As an expert in the graphic design industry, BPOVIA Graphic Design Service team finds it a lot of fun designing and illustrating greeting cards. Every card is an opportunity to tell a short story. Here are some tips provided by BPOVIA to make your greeting card designs more marketable.

1) Design For a Vertical Layout

BPOVIA knows why vertical layouts are the most popular layout for greeting cards: It’s easier for customers to view in racks; they don’t fall down like horizontal cards do.

2) BPOVIA Top Third Rule

BPOVIA Graphic Design Service team has found that cards displayed in racks are often overlapping, so the top 1/3 of the card is often all that you should catch the eye of a shopper. So make that top 1/3 of the card count, keep it mostly free for typography, or make sure characters are easily seen. Use your hand to cover up the bottom of your card. If the message is still very clear, well done! If not, BPOVIA suggests you revisit the design.

3) Leave Space for Type

BPOVIA finds that illustrations that do not take into consideration space for the caption heading and / or a little bit of verse on the front can often be passed up by publishers. So designers in BPOVIA remind you leave some areas of your illustration free of strong texture / illustrated elements so that type can be clearly and easily read.

4) Consider Recipient Gender Balance

Cards are typically divided into three groups by BPOVIA: masculine, feminine, and general. According to the experience of BPOVIA Graphic Design Service team, feminine cards are typically easier to design, as there is a plethora of cute fuzzy fluffy flowery imagery out there to play with. Masculine cards are much more difficult, and can unfortunately tend to be stuck in the rut of being more serious and heavy looking. General cards are those that can be given to either male / female recipients.

5) Keep in Mind Your Target Audience

BPOVIA reminds you that the target audience is not only the person receiving the card, but also the one who is buying the card. A recent survey by BPOVIA Graphic Design Service team has shown that women make up about 80% of the greeting card target buying audience. When BPOVIA designers are designing cards, they keep in mind that who will be picking up the cards and appealing to how THEY feel about the person they are sending the card to. As a designer in BPOVIA said, if you can picture your female friends picking up the card, you might get the mark on that design.

6) Ask for Feedback on Your Designs

What is the easy way to know if your design is hitting the mark? BPOVIA thinks the answer is to ask your friends and family. Make sure do not explain what the card is about, just hand them a mock up of the design. If they don’t “get it” then you should reconsider.

A greeting card is generally a simple document — a piece of folded paper with text or images on the front and a message inside. Say something sentimental, silly, sweet, or sensitive in a custom greeting card. For you can DIY your own card, BPOVIA Graphic Design Service team is always at your service.