition with a taller rack card. Certain displays might have rules for rack card sides, but you can offer to take the last rack with a taller, 4-inch by 13-inch rack card. Or you can skip the traditional rack stand altogether and deploy your own rack card stand with custom rack cards sized up to 13 inches by 17 inches.

Foil stamp for success

If your rack card is promoting an elegant restaurant, theater, or some other prestigious attraction or event you can highlight its exclusivity with foil stamps as outlines for text and graphic elements. Conversely, you can use foil stamps as fills for shapes and bold text for a fun, bright and shiny design that's sure to turn heads.